Mille Lacs 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 East Central 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 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 26,459. 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 Milaca. The county was founded in 1857, and its boundary was expanded in 1860. Mille Lacs County is included in the

Minneapolis Minneapolis is a city in Hennepin County, Minnesota, United States, and its county seat. With a population of 429,954 as of the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, it is the state's List of cities in Minnesota, most populous city. Locat ...

- St. Paul Metropolitan Statistical Area. A portion of the Mille Lacs Indian Reservation is in the county.

Etymology

The name ''Mille Lacs'', meaning "thousand lakes" in French, was associated with Mille Lacs Lake in the region. (Its full name in French was ''Grand lac du pays des mille lacs''.) This is the largest lake in the Brainerd Lakes Area, which French colonists and traders called the "Region of the Thousand Lakes" (''Pays des mille lacs'').

History

The US legislature established the Wisconsin Territory effective July 3, 1836. It 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. The federal government set up the Minnesota Territory from the remaining territory effective March 3, 1849. The newly organized territorial legislature created nine counties across the territory in October of that year. On May 23, 1857, one of those original counties, Benton, had its eastern portion partitioned off to create Mille Lacs County. The original county consisted of the portion of the contemporary Mille Lacs County east of the west branch of the Rum River and two townships now part of Isanti County, adjacent to Mille Lacs County. In 1858 the 12 townships forming the contemporary southern 10 townships of Mille Lacs County and the two northwestern townships in Isanti County were organized apart from Benton and Mille Lacs Counties to form Monroe County, leaving the northern "Square Top-knot" as Mille Lacs County. In 1860, Monroe and Mille Lacs Counties merged. Shortly thereafter, the two southeastern townships were transferred to Isanti County, forming the county's present boundaries.

Geography

The Rum River flows south through the county, originating from Mille Lacs Lake. It is joined by the West Branch of the Rum River, which rises in northwest Mille Lacs County and flows south-southeast to its confluence with the Rum at Princeton. The county terrain consists of wooded rolling hills, carved by drainages, with open areas devoted to agriculture.Mille Lacs County MN Google Maps (accessed May 3, 2019)
/ref> The terrain slopes to the south and east, with its highest point at from the southwest shoreline of Mille Lacs Lake, in Mille Lacs Kathio State Park. A hill there measures ASL. According to the

United States Census Bureau The United States Census Bureau, officially the Bureau of the Census, is a principal agency of the Federal statistical system, U.S. federal statistical system, responsible for producing data about the American people and American economy, econ ...

, the county has a total area of , of which is land and (16%) is water. Mille Lacs Lake

Major highways

* U.S. Highway 169 * Minnesota State Highway 18 * Minnesota State Highway 23 *

Minnesota State Highway 27 Minnesota State Highway 27 (MN 27) is a state highway in west-central and east-central Minnesota, which runs from its intersection with MN 28 in Browns Valley and continues east to its interchange with Interstate 35 (I-35) in ...

* Minnesota State Highway 47 * Minnesota State Highway 95

Airports

* Milaca Municipal Airport (18Y) - northeast of Milaca * Princeton Municipal Airport (PNM) - southwest of Princeton

Adjacent counties

* Aitkin County - north * Kanabec County - northeast * Isanti County - southeast * Sherburne County - south * Benton County - southwest * Morrison County - west * Crow Wing County - northwest

Protected areas

Sources: * Father Hennepin State Park * Four Brooks State Wildlife Management Area (part) * Kunkel State Wildlife Management Area * Mille Lacs Kathio State Park * Mille Lacs National Wildlife Refuge * Mille Lacs State Wildlife Management Area * Rum River State Forest * Solana State Forest (part)

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 22,330 people, 8,638 households, and 6,003 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 10,467 housing units at an average density of . The racial makeup of the county was 93.55%

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 ...

, 0.27%

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 ...

, 4.68% Native American, 0.21% 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 ...

, 0.22% from other races, and 1.05% from two or more races. 0.96% 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. 31.9% were of German, 14.4% Swedish and 14.2% Norwegian ancestry. There were 8,638 households, out of which 32.20% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 55.50% 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, 9.50% had a female householder with no husband present, and 30.50% were non-families. 25.90% of all households were made up of individuals, and 12.00% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.53 and the average family size was 3.03. The county population contained 27.00% under the age of 18, 7.50% from 18 to 24, 26.90% from 25 to 44, 22.60% from 45 to 64, and 16.10% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 38 years. For every 100 females there were 98.00 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 96.10 males. The median income for a household in the county was $36,977, and the median income for a family was $44,054. Males had a median income of $32,348 versus $22,036 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 $17,656. About 6.70% of families and 9.60% 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 10.90% of those under age 18 and 11.30% of those age 65 or over.

Communities

Cities

* Bock * Foreston * Isle (''Chi-minising'') * Milaca (county seat) * Onamia * Pease * Princeton (partly in Sherburne County) * Wahkon

Census-designated place

* Vineland (''Neyaashiing'')

Unincorporated communities

* Bayview *

Cove A cove is a small bay or coastal inlet. They usually have narrow, restricted entrances, are often circular or oval, and are often situated within a larger bay. Small, narrow, sheltered bays, inlets, creek (tidal), creeks, or recesses in a coast ...

* Estes Brook * Long Siding * Opstead *

Page Page most commonly refers to: * Page (paper), one side of a leaf of paper, as in a book Page, PAGE, pages, or paging may also refer to: Roles * Page (assistance occupation), a professional occupation * Page (servant), traditionally a young m ...

* Woodward Brook

Ghost towns

* Brickton * Burnhelm Siding * Esteville * Freer * Johnsdale * Soule's Crossing * Stirling

Townships

* Bogus Brook Township * Borgholm Township * Bradbury Township * Dailey Township * East Side Township * Greenbush Township * Hayland Township * Isle Harbor Township * Kathio Township * Lewis Township * Milaca Township * Milo Township * Mudgett Township * Onamia Township * Page Township * Princeton Township * South Harbor Township

Politics

Mille Lacs County voters have traditionally voted a balanced ticket, but in the past few decades have become strongly Republican. Since 1980 the county selected the Republican Party candidate in 67% of national elections (as of 2020), and has done so in every election beginning in 2000.

Education

School districts include:
Text list
/ref> * Isle Public School District * Milaca Public School District * Ogilvie Public School District * Onamia Public School District * Princeton Public School District

References

External links

Mille Lacs County government’s 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 ...

map o
Mille Lacs County
{{Coord, 45.93, -93.63, display=title, type:adm2nd_region:US-MN_source:UScensus1990 Minnesota counties 1857 establishments in Minnesota Territory Populated places established in 1857