The area of present Dodge County was a hunting and battle ground for the Mdewakanton Sioux, often fighting Sauk and Fox Indians who wandered into their territory.

The 1820s and 1830s saw significant emigration, eased by completion of the Erie Canal (1825) and the end of the Black Hawk War (1831).

In 1854, two Mantor brothers and Eli P. Waterman established their claims in the area of present Mantorville.

[6] As the 20th century began, emigrants from Germany, Sweden and Norway flowed to Minnesota in increasing numbers.

The South Branch of the Middle Fork of the Zumbro River flows east-northeast through the upper central part of Dodge County.

[8] The terrain slopes to the northeast; its highest point is on the eastern part of its southern border, at 1,352 ft (412 m) ASL.

The central and northern parts are hilly and thickly wooded with pebbly, loose soil that allows for wheat agriculture.

Dodge is one of seven southern Minnesota counties that have no forest ecosystems; only prairie and savanna soils exist here.

Dodge County's plentiful sand and rock also make the area a center for building.

Quarries in Mantorville were once enterprises and consist of layers of thick stone that can be cut into any desired shape.