Appleton is a city in Swift County, Minnesota, United States. The population was 1,412 at the 2010 census. The town is home to a vacant medium-security prison, the Prairie Correctional Facility, which is wholly owned and operated by Corrections Corporation of America. Appleton's economy took a huge hit when the prison closed in 2010.Elmer A. Benson, who served as a United States Senator and as governor of Minnesota, was born in Appleton on September 23, 1895.