Koochiching County ( ) is a

county A county () is a geographic region of a country used for administrative or other purposesL. Brookes (ed.) '' Chambers Dictionary''. Edinburgh: Chambers Harrap Publishers Ltd, 2005. in some nations. The term is derived from the Old French denoti ...

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 so ...

Minnesota Minnesota ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the Upper Midwestern region of the United States. It is bordered by the Canadian provinces of Manitoba and Ontario to the north and east and by the U.S. states of Wisconsin to the east, Iowa to the so ...

. As of the 2020 census, the population was 12,062. Its

county seat A county seat is an administrative center, seat of government, or capital city of a county or parish (administrative division), civil parish. The term is in use in five countries: Canada, China, Hungary, Romania, and the United States. An equiva ...

is International Falls. A portion of the Bois Forte Indian Reservation is in the county. A small part of Voyageurs National Park extends into its boundary, with Lake of the Woods County to its northwest.

History

About 10,000 years ago almost 90% of Koochiching County was covered by

Lake Agassiz Lake Agassiz ( ) was a large proglacial lake that existed in central North America during the late Pleistocene, fed by meltwater from the retreating Laurentide Ice Sheet at the end of the last glacial period. At its peak, the lake's area wa ...

. When it receded it left low areas of decayed

vegetation Vegetation is an assemblage of plants and the ground cover they provide. It is a general term, without specific reference to particular Taxon, taxa, life forms, structure, Spatial ecology, spatial extent, or any other specific Botany, botanic ...

(

muskeg Muskeg (; ; , lit. ''moss bog'') is a peat-forming ecosystem found in several northern climates, most commonly in Arctic and boreal ecosystem, boreal areas. Muskeg is approximately synonymous with bogland, bog or peatland, and is a standard te ...

); as a result, three-quarters of northern Koochiching are underlain with 2 to 50 feet of

peat Peat is an accumulation of partially Decomposition, decayed vegetation or organic matter. It is unique to natural areas called peatlands, bogs, mires, Moorland, moors, or muskegs. ''Sphagnum'' moss, also called peat moss, is one of the most ...

. The name "Koochiching" comes from either the

Ojibwe The Ojibwe (; Ojibwe writing systems#Ojibwe syllabics, syll.: ᐅᒋᐺ; plural: ''Ojibweg'' ᐅᒋᐺᒃ) are an Anishinaabe people whose homeland (''Ojibwewaki'' ᐅᒋᐺᐘᑭ) covers much of the Great Lakes region and the Great Plains, n ...

word ''Gojijiing'' or

Cree The Cree, or nehinaw (, ), are a Indigenous peoples of the Americas, North American Indigenous people, numbering more than 350,000 in Canada, where they form one of the country's largest First Nations in Canada, First Nations. They live prim ...

''Kocicīhk'' (recorded in some documents as "Ouchichiq"), both meaning "at the place of inlets," referring to the neighboring

Rainy Lake Rainy Lake ( French: '; Ojibwe: ') is a freshwater lake with a surface area of that straddles the border between the United States and Canada. The Rainy River issues from the west side of the lake. Today it is harnessed to make hydroelectricit ...

and

River A river is a natural stream of fresh water that flows on land or inside Subterranean river, caves towards another body of water at a lower elevation, such as an ocean, lake, or another river. A river may run dry before reaching the end of ...

. Reverend J.A. Gilfillan recorded their meaning, "according to some, Neighbor lake, according to others a lake somewhere," possibly referring to the neighbouring

and to

Lake Couchiching Lake Couchiching ( ; from the Anishinaabe language, Ojibwe ''gojijiing'' meaning "inlet") is a medium-sized lake in Central Ontario, Canada, separated from Lake Simcoe by a narrow channel. Lakes Simcoe and Couchiching are popular spots for fishin ...

located in southern

Ontario Ontario is the southernmost Provinces and territories of Canada, province of Canada. Located in Central Canada, Ontario is the Population of Canada by province and territory, country's most populous province. As of the 2021 Canadian census, it ...

. Early French inhabitants gave the names ''Lac à la Pluie'' (Rainy Lake) and ''Rivière à la Pluie'' (Rainy River) to the nearby bodies of water because of the mist-like rain present at the falls of Rainy River and then to the settlement that became known as International Falls. This area was among the last in Minnesota to be settled. European settlers in Koochiching County started coming in the late 1800's. Some of the last lands were ceded from the Chippewa in a 1904 Land Act. Homesteads were being proven primarily in the 1900-1910 decade. Settlers were lumberjacks and farmers and many other trades, they "suffered through isolation, illness, harsh weather, and poverty... They built schools, churches, and fought for good roads." The county is one of the youngest in the state, having been created in 1906 after separating from

Itasca County Itasca County ( ) is a county located in the Iron Range region of the U.S. state of Minnesota. As of the 2020 census, the population was 45,014. Its county seat is Grand Rapids. The county is named after Lake Itasca, which is in turn a shorte ...

Geography

Koochiching County lies on the northern edge of Minnesota. Its northern border abuts the south border of

Canada Canada is a country in North America. Its Provinces and territories of Canada, ten provinces and three territories extend from the Atlantic Ocean to the Pacific Ocean and northward into the Arctic Ocean, making it the world's List of coun ...

(across the Rainy River). The Rainy River flows west-northwestward along its north border, being fed by several rivers which drain from the county into the Rainy: Rat Root River drains the east central part of the county; Little Fork River flows northward through the eastern part of the county; Big Fork River flows northward through the east-central part of the county; Black River flows northward through the central part of the county; Rapid River and East Fork Rapid River flow north-northwestward through the western part of the county, joining in the northwestern part of the county shortly before exiting the county's west line to discharge into the Rainy, just west of the county's northwestern corner. The county terrain consists of low rolling hills, with swampy areas where

basin was deepest. There are also deposits of

from 1½ to 50 feet in the low areas. The fairly level soil is broken by ledges of

precambrian The Precambrian ( ; or pre-Cambrian, sometimes abbreviated pC, or Cryptozoic) is the earliest part of Earth's history, set before the current Phanerozoic Eon. The Precambrian is so named because it preceded the Cambrian, the first period of t ...

rock.

Bedrock In geology, bedrock is solid rock that lies under loose material ( regolith) within the crust of Earth or another terrestrial planet. Definition Bedrock is the solid rock that underlies looser surface material. An exposed portion of bed ...

in the area includes Ely greenstone and greenstone schists that are said to be among the oldest on the planet.''Koochiching County MN'' Google Maps (accessed March 17, 2019)
/ref> The terrain slopes to the north, with its highest point on the western part of its southern border at ASL. The county has a total area of , of which is land and (1.6%) is water. It is the second-largest county in Minnesota by land area (second to neighboring St. Louis County) and third-largest by total area.

Major highways

* U.S. Highway 53 * U.S. Highway 71 * Minnesota State Highway 1 *

Minnesota State Highway 6 Minnesota State Highway 6 (MN 6) is a highway in east-central and north-central Minnesota, which runs from its intersection with State Highway 18 in Bay Lake Township near Garrison and continues north to its northern terminus at its intersec ...

Minnesota State Highway 11 Minnesota State Highway 11 (MN 11) is a highway in northwest and north-central Minnesota, which runs from North Dakota Highway 66 at the North Dakota state line (near Drayton, North Dakota) and continues east to its eastern terminus at the com ...

* Minnesota State Highway 46 *

Minnesota State Highway 65 Minnesota State Highway 65 (MN 65) is a highway in the east–central and northeast parts of the U.S. state of Minnesota, which starts at its split from Interstate 35W (Minnesota), I-35W, skipping past the downtown Minneapolis core, only to resu ...

* Minnesota State Highway 217

Adjacent counties

* Rainy River District, Ontario - north * Saint Louis County - east *

- south * Beltrami County - southwest * Lake of the Woods County - northwest

Protected areas

Source: * East Rat Root River Scientific and Natural Area * Lost River Peatland Scientific and Natural Area * Myrtle Lake Peatland Scientific and Natural Area * Pine Island State Forest * Smoky Bear State Forest * South Black River Peatland Scientific and Natural Area *

Superior National Forest The Superior National Forest, part of the United States National Forest system, is located in the Arrowhead Region of the U.S. state, state of Minnesota between the Canada–United States border and the North Shore (Lake Superior), north shore o ...

(part) * Voyageurs National Park (part)

Lakes

Source: * Bartlett Lake * Battle Lake * Cameron Lake * Clear Lake * Dark Lake * Franklin Lake * Larson Lake * Little Constance Lake * Little Lake * Lost Lake * Moose Lake * Myrtle Lake * Nett Lake (part) * Pine Lake * Pocquette Lake *

(part) * Rat Root Lake * Seretha Lake * Silversack Lake * Teufer Lake

Demographics

2020 Census

2000 census

As of the

census A census (from Latin ''censere'', 'to assess') is the procedure of systematically acquiring, recording, and calculating population information about the members of a given Statistical population, population, usually displayed in the form of stati ...

of 2000, there were 14,355 people, 6,040 households, and 3,962 families in the county. The

population density Population density (in agriculture: Standing 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 geog ...

was . There were 7,719 housing units at an average density of . The racial makeup of the county was 96.12%

White White is the lightest color and is achromatic (having no chroma). It is the color of objects such as snow, chalk, and milk, and is the opposite of black. White objects fully (or almost fully) reflect and scatter all the visible wa ...

, 0.19%

Black Black is a color that results from the absence or complete absorption of visible light. It is an achromatic color, without chroma, like white and grey. It is often used symbolically or figuratively to represent darkness.Eva Heller, ''P ...

African American African Americans, also known as Black Americans and formerly also called Afro-Americans, are an Race and ethnicity in the United States, American racial and ethnic group that consists of Americans who have total or partial ancestry from an ...

, 2.15% Native American, 0.17% Asian, 0.06%

Pacific Islander Pacific Islanders, Pasifika, Pasefika, Pacificans, or rarely Pacificers are the peoples of the list of islands in the Pacific Ocean, Pacific Islands. As an ethnic group, ethnic/race (human categorization), racial term, it is used to describe th ...

, 0.08% from other races, and 1.23% from two or more races. 0.56% of the population were

Hispanic The term Hispanic () are people, Spanish culture, cultures, or countries related to Spain, the Spanish language, or broadly. In some contexts, Hispanic and Latino Americans, especially within the United States, "Hispanic" is used as an Ethnici ...

or Latino of any race. 21.2% were of Norwegian, 19.8%

German German(s) may refer to: * Germany, the country of the Germans and German things **Germania (Roman era) * Germans, citizens of Germany, people of German ancestry, or native speakers of the German language ** For citizenship in Germany, see also Ge ...

, 12.3% Swedish and 7.0% Irish ancestry. There were 6,040 households, out of which 28.40% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 53.30% were

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

living together, 8.50% had a female householder with no husband present, and 34.40% were non-families. 30.40% of all households were made up of individuals, and 14.50% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.33 and the average family size was 2.88. The county population contained 23.90% under the age of 18, 6.40% from 18 to 24, 25.80% from 25 to 44, 26.00% from 45 to 64, and 18.00% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 42 years. For every 100 females there were 98.50 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 95.20 males. The median income for a household in the county was $36,262, and the median income for a family was $43,608. Males had a median income of $40,642 versus $22,261 for females. The

per capita income Per capita income (PCI) or average income measures the average income earned per person in a given area (city, region, country, etc.) in a specified year. In many countries, per capita income is determined using regular population surveys, such ...

for the county was $19,167. About 8.40% of families and 12.10% 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 16.10% of those under age 18 and 13.40% of those age 65 or over.

Government and politics

From

1932 Events January * January 4 – The British authorities in India arrest and intern Mahatma Gandhi and Vallabhbhai Patel. * January 9 – Sakuradamon Incident (1932), Sakuradamon Incident: Korean nationalist Lee Bong-chang fails in his effort ...

through

1996 1996 was designated as: * International Year for the Eradication of Poverty Events January * January 8 – A Zairean cargo plane crashes into a crowded market in the center of the capital city of the Democratic Republic of the Congo ...

, Koochiching County voters tended Democratic, selecting the Democratic nominee in every election save

Nixon Richard Milhous Nixon (January 9, 1913April 22, 1994) was the 37th president of the United States, serving from 1969 until his resignation in 1974. A member of the Republican Party, he previously served as the 36th vice president under P ...

1972 Within the context of Coordinated Universal Time (UTC) it was the longest year ever, as two leap seconds were added during this 366-day year, an event which has not since been repeated. (If its start and end are defined using Solar time, ...

landslide. In

2000 2000 was designated as the International Year for the Culture of Peace and the World Mathematics, Mathematical Year. Popular culture holds the year 2000 as the first year of the 21st century and the 3rd millennium, because of a tende ...

George W. Bush George Walker Bush (born July 6, 1946) is an American politician and businessman who was the 43rd president of the United States from 2001 to 2009. A member of the Bush family and the Republican Party (United States), Republican Party, he i ...

became the first Republican to carry the county since 1972, despite narrowly losing the overall national popular vote. It returned to the Democratic column in the subsequent three elections, although none of the Democratic nominees in those three elections managed as high a vote share as Mondale in

1984 Events January * January 1 – The Bornean Sultanate of Brunei gains full independence from the United Kingdom, having become a British protectorate in 1888. * January 7 – Brunei becomes the sixth member of the Association of Southeas ...

or Dukakis in 1988. In

2016 2016 was designated as: * International Year of Pulses by the sixty-eighth session of the United Nations General Assembly. * International Year of Global Understanding (IYGU) by the International Council for Science (ICSU), the Internationa ...

Donald Trump Donald John Trump (born June 14, 1946) is an American politician, media personality, and businessman who is the 47th president of the United States. A member of the Republican Party (United States), Republican Party, he served as the 45 ...

became the second Republican since 1972 to carry the county, and carried it again in

2020 The year 2020 was heavily defined by the COVID-19 pandemic, which led to global Social impact of the COVID-19 pandemic, social and Economic impact of the COVID-19 pandemic, economic disruption, mass cancellations and postponements of even ...

, with an increased majority—the first time the county has ever voted Republican two elections in a row. Trump won Koochiching County for a third time in

2024 The year saw the list of ongoing armed conflicts, continuation of major armed conflicts, including the Russian invasion of Ukraine, the Myanmar civil war (2021–present), Myanmar civil war, the Sudanese civil war (2023–present), Sudane ...

, taking nearly 62% of the vote, becoming the first ever Republican to win more than 60% of the county's vote.

Communities

Koochiching County is one of two counties in Minnesota that have no organized

civil township A civil township is a widely used unit of local government in the United States that is subordinate to a County (United States), county, most often in the northern and midwestern parts of the country. The term town is used in New England town, Ne ...

governments within the county (the other is neighboring Lake of the Woods County), due to legislative action taken by the county to absorb existing township governments.

Survey township A survey township, sometimes called a Congressional township or just township, as used by the United States Public Land Survey System and by Canada's Dominion Land Survey is a nominally-square area of land that is nominally six survey miles (a ...

s, as defined by the

Public Land Survey System The Public Land Survey System (PLSS) is the surveying method developed and used in the United States to plat, or divide, real property for sale and settling. Also known as the Rectangular Survey System, it was created by the Land Ordinance of 17 ...

exist but are not organized. Six city governments have been created, and the rest of the county consists of unorganized territories and unincorporated communities.

Cities

Source: * Big Falls * International Falls (county seat; named Koochiching until January 1, 1903) * Littlefork * Mizpah * Northome * Ranier * South International Falls (part of International Falls since 1987)

Unorganized territories

* East Koochiching * Nett Lake * Northome * Northwest Koochiching *

* South Koochiching

Census-designated place

* Nett Lake (part)

Other unincorporated communities

Source: * Birchdale *

Bramble ''Rubus'' is a large and diverse genus of flowering plants in the rose family, Rosaceae, subfamily Rosoideae, most commonly known as brambles. Fruits of various species are known as raspberries, blackberries, dewberries, and bristleberries. I ...

* Central * Craigville * Ericsburg * Forest Grove *

Frontier A frontier is a political and geographical term referring to areas near or beyond a boundary. Australia The term "frontier" was frequently used in colonial Australia in the meaning of country that borders the unknown or uncivilised, th ...

* Gates Corner * Gemmell * Grand Falls *

Indus The Indus ( ) is a transboundary river of Asia and a trans- Himalayan river of South and Central Asia. The river rises in mountain springs northeast of Mount Kailash in the Western Tibet region of China, flows northwest through the dis ...

* Island View * Jameson * Laurel * Lindford * Loman * Manitou *

Margie Margie is a feminine given name, usually a short form (hypocorism) of the related names Margaret, Marjorie, or Margarita, all of which mean "pearl". Margie may refer to: People * Margie Abbott (born 1958), Australian businesswoman * Margie Ac ...

* Nakoda * Pelland * Pinetop *

Rauch Rauch (meaning "smoke" or "fume" in German, perhaps an occupational name for a blacksmith or charcoal burner) may refer to: People with the surname * Adolf von Rauch (born 1798) (1798–1882), German paper manufacturer * Adolf von Rauch (born 1 ...

* Ray * Silverdale * Wildwood

Ghost towns

Source: * Border * Fairland * Falls Junction * Rainy Lake City * Ridge * The Pines * Wayland

In popular culture

Koochiching County is the location of the fictional town of Frostbite Falls, the home of the animated characters

Rocky and Bullwinkle ''Rocky'' is a 1976 American independent sports drama film directed by John G. Avildsen and written by and starring Sylvester Stallone. It is the first installment in the ''Rocky'' franchise and also stars Talia Shire, Burt Young, Carl Weat ...

. Frostbite Falls was probably named in honor of International Falls, since International Falls is often referred to as the nation's icebox.''History of International Falls'' (p. 5) Accessed March 17, 2019
/ref>

References

External links

County website
*

Minnesota Department of Transportation The Minnesota Department of Transportation (MnDOT, ) oversees Transportation in Minnesota, transportation by all modes including land, water, air, rail, walking and bicycling in the U.S. state of Minnesota. The Cabinet (government), cabinet-lev ...

maps
SouthwestSoutheastNorthwestNortheast

(Int'l Falls) {{Authority control Minnesota counties Minnesota placenames of Native American origin 1906 establishments in Minnesota Populated places established in 1906