Benton County is a county in the East Central part of the U.S. state of Minnesota. As of the 2020 census, the population was 41,379. Its county seat is Foley.

Thomas Hart Benton, nicknamed "Old Bullion", was an American politician, attorney, soldier, and longtime United States Senator from Missouri. A member of the Democratic Party, he was an architect and champion of westward expansion by the United States, a cause that became known as Manifest Destiny. Benton served in the Senate from 1821 to 1851, becoming the first member of that body to serve five terms.