Pennington 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 northwestern part of 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 ...

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 t ...

. As of the 2020 census, the population was 13,992. 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 ...

Thief River Falls Thief River Falls, sometimes referred to as Thief River or abbreviated as TRF, is a city in Pennington County in the northwest portion of the U.S. state of Minnesota. The population was 8,749 at the 2020 census. Thief River Falls is the county ...

History

The

Wisconsin Wisconsin () is a state in the upper Midwestern United States. Wisconsin is the 25th-largest state by total area and the 20th-most populous. It is bordered by Minnesota to the west, Iowa to the southwest, Illinois to the south, Lake M ...

Territory was established by the federal government effective July 3, 1836, and existed until its eastern portion was granted statehood (as

) in 1848. The federal government set up the Minnesota Territory in the remaining territory, effective March 3, 1849. The newly organized territorial legislature created nine counties across the territory in October of that year. One of those original counties, Pembina, had its lower portion partitioned in 1858 by the newly organized Minnesota State legislature to create Polk County. On December 24, 1896, the legislature partitioned the northern portion of Polk to create Red Lake County. Then on November 23, 1910, the northern part of Red Lake was sectioned off to create Pennington County, the penultimate Minnesota county to be created (followed by

Lake of the Woods Lake of the Woods (french: Lac des Bois, oj, Pikwedina Sagainan) is a lake occupying parts of the Canadian provinces of Ontario and Manitoba and the U.S. state of Minnesota. Lake of the Woods is over long and wide, containing more than 14,5 ...

in 1922). The county was named for Edmund Pennington (1848-1926), a longtime Minnesota railroad executive, who was serving as president of the Minneapolis, St. Paul, and Sault Ste. Marie Railway when the county was formed.

, the area's major settlement (platted in 1887), was specified as the county seat.

Geography

The Red Lake River flows westward into the county from

Beltrami County Beltrami County ( ) is a county in the northern part of the U.S. state of Minnesota. As of the 2020 census, the population was 46,228. Its county seat is Bemidji. The county's name comes from Italian adventurer Giacomo Beltrami from Bergamo ...

through Pennington's central portion. Near

it is joined by the Thief River, flowing southward into the county from Marshall County. The combined flow exits Pennington County toward the south, then swings west- and northwestward as it moves to its confluence with the Red River near

Grand Forks, North Dakota Grand Forks is the third-largest city in the state of North Dakota (after Fargo and Bismarck) and the county seat of Grand Forks County. According to the 2020 census, the city's population was 59,166. Grand Forks, along with its twin city ...

. The county terrain consists of low rolling hills, lightly wooded, with all available areas devoted to agriculture.Pennington County MN Google Maps (accessed April 29, 2019)
/ref> The terrain slopes to the west and south, with its highest point near the lower east border, at 1,186' (361m) ASL. The county has a total area of , of which is land and (0.3%) is water. Pennington is one of 17 Minnesota savanna region counties with more savanna soils than either prairie or forest soils.

Major highways

U.S. Highway 59 U.S. Route 59 (US 59) is a north–south United States highway (though it was signed east–west in parts of Texas). A latecomer to the U.S. numbered route system, US 59 is now a border-to-border route, part of the NAFTA Corridor Highway Sy ...

Minnesota State Highway 1 Minnesota State Highway 1 (MN 1) is a state highway across northern Minnesota, United States, which runs from North Dakota Highway 54 (ND 54) at the North Dakota state line (at the Red River in Oslo) and continues east to its eastern ter ...

Minnesota State Highway 32 Minnesota State Highway 32 (MN 32) is a highway in west-central and northwest Minnesota, which runs from its intersection with State Highway 34 in Tansem Township near Barnesville and continues north to its intersection with State Highway ...

Minnesota State Highway 219 Minnesota State Highway 219 (MN 219) is a highway A highway is any public or private road or other public way on land. It is used for major roads, but also includes other public roads and public tracks. In some areas of the United States, it ...

* Pennington County State-Aid Highway 3: Major connector between Pennington County and

Grand Forks Grand Forks is the third-largest city in the state of North Dakota (after Fargo and Bismarck) and the county seat of Grand Forks County. According to the 2020 census, the city's population was 59,166. Grand Forks, along with its twin city ...

. Connects with Polk County State-Aid Highway 21. * Pennington County State-Aid Highway 17: Connects

to the

Airport An airport is an aerodrome with extended facilities, mostly for commercial air transport. Airports usually consists of a landing area, which comprises an aerially accessible open space including at least one operationally active surfa ...

* Pennington County State-Aid Highway 10: Major route, also known as

Pembina Trail The Pembina Trail was a 19th century trail used by Métis and European settlers to travel between Fort Garry and Fort Pembina in what is today the Canadian province of Manitoba and U.S. state of North Dakota. The trail followed the west bank of the ...

* Pennington County State-Aid Highway 16: US 59

Truck Bypass A truck bypass is a roadway that provides physical separation of trucks from passenger vehicles at a freeway interchange in order to eliminate weaving between passenger cars traveling at higher speeds and trucks traveling at lower speeds. Typ ...

, connects US 59 / MN 1 on the west side of town to MN 32 on the south side of town * Pennington County State-Aid Highways 27 & 28: Designated and designed for heavy truck traffic connecting

US 2 U.S. Route 2 or U.S. Highway 2 (US 2) is an east–west U.S. Highway spanning across the northern continental United States. US 2 consists of two segments connected by various roadways in southern Canada. Unlike some routes, whi ...

Roseau County Roseau County () (pronounced row - so) is a county in the northwestern part of the U.S. state of Minnesota, along the Canada–US border. As of the 2020 census, the population was 15,331. Its county seat is Roseau. Roseau County borders the ...

and Marshall County

Airports

* Thief River Falls Regional Airport

Adjacent counties

* Marshall County - north *

- east * Clearwater County - southeast * Red Lake County - south * Polk County - west

Protected areas

* Higinbotham State Wildlife Management Area * Pembina State Wildlife Management Area

Demographics

2000 census

As of the 2000 census, there were 13,584 people, 5,525 households, and 3,552 families in the county. The

population density Population density (in agriculture: 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 term.Matt RosenberPopu ...

was 22.0/sqmi (8.50/km²). There were 6,033 housing units at an average density of 9.78.sqmi (3.78/km²). The racial makeup of the county was 97.02%

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 ...

, 0.21%

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 ha ...

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 ...

, 0.82% Native American, 0.59% Asian, 0.04%

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 ...

, 0.51% from other races, and 0.81% from two or more races. 1.24% 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 for ...

or Latino of any race. 49.0% were of

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 ...

, 15.4%

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 ...

and 7.2% Swedish ancestry. There were 5,525 households, out of which 30.60% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 51.70% were

married couples Marriage, also called matrimony or wedlock, is a culturally and often legally recognized union between people called spouses. It establishes rights and obligations between them, as well as between them and their children, and between ...

living together, 9.10% had a female householder with no husband present, and 35.70% were non-families. 29.50% of all households were made up of individuals, and 12.60% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.38 and the average family size was 2.95. The county population contained 24.50% under the age of 18, 10.30% from 18 to 24, 26.50% from 25 to 44, 22.90% from 45 to 64, and 15.80% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 38 years. For every 100 females there were 97.50 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 94.60 males. The median income for a household in the county was $34,216, and the median income for a family was $43,936. Males had a median income of $30,771 versus $21,078 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 $17,346. About 7.70% of families and 11.10% 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 ...

, including 10.70% of those under age 18 and 14.80% of those age 65 or over.

2020 Census

Communities

Cities

* Goodridge * St. Hilaire *

(county seat)

Unincorporated communities

* Dakota Junction * Erie *

Hazel The hazel (''Corylus'') is a genus of deciduous trees and large shrubs native to the temperate Northern Hemisphere. The genus is usually placed in the birch family Betulaceae,Germplasmgobills Information Network''Corylus''Rushforth, K. (1999). ...

* Highlanding * Kratka * Mavie * River Valley

Townships

* Black River Township * Bray Township * Clover Leaf Township * Deer Park Township * Goodridge Township * Hickory Township * Highlanding Township * Kratka Township * Mayfield Township * Norden Township * North Township * Numedal Township * Polk Centre Township * Reiner Township * River Falls Township * Rocksbury Township * Sanders Township * Silverton Township * Smiley Township * Star Township * Wyandotte Township

Politics

Pennington County has a fairly balanced voting record but has tended to vote Republican in recent decades. In 60% of national elections since 1980 the county selected the Republican Party candidate (as of 2020).

References

{{authority control Minnesota counties 1910 establishments in Minnesota Populated places established in 1910