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Minnesota Counties
There are eighty-seven Counties in Minnesota. On October 27, 1849 nine large Minnesota Counties were created. Among them were Benton, Dahkotah, Itasca, Ramsey, Mahkahta, Pembina, Wabashaw, Washington, and Wahnata. Of those Benton, Dakota, Itasca, Ramsey, Wabasha, and Washington still exist as their original name. With the creation of Kittson County on March 9, 1878, Pembina County no longer existed. When Minnesota was organized as a state, 57 of the present 87 Counties were established. The last county to be created was Lake of the Woods County in 1923Kanabec County, Minnesota
Kanabec County Education, Geography, and History
Kanabec County is a county located in the state of Minnesota. Based on the 2010 census, the population was 16,239. Its county seat is Mora, although the original county seat was Brunswick. The county was founded on March 13, 1858 from Pine County and organized in 1882. It is named after the Ojibwe Ginebig, meaning "Snake," after the Snake River - Kanabecosippi (Ginebigo-ziibi in the modern spelling) - which flows through this county.
Etymology - Origin of Kanabec County Name
Named after the Snake River. Kanabec is the Ojibway word for snake
Demographics:
County QuickFacts: CensusBureau Quick Facts
Kanabec County History
The first recorded history of Kanabec County indicates perhaps that two French fur traders, Radisson and
Groseilliers, and a large band of Huron and Ottawa Indians spent the winter of 1659-1660 on Knife Lake, north of present day Mora. Twenty
years later, Father Hennepin, taken captive by a band of Mille Lacs Sioux in St. Paul, passed through Kanabec County.
In 1837, land including Kanabec County was obtained via a treaty with the Ojibwe Indians and purchased from them for 1 1/3 cents per acre. The
treaty called for the government to make payments to the Ojibwe over the next twenty years. The area contained vast stands of white pine and,
with the existence of the Snake and St. Croix rivers for transportation, loggers were impatient to start harvesting. However, they could not
begin operations until the Ojibwe had been paid. When the treaty was finally ratified by Congress, logging in Kanabec County began.
Logging was Kanabec County' first industry and was conducted in earnest from the 1850' through the early years of the next century. Logs
were floated down the Ann, Knife, Snake and St. Croix rivers to the mills in Stillwater and Winona. The O'Neal Brothers operated a logging
railroad from Knife Lake north to Isle, while the Hersey, Staples & Bean concern built their camp on Millet Rapids and platted the original
town of Brunswick 1 1/2 mile north of its present location.
By the early 1890s, the stands of white pine that were once abundant in the county had been harvested and the lumberjacks had moved on. Land
companies promoted the area as the "Land of Clover" to entice newly arrived immigrants to settle in Kanabec County. Settlers began to clear
the land and are directly responsible for the agricultural economic base that still exists in Kanabec county today. Potatoes became Kanabec
County' first cash crop. Large potato warehouses were built to sort, store and ship the vegetable to markets. In Grasston, a starch factory
was built to handle the surplus produce. There the potatoes were made into starch and shipped to the garment industry on the East Coast.
Kanabec county was established on March 13, 1858, with Brunswick serving as its first county seat. Twenty-five years later, with the arrival
of the railroad, the county seat was moved to Mora.
Geography: Land and Water
As reported by the Census Bureau, the county has a total area of 534 square miles (1,380 km2), of which 522 square miles (1,350 km2) is land and 12 square miles (31 km2) (2.3%) is water.
Neighboring Counties
Bordering counties are as follows:
- Aitkin County (north)
- Pine County (east)
- Chisago County (southeast)
- Isanti County (south)
- Mille Lacs County (west)
Education
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