Lake 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 10,905. 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 Two Harbors.

History

Prior to the arrival of Europeans, the area had long been inhabited by Native American groups. At the time of European contact, the principal Native American groups in the region were the Dakota (Sioux) and

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 ...

(also called Anishinabe or Chippewa). The economy of these groups was based on hunting, fishing and gathering, with wild rice being of particular importance. The first Europeans to explore the area were the French in the late 17th century who were followed by trappers, fur traders,

missionaries A missionary is a member of a religious group who is sent into an area in order to promote its faith or provide services to people, such as education, literacy, social justice, health care, and economic development.Thomas Hale 'On Being a Miss ...

, and explorers. The

Wisconsin Territory The Territory of Wisconsin was an organized and incorporated territory of the United States that existed from July 3, 1836, until May 29, 1848, when an eastern portion of the territory was admitted to the Union as the State of Wisconsin. Belm ...

was established by the Federal Government effective July 3, 1836, and existed until its eastern portion was granted statehood (as

Wisconsin Wisconsin ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the Great Lakes region, Great Lakes region of the Upper Midwest of the United States. It borders Minnesota to the west, Iowa to the southwest, Illinois to the south, Lake Michigan to the east, Michig ...

) in 1848. Therefore, the Federal Government set up the Minnesota 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, Itasca, had its eastern section partitioned off on February 20, 1855, into two new counties: the western part was designated Newton and the eastern part was named Superior County. The territorial legislature returned to the matter on March 3, changing Superior County to Saint Louis County. Then on March 1, 1856, the county name was again changed, to Lake County, and the "Saint Louis County" name was given to the previous Newton County. With the new name came the designation of county seat at Beaver Bay, which had first been platted in 1856. The county's boundaries were altered in 1874, when its eastern part was partitioned off to create

Cook County Cook County is the most populous county in the U.S. state of Illinois and the second-most-populous county in the United States, after Los Angeles County, California. More than 40 percent of all residents of Illinois live within Cook County. ...

. In 1868,

iron ore Iron ores are rocks and minerals from which metallic iron can be economically extracted. The ores are usually rich in iron oxides and vary in color from dark grey, bright yellow, or deep purple to rusty red. The iron is usually found in the f ...

was discovered on the Vermilion Range by George Stuntz. A spur of the Duluth and Iron Range Railroad was extended to the

Lake Superior Lake Superior is the largest freshwater lake in the world by surface areaThe Caspian Sea is the largest lake, but is saline, not freshwater. Lake Michigan–Huron has a larger combined surface area than Superior, but is normally considered tw ...

shore, and a settlement quickly sprang up at the terminus. This settlement was incorporated as a village ( Two Harbors) on March 9, 1888, and that same year a vote was taken to transfer the county seat from Beaver Bay to Two Harbors (1888).

Commercial fishing Commercial fishing is the activity of catching fish and other seafood for Commerce, commercial Profit (economics), profit, mostly from wild fisheries. It provides a large quantity of food to many countries around the world, but those who practice ...

on Lake Superior became important during the late 1880s, spurred by the arrival of Swedish and Norwegian immigrants to the North Shore. In 1890, the Merritt brothers discovered the

Mesabi Range The Mesabi Iron Range is a mining district and mountain range in northeastern Minnesota following an elongate trend containing large deposits of iron ore. It is the largest of four major iron ranges in the region collectively known as the Iro ...

. The Two Harbors Lighthouse was built on Agate Bay in 1892. Ten years later, five Two Harbors businessmen signed the

articles of incorporation Article often refers to: * Article (grammar), a grammatical element used to indicate definiteness or indefiniteness * Article (publishing), a piece of nonfictional prose that is an independent part of a publication Article(s) may also refer to: ...

for a new

mining Mining is the Resource extraction, extraction of valuable geological materials and minerals from the surface of the Earth. Mining is required to obtain most materials that cannot be grown through agriculture, agricultural processes, or feasib ...

company named 3M. Today, 3M Corporation has over 70,000 employees worldwide and produces more than 50,000

adhesive Adhesive, also known as glue, cement, mucilage, or paste, is any non-metallic substance applied to one or both surfaces of two separate items that binds them together and resists their separation. The use of adhesives offers certain advantage ...

household products, now has its headquarters in

Saint Paul Paul, also named Saul of Tarsus, commonly known as Paul the Apostle and Saint Paul, was a Christian apostle ( AD) who spread the teachings of Jesus in the first-century world. For his contributions towards the New Testament, he is generally ...

. In 1906, the Court House, which stands to this day, was built. In 1907, one of the nation's first

steel Steel is an alloy of iron and carbon that demonstrates improved mechanical properties compared to the pure form of iron. Due to steel's high Young's modulus, elastic modulus, Yield (engineering), yield strength, Fracture, fracture strength a ...

ore Ore is natural rock or sediment that contains one or more valuable minerals, typically including metals, concentrated above background levels, and that is economically viable to mine and process. The grade of ore refers to the concentration ...

docks was built in Two Harbors. In 1944, one of the first

HMO In the United States, a health maintenance organization (HMO) is a medical insurance group that provides health services for a fixed annual fee. It is an organization that provides or arranges managed care for health insurance, self-funded heal ...

s in the

United States The United States of America (USA), also known as the United States (U.S.) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It is a federal republic of 50 U.S. state, states and a federal capital district, Washington, D.C. The 48 ...

was created in Lake County to serve

railroad Rail transport (also known as train transport) is a means of transport using wheeled vehicles running in railway track, tracks, which usually consist of two parallel steel railway track, rails. Rail transport is one of the two primary means of ...

employees. A second iron ore boom took place in the 1950s with the development of the

taconite Taconite () is a variety of banded iron formation, an iron-bearing (over 15% iron) sedimentary rock, in which the iron minerals are interlayered with quartz, chert, or carbonate. The name ''taconyte'' was coined by Horace Vaughn Winchell (1865– ...

beneficiation process for turning lean, low-grade iron ore into a shippable product. In 2021, the Greenwood Fire burned over 10,500 acres of the county southwest of Isabella, beginning near Greenwood Lake.

Geography

Lake County lies on the north side of Minnesota. Its north border abuts the south border of the province of

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 ...

, Canada, and its south border is formed by

. However, the Canadian border is inaccessible from Lake County due to the heavily wooded terrain of the

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 ...

and rugged terrain in the northern part of the county. Its terrain consists of rolling mountains and hills, heavily wooded, and dotted with lakes and ponds; which makes any border crossing to Canada from the county impossible, but the Canadian border can be accessed through

Grand Portage Grand Portage National Monument is a United States National Monument located on the north shore of Lake Superior in northeastern Minnesota that preserves a vital center of fur trade activity and Anishinaabeg Ojibwe heritage. The area became on ...

, International Falls or Baudette.Lake County MN Google Maps (accessed April 23, 2019)
/ref> The terrain slopes both ways from a crestline that runs from its northeast line to its southwest line; the county's highest point is Stony Tower Hill at 2,301' ASL. The county has a total area of , of which is land and (29%) is water. It is the fifth-largest county in Minnesota by area. Lake County is located in the Arrowhead Region of Northeastern Minnesota.

Major highways

* Minnesota State Highway 1 *

Minnesota State Highway 61 Minnesota State Highway 61 (MN 61) is a highway in northeast Minnesota, which runs from a junction with Interstate 35 (I-35) in Duluth at 26th Avenue East, and continues northeast to its northern terminus at the Canadian border near Grand Po ...

* Minnesota State Highway 169 * '' List of county roads''

Adjacent counties

* Rainy River District, Ontario - north *

- east * St. Louis County - west *

Ashland County, Wisconsin Ashland County is a county located in the U.S. state of Wisconsin. As of the 2020 census, the population was 16,027. Its county seat is Ashland. The county was formed on March 27, 1860, from La Pointe County. The county partly overlaps with ...

- southeast (across Lake Superior) *

Bayfield County, Wisconsin Bayfield County is a county located in the U.S. state of Wisconsin. As of the 2020 census, its population is 16,220. Its county seat is Washburn. The county was created in 1845 and organized in 1850. The Red Cliff Band of Lake Superior Chip ...

- south (across Lake Superior) *

Douglas County, Wisconsin Douglas County is a county in the northwest corner of the U.S. state of Wisconsin. As of the 2020 census, the population was 44,295 Its county seat is Superior. Douglas County is included in the Duluth, MN-WI Metropolitan Statistical Area ...

- south (across Lake Superior) * Saint Louis County - west

Protected areas

* Finland State Forest * George H. Crosby Manitou State Park * Gooseberry Falls State Park * Sand Lake Peatland Scientific and Natural Area * Split Rock Lighthouse State Park *

(part) **

Boundary Waters Canoe Area Wilderness The Boundary Waters Canoe Area Wilderness (BWCAW or BWCA) comprises of pristine forests, glacial lakes, and streams in the Superior National Forest. Located entirely within the U.S. state of Minnesota at the Boundary Waters, the wilderness are ...

(part) *

Tettegouche State Park Tettegouche State Park ( ) is a Minnesota List of Minnesota state parks, state park on the North Shore (Lake Superior), north shore of Lake Superior northeast of Duluth, Minnesota, Duluth in Lake County, Minnesota, Lake County on scenic Minneso ...

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 11,058 people, 4,646 households, and 3,140 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 6,840 housing units at an average density of . The racial makeup of the county was 97.99%

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 ...

, 0.10%

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 ...

, 0.70% Native American, 0.18% Asian, 0.01%

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 ...

, 0.14% from other races, and 0.88% from two or more races. 0.57% 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. 22.3% were of Norwegian, 17.8%

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 ...

, 14.3% Swedish, 8.4% Finnish, 6.3% Irish and 5.4% English ancestry. There were 4,646 households, out of which 27.10% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 57.80% 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, 6.60% had a female householder with no husband present, and 32.40% were non-families. 28.00% of all households were made up of individuals, and 12.70% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.32 and the average family size was 2.83. The county population contained 22.30% under the age of 18, 6.60% from 18 to 24, 24.50% from 25 to 44, 26.70% from 45 to 64, and 20.00% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 43 years. For every 100 females there were 99.70 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 99.60 males. The median income for a household in the county was $40,402, and the median income for a family was $46,980. Males had a median income of $39,719 versus $26,500 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 $19,761. About 5.50% of families and 7.40% 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 9.40% of those under age 18 and 5.70% of those age 65 or over.

Government and politics

Lake County has a historic Democratic/Labor lean. It was the top county for

Socialist Party of America The Socialist Party of America (SPA) was a socialist political party in the United States formed in 1901 by a merger between the three-year-old Social Democratic Party of America and disaffected elements of the Socialist Labor Party of America ...

candidate Eugene V. Debs in 1908, 1912, and 1920. The last Republican to carry the county was

Herbert Hoover Herbert Clark Hoover (August 10, 1874 – October 20, 1964) was the 31st president of the United States, serving from 1929 to 1933. A wealthy mining engineer before his presidency, Hoover led the wartime Commission for Relief in Belgium and ...

in his failed run for re-election in 1932 against

Franklin D. Roosevelt Franklin Delano Roosevelt (January 30, 1882April 12, 1945), also known as FDR, was the 32nd president of the United States, serving from 1933 until his death in 1945. He is the longest-serving U.S. president, and the only one to have served ...

, although in the 1932 election Socialist

Norman Thomas Norman Mattoon Thomas (November 20, 1884 – December 19, 1968) was an American Presbyterian religious minister, minister, political activist, and perennial candidate for president. He achieved fame as a socialism, socialist and pacifism, pacifis ...

received 19.32% of the county's vote, one of the highest percentages in the country. Ironically, Lake County was the only county in Minnesota to vote for Hoover in 1932, despite going on to give Roosevelt his largest percentage in the state in 1936 and continuing to vote staunchly Democratic through 2012. However, in recent elections, the county has become more competitive. In 2016, while Lake County was the whitest county in the entire country to vote for Democrat

Hillary Clinton Hillary Diane Rodham Clinton ( Rodham; born October 26, 1947) is an American politician, lawyer and diplomat. She was the 67th United States secretary of state in the administration of Barack Obama from 2009 to 2013, a U.S. senator represent ...

over Republican

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 ...

, Clinton became the first and only Democrat to fail to obtain a majority of the county’s vote since 1932. Furthermore, Trump got the highest percentage of the vote of any Republican since 1928, and went on to further increase his vote share in 2020 and held

Joe Biden Joseph Robinette Biden Jr. (born November 20, 1942) is an American politician who was the 46th president of the United States from 2021 to 2025. A member of the Democratic Party (United States), Democratic Party, he served as the 47th vice p ...

to under 51% of the county's vote. Trump came within 145 votes of winning Lake County in 2016, was within 254 votes of winning it in 2020, and within 269 votes in 2024, becoming the only Republican since 1932 to even come within 1,000 votes of winning the county.

Communities

Cities

* Beaver Bay * Silver Bay * Two Harbors (county seat)

Census-designated place

Finland Finland, officially the Republic of Finland, is a Nordic country in Northern Europe. It borders Sweden to the northwest, Norway to the north, and Russia to the east, with the Gulf of Bothnia to the west and the Gulf of Finland to the south, ...

Unincorporated communities

* Alger * Castle Danger * Cramer * East Beaver Bay *

Highland Highlands or uplands are areas of high elevation such as a mountainous region, elevated mountainous plateau or high hills. Generally, ''upland'' refers to a range of hills, typically from up to , while ''highland'' is usually reserved for range ...

(Marcy) * Illgen City * Isabella *

Knife River The Knife River is a tributary of the Missouri River, approximately 120 mi (193 km) long, in North Dakota in the United States. Knife is an English translation of the Native American name. It rises in west central North Dakota, in ...

* Larsmont * Lax Lake * Little Marais * McNair * Murphy City * Sawbill Landing * Section Thirty * Silver Creek * Stewart * Toimi * Waldo *

Wales Wales ( ) is a Countries of the United Kingdom, country that is part of the United Kingdom. It is bordered by the Irish Sea to the north and west, England to the England–Wales border, east, the Bristol Channel to the south, and the Celtic ...

Ghost towns

* Avon * Avoy * Beaver * Britton * Buell * Case * Clark * Crystal * Darby Junction * Drummond * Eclfo * Emetta * Fernburg Tower * Forest Center * Freedom * Green * Greenwood Junction * Howlett * Jordan * Kent * London * Malmota (Marmata) * Maple * Marble Lake * Moose * Morris * Murfin * Nigadoo * Norshore Junction * North Branch * Riblet * Scott Junction * Silver * Splitrock * Stafford * Summit * Swift * Thomas * Wanless * Westover * Whyte * Wolf * York

Townships

* Beaver Bay Township * Crystal Bay Township * Fall Lake Township * Silver Creek Township * Stony River Township

Unorganized territories

* Lake No. 1 * Lake No. 2

References

External links

County website

Lake County Visitor Information Website
* Mn/DOT – maps of Lake County
Southern portionCentral portionNorthern portion
{{authority control Minnesota counties 1856 establishments in Minnesota Territory Populated places established in 1856