 An area on the Mississippi River's west bank, originally called Cratte's Landing, had grown into a town named Wabasha, then a city, and when the legislature created the county west of the river around this city, Wabasha was designated the county seat.The city had been named for three successive chiefs of Mississippi bands of Dakota Indians.Wabasha County's area was reduced in 1853 when sections were partitioned off to create Fillmore, Goodhue, and Rice counties.