Wadena County ( ) is a
county
A county is a geographic region of a country used for administrative or other purposes Chambers Dictionary, L. Brookes (ed.), 2005, Chambers Harrap Publishers Ltd, Edinburgh in certain modern nations. The term is derived from the Old French ...
in the
U.S. state
In the United States, a state is a constituent political entity, of which there are 50. Bound together in a political union, each state holds governmental jurisdiction over a separate and defined geographic territory where it shares its sove ...
of
Minnesota
Minnesota () is a state in the upper midwestern region of the United States. It is the 12th largest U.S. state in area and the 22nd most populous, with over 5.75 million residents. Minnesota is home to western prairies, now given over to ...
. As of the
2020 census, the population was 14,065.
Its
county seat
A county seat is an administrative center, seat of government, or capital city of a county or civil parish. The term is in use in Canada, China, Hungary, Romania, Taiwan, and the United States. The equivalent term shire town is used in the US st ...
is
Wadena.
History
The newly organized
Minnesota Legislature created the county on June 11, 1858. A settlement began at the future city of
Wadena in 1871, and by 1873 a post office was in operation there. The settlement was designated the county seat when the state legislature organized the county on February 21, 1873. The town took the name of a trading post 15 miles (24 km) to the east, which had flourished for several years but was largely abandoned by that time. The trading post was named for Chief Wadena, an
Ojibwe
The Ojibwe, Ojibwa, Chippewa, or Saulteaux are an Anishinaabe people in what is currently southern Canada, the northern Midwestern United States, and Northern Plains.
According to the U.S. census, in the United States Ojibwe people are one of ...
Indian chief of the late 19th century in northwestern Minnesota.
Wadena County comprises 15 townships, first surveyed in 1863. Each township is six miles square and contains 36 sections of land (with the exception of Bullard and Thomastown, which have a slightly different configuration because their boundaries are aligned with the Leaf and Crow Wing Rivers, respectively). In 1857 Augustus Aspinwall laid out a town site in what is now Section 15, Thomastown township, at the junction of the Crow Wing and Partridge rivers, and named it Wadena. When the railroad went through the area in 1872 it ran about three miles south of this site and the town quickly withered away.
During the last part of the 19th century and the first half of the 20th, there were two railroads in the county. The Northern Pacific main line running east to west through Wadena was built in 1872, while the Great Northern branch or "K" line which ran from Sauk Centre to Bemidji, via Sebeka and Menahga, was completed in 1891. The line from Park Rapids to Long Prairie was abandoned in 1984 while the rest was abandoned in the early 1970s with the northern section from Park Rapids to Cass Lake since converted to the Heartland Trail.
Wadena used to be served by the Greyhound Bus Line, Elliott Bros. Transportation Co., Northwest Transportation Co., Red Bus Line, Gray Bus Line, Liederbach Bus Co. and Mercury Bus line.
There are four historical societies in the county, including the Wadena County Historical Society, the Verndale Historical Society, the Sebeka Finnish American Historical Society and the Menahga Historical Society.
In 2010 there were four organized school districts in the county: Wadena, Verndale, Sebeka and Menahga. In 1906 there were 52 school districts in the county, most of which were rural schools.
Sebeka once had Minnesota's second-largest creamery. Over the years there have been approximately ten creameries in the county and ten cheese factories.
Geography
The
Crow Wing River
The Crow Wing River is a U.S. Geological Survey. National Hydrography Dataset high-resolution flowline dataThe National Map, accessed November 29, 2012 tributary of the Mississippi River in Minnesota, United States. The river rises at an elevation ...
flows south through the east-central part of the county and forms the lower part of the county's eastern border as it turns to flow southeast. The
Partridge River flows east through the southern part of the county, discharging into the Crow Wing in the county's southeast corner. The
Leaf River flows east through the central part of the county, discharging into the Crow Wing in the county's eastern portion. The county terrain consists of low rolling hills, carved by drainages, devoted to agriculture wherever possible.
[Wadena County MN Google Maps (accessed April 21, 2019)]
/ref> The terrain slopes to the east and south, with its highest point near its northwest corner, at 1,460' (445m) ASL. The county has a total area of , of which is land and (1.3%) is water. Wadena is one of 17 Minnesota counties with more savanna soils than prairie or forest soils.
Major highways
* U.S. Route 10
* U.S. Route 71
U.S. Route 71 or U.S. Highway 71 (US 71) is a major north–south United States highway that extends for over 1500 miles (2500 km) in the central United States. This original 1926 route has remained largely unchanged by encroaching Interstat ...
* Minnesota State Highway 29
Minnesota State Highway 29 (MN 29) is a highway in west-central Minnesota, which runs from its junction with U.S. Highways 59 and 212 in Montevideo and continues north to its terminus at U.S. Highway 71 in Wadena.
Route description
Hi ...
* Minnesota State Highway 87
Minnesota State Highway 87 (MN 87) is a highway in north-central and northwest Minnesota, which runs from its interchange with U.S. Highway 10 at Frazee and continues east to its eastern terminus at its intersection with State Highway 84 i ...
Airports
* Staples Municipal Airport (SAZ) - north of Staples
Adjacent counties
* Hubbard County - north
* Cass County - east
* Todd County - south
* Otter Tail County - southwest
* Becker County - northwest
Protected areas
* Burgen Lake Prairie Wildlife Management Area
* Dry Sand State Wildlife Management Area
* Huntersville State Forest
* Lyons State Forest
* Old Wadena County Park
** Old Wadena Historic District
Lakes
* Bill Lake
* Blueberry Lake
* Burgen Lake
* Duck Lake (part)
* Finn Lake
* Granning Lake
* Jim Cook Lake
* Lily Lake
* Lovejoy Lake
* Lower Twin Lake
* Mud Lake
* Radabaugh Lake
* Rice Lake
* Round Lake
* Simon Lake
* Spirit Lake
* Stocking Lake
* Strike Lake]
* Thomas Lake
* Upper Twin Lake (part)
* Yaeger Lake
Demographics
2000 census
As of the 2000 United States census, 2020 census, there were 13,713 people, 5,426 households, and 3,608 families in the county. The population density
Population density (in agriculture: Stock (disambiguation), standing stock or plant density) is a measurement of population per unit land area. It is mostly applied to humans, but sometimes to other living organisms too. It is a key geographical ...
was 25.6/sqmi (9.88/km2). There were 6,334 housing units at an average density of 11.8/sqmi (4.56/km2). The racial makeup of the county was 97.89% White
White is the lightest color and is achromatic (having no hue). It is the color of objects such as snow, chalk, and milk, and is the opposite of black. White objects fully reflect and scatter all the visible wavelengths of light. White o ...
, 0.48% Black
Black is a color which results from the absence or complete absorption of visible light. It is an achromatic color, without hue, like white and grey. It is often used symbolically or figuratively to represent darkness. Black and white ...
or African American
African Americans (also referred to as Black Americans and Afro-Americans) are an ethnic group consisting of Americans with partial or total ancestry from sub-Saharan Africa. The term "African American" generally denotes descendants of ens ...
, 0.55% Native American, 0.18% Asian, 0.03% Pacific Islander
Pacific Islanders, Pasifika, Pasefika, or rarely Pacificers are the peoples of the Pacific Islands. As an ethnic/racial term, it is used to describe the original peoples—inhabitants and diasporas—of any of the three major subregions of O ...
, 0.27% from other races
Other often refers to:
* Other (philosophy), a concept in psychology and philosophy
Other or The Other may also refer to:
Film and television
* ''The Other'' (1913 film), a German silent film directed by Max Mack
* ''The Other'' (1930 film), a ...
, and 0.59% from two or more races. 0.93% of the population were Hispanic
The term ''Hispanic'' ( es, hispano) refers to people, cultures, or countries related to Spain, the Spanish language, or Hispanidad.
The term commonly applies to countries with a cultural and historical link to Spain and to viceroyalties forme ...
or Latino
Latino or Latinos most often refers to:
* Latino (demonym), a term used in the United States for people with cultural ties to Latin America
* Hispanic and Latino Americans in the United States
* The people or cultures of Latin America;
** Latin A ...
of any race. 37.5% were of German
German(s) may refer to:
* Germany (of or related to)
** Germania (historical use)
* Germans, citizens of Germany, people of German ancestry, or native speakers of the German language
** For citizens of Germany, see also German nationality law
**Ge ...
, 14.0% Norwegian
Norwegian, Norwayan, or Norsk may refer to:
*Something of, from, or related to Norway, a country in northwestern Europe
* Norwegians, both a nation and an ethnic group native to Norway
* Demographics of Norway
*The Norwegian language, including ...
, 12.5% Finnish
Finnish may refer to:
* Something or someone from, or related to Finland
* Culture of Finland
* Finnish people or Finns, the primary ethnic group in Finland
* Finnish language, the national language of the Finnish people
* Finnish cuisine
See also ...
, 9.0% United States
The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 states, a federal district, five major unincorporated territori ...
or American and 5.3% Swedish
Swedish or ' may refer to:
Anything from or related to Sweden, a country in Northern Europe. Or, specifically:
* Swedish language, a North Germanic language spoken primarily in Sweden and Finland
** Swedish alphabet, the official alphabet used by ...
ancestry.
There were 5,426 households, out of which 30.00% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 55.30% were married couples living together, 7.60% had a female householder with no husband present, and 33.50% were non-families. 29.20% of all households were made up of individuals, and 15.10% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.45 and the average family size was 3.02.
The county population contained 25.80% under the age of 18, 8.10% from 18 to 24, 23.60% from 25 to 44, 22.60% from 45 to 64, and 19.90% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 40 years. For every 100 females there were 97.90 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 94.90 males.
The median income for a household in the county was $30,651, and the median income for a family was $38,618. Males had a median income of $28,424 versus $21,027 for females. The per capita income
Per capita income (PCI) or total income measures the average income earned per person in a given area (city, region, country, etc.) in a specified year. It is calculated by dividing the area's total income by its total population.
Per capita i ...
for the county was $15,146. About 9.70% of families and 14.10% of the population were below the poverty line
The poverty threshold, poverty limit, poverty line or breadline is the minimum level of income deemed adequate in a particular country. The poverty line is usually calculated by estimating the total cost of one year's worth of necessities for t ...
, including 15.40% of those under age 18 and 12.60% of those age 65 or over.
2020 Census
Communities
Cities
* Aldrich
* Menahga
* Nimrod
Nimrod (; ; arc, ܢܡܪܘܕ; ar, نُمْرُود, Numrūd) is a biblical figure mentioned in the Book of Genesis and Books of Chronicles. The son of Cush and therefore a great-grandson of Noah, Nimrod was described as a king in the land of ...
* Sebeka
* Staples (part)
* Verndale
* Wadena (county seat; partly in Otter Tail County)
Unincorporated communities
* Bluegrass
* Huntersville
* Oylen
Ghost towns
* Leaf River
* Shell City
Townships
* Aldrich Township
* Blueberry Township
* Bullard Township
* Huntersville Township
* Leaf River Township
* Lyons Township
* Meadow Township
* North Germany Township
* Orton Township
* Red Eye Township
* Rockwood Township
* Shell River Township
* Thomastown Township
* Wadena Township
* Wing River Township
Government and politics
Wadena County voters have traditionally voted Republican. In only one national election since 1964 has the county selected the Democratic Party candidate (as of 2020).
See also
* National Register of Historic Places listings in Wadena County, Minnesota
References
External links
Wadena County government’s website
Wadena County Historical Society
{{authority control
Minnesota counties
Minnesota placenames of Native American origin
1873 establishments in Minnesota
Populated places established in 1873