Aitkin 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 15,697. 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 Aitkin. Part of the

Mille Lacs Indian Reservation Mille Lacs Indian Reservation is the popular name for the land-base for the Mille Lacs Band of Ojibwe in Central Minnesota, about 100 miles (160 km) north of Minneapolis-St. Paul. The contemporary Mille Lacs Band reservation has significan ...

is in the county. The county was created in 1857 and organized in 1871.

History

Aitkin County was established in 1857 as ''Aiken County''. The current spelling was adopted in 1872. It was named for

William Alexander Aitken William Alexander Aitken, also known as William Alexander Aitkin (–1851), was a fur trader with the Ojibwe in the Upper Mississippi region. He was at first affiliated with the American Fur Company, founded by John Jacob Astor, but after 18 ...

, a fur trader for the

American Fur Company The American Fur Company (AFC) was a prominent American company that sold furs, skins, and buffalo robes. It was founded in 1808 by John Jacob Astor, a German Americans, German immigrant to the United States. During its heyday in the early 19th c ...

, under

John Jacob Astor John Jacob Astor (born Johann Jakob Astor; July 17, 1763 – March 29, 1848) was a German-born American businessman, merchant, real estate mogul, and investor. Astor made his fortune mainly in a fur trade monopoly, by exporting History of opiu ...

. Formed from

Ramsey Ramsey may refer to: Companies *Ramsey (retailer), Turkish clothing retailer People * Ramsey (given name), including a list of people with the given name * Ramsey (surname), including a list of people with the surname * Baron de Ramsey, a title i ...

and

Pine A pine is any conifer tree or shrub in the genus ''Pinus'' () of the family Pinaceae. ''Pinus'' is the sole genus in the subfamily Pinoideae. ''World Flora Online'' accepts 134 species-rank taxa (119 species and 15 nothospecies) of pines as cu ...

counties, Aiken County originally consisted of the 17

townships A township is a form of human settlement or administrative subdivision. Its exact definition varies among countries. Although the term is occasionally associated with an urban area, this tends to be an exception to the rule. In Australia, Canad ...

closest to

Mille Lacs Lake Mille Lacs Lake ( , also called Lake Mille Lacs or Mille Lacs) is a large, shallow lake in the U.S. state of Minnesota. It is located in the counties of Mille Lacs, Aitkin, and Crow Wing, roughly north of the Minneapolis-St. Paul metropol ...

. It acquired outlands of Ramsey, Itasca and Pine Counties to its north and east. It was organized in 1871, taking up lands from

Cass Cass may refer to: People and fictional characters * Cass (surname), a list of people * Cass (given name), a list of people and fictional characters * Big Cass, ring name of wrestler William Morrissey * Cass, in British band Skunk Anansie * Cass, ...

and Itasca Counties and losing a point in the southwestern corner to Crow Wing County to form its current boundaries.

Geography

The

Mississippi River The Mississippi River is the main stem, primary river of the largest drainage basin in the United States. It is the second-longest river in the United States, behind only the Missouri River, Missouri. From its traditional source of Lake Ita ...

flows southward through the west central part of the county. The county terrain consists of wooded rolling hills, dotted with lakes and ponds.''Aitkin County MN'' Google Maps (accessed March 4, 2019)
/ref> The terrain slopes to the south; its highest point is Quadna Mountain, south-southeast of Hill City, at ASL. Otherwise the highest terrain is near its northwestern corner, at ASL. The county has a total area of , of which is land and (8.7%) is water.

Major highways

* U.S. Highway 2 *

U.S. Highway 169 U.S. Route 169 (US 169) is a north-south U.S highway that currently runs for 966 miles (1,555 km) from the city of Virginia, Minnesota, to Tulsa, Oklahoma, at Memorial Drive. Route description Oklahoma US 169 is a major north–sou ...

Minnesota State Highway 18 Minnesota State Highway 18 (MN 18) is a highway in east-central Minnesota, which runs from its intersection with State Highway 25 in Brainerd and continues east to its eastern terminus at its intersection with State Highway 23 in Finlayson ...

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 47 (MN 47) is a highway in east–central Minnesota, which runs from its intersection with ''Central Avenue'' ( State Highway 65) in Minneapolis and continues north to its northern terminus at its intersection with U.S ...

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 200 Minnesota State Highway 200 (MN 200) is a highway in northwest and northeast Minnesota, which runs from North Dakota Highway 200 at the North Dakota state line near Halstad, and continues east to its eastern terminus at its intersection w ...

Minnesota State Highway 210 Minnesota State Highway 210 (MN 210) is a state highway in west-central, central, and northeast Minnesota, which runs from North Dakota Highway 210 (ND 210) at the North Dakota state line (at Breckenridge), and continues east to its e ...

Adjacent counties

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 ...

- north * Saint Louis County - northeast * Carlton County - east *

Pine County Pine County is a county in the U.S. state of Minnesota. As of the 2020 census, the population was 28,876. Its county seat is Pine City. The county was formed in 1856 and organized in 1872. Today, Pine County is the fastest growing county in ...

- southeast * Kanabec County - south * Mille Lacs County - southwest *

Crow Wing County Crow Wing County is a county in the East Central part of the U.S. state of Minnesota. As of the 2020 census, the population was 66,123. Its county seat is Brainerd. The county was formed in 1857, and was organized in 1870. Crow Wing County i ...

- west * Cass County - northwest

Protected areas

* Grayling State Wildlife Management Area * Hill River State Forest * Kimberly State Wildlife Management Area * McGregor Marsh Scientific and Natural Area * Rice Lake National Wildlife Refuge * Ripple River State Wildlife Management Area * Salo Marsh State Wildlife Management Area *

Savanna Portage State Park Savanna Portage State Park is a state park in the U.S. State of Minnesota established in 1961 to preserve the historic Savanna Portage, a difficult trail connecting the watersheds of the Mississippi River and Lake Superior. The portage trail cr ...

* Snake River County Park * Solana State Forest

Climate and weather

In recent years, average temperatures in the county seat of Aitkin have ranged from a low of in January to a high of in July, although a record low of was recorded in January 1972 and a record high of was recorded in August 1976. Although these records are the official records, temperatures above has been detected numerous times throughout Aitkin County and surrounding areas. Average monthly precipitation ranged from in February to in June.

Demographics

2020 census

2010 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 2010, there were 16,202 people, 7,542 households, and 4,458 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 16,626 housing units at an average density of . The racial makeup of the county was 95.63% or 15,494 people

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 ...

, 0.35% or 57 people

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 ...

, 2.4% or 390 people

Native American Native Americans or Native American usually refers to Native Americans in the United States. Related terms and peoples include: Ethnic groups * Indigenous peoples of the Americas, the pre-Columbian peoples of North, South, and Central America ...

, 0.17% or 27 people Asian, 0.025% or 4 people

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 ...

, 0.13% or 21 people from

other races Other often refers to: * Other (philosophy), a concept in psychology and philosophy Other or The Other may also refer to: Film and television * ''The Other'' (1913 film), a German silent film directed by Max Mack * ''The Other'' (1930 film), ...

, and 1.29% or 209 people from two or more races. Of the population with two or more races, 0.9% 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. 29.5% were of

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% Norwegian, 13.0%

Swedish Swedish or ' may refer to: Anything from or related to Sweden, a country in Northern Europe. Or, specifically: * Swedish language, a North Germanic language spoken primarily in Sweden and Finland ** Swedish alphabet, the official alphabet used by ...

, 6.2% Irish, 5.3%

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 ...

or American and 5.2% Finnish ancestry. There were 6,644 households, out of which 22.60% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 57.50% 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, 6.30% had a female householder with no husband present, and 32.90% were non-families. 28.70% of all households were made up of individuals, and 14.00% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.28 and the average family size was 2.76. The county population contained 20.90% under the age of 18, 5.50% from 18 to 24, 21.60% from 25 to 44, 29.10% from 45 to 64, and 23.00% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 46 years. For every 100 females there were 101.60 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 99.90 males. The median income for a household in the county was $44,139, and the median income for a family was $58,290. Males had a median income of $51,604 versus $30,633 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 $21,848. About 5.20% of families and 7.60% 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 15.50% of those under age 18 and 11.00% of those age 65 or over.

Communities

Cities

* Aitkin * Hill City *

McGrath McGrath or MacGrath derives from the Irish surname Mac Craith and is occasionally noted with a space: e.g. Izzy Mc Grath. In Ireland, it is pronounced "Mack Grah" "Mick Grah" or "Ma Grah". In Australia and New Zealand it is pronounced ''MuhGrah''. ...

McGregor McGregor may refer to: People * McGregor (surname) * Clan MacGregor, a Scottish highland clan * McGregor W. Scott (born 1962), U.S. attorney Places in Canada: * McGregor Lake, Alberta; a lake * McGregor, British Columbia * McGregor Plateau, Nec ...

Palisade A palisade, sometimes called a stakewall or a paling, is typically a row of closely placed, high vertical standing tree trunks or wooden or iron stakes used as a fence for enclosure or as a defensive wall. Palisades can form a stockade. Etymo ...

Tamarack ''Larix laricina'', commonly known as the tamarack, hackmatack, eastern larch, black larch, red larch, or American larch, is a species of larch native to Canada, from eastern Yukon and Inuvik, Northwest Territories east to Newfoundland, and als ...

Townships

* Aitkin Township * Ball Bluff Township * Balsam Township * Beaver Township * Clark Township * Cornish Township * Farm Island Township * Fleming Township * Glen Township * Haugen Township * Hazelton Township * Hill Lake Township * Idun Township * Jevne Township * Kimberly Township * Lakeside Township * Lee Township * Libby Township * Logan Township * Macville Township * Malmo Township * McGregor Township * Millward Township * Morrison Township * Nordland Township * Pliny Township * Rice River Township * Salo Township * Seavey Township * Shamrock Township * Spalding Township * Spencer Township * Turner Township * Verdon Township * Wagner Township * Waukenabo Township * Wealthwood Township * White Pine Township * Williams Township * Workman Township

Unorganized territories

* Davidson * Jewett * Northeast Aitkin * Northwest Aitkin

Unincorporated communities

* Arthyde * Ball Bluff * Bennettville * Cutler * Dads Corner * East Lake (''Minisinaakwaang'') *

Giese Giese is a German surname. Since the mid-19th century, people with this name have migrated throughout the world and now form an extensive diaspora in countries such as the United States and Australia, where they have lived for several generations. ...

Glen A glen is a valley, typically one that is long and bounded by gently sloped concave sides, unlike a ravine, which is deep and bounded by steep slopes. The word is Goidelic in origin: ''gleann'' in Irish and Scottish Gaelic, ''glion'' in Manx. ...

* Glory * Hassman * Haypoint * Jacobson * Kimberly * Lawler *

Libby Libby as a feminine given name is typically a diminutive form of Elizabeth, which is less commonly spelled 'Libbie' or ' Libi'. In recent years, it has been used as a shortened version of the name Liberty. The name means ''my heart'' in Hebrew. I ...

* Malmo * Minnewawa * Nichols * Rabey * Red Top *

Ronald Ronald is a masculine given name derived from the Old Norse ''Rögnvaldr'',#H2, Hanks; Hardcastle; Hodges (2006) p. 234; #H1, Hanks; Hodges (2003) § Ronald. or possibly from Old English ''Regenweald''. In some cases ''Ronald'' is an Anglicised ...

* Rossburg * Sandy Lake (''Gaa-mitaawangaagamaag'') * Sheshebee * Shovel Lake * Swatara *

Thor Thor (from ) is a prominent list of thunder gods, god in Germanic paganism. In Norse mythology, he is a hammer-wielding æsir, god associated with lightning, thunder, storms, sacred trees and groves in Germanic paganism and mythology, sacred g ...

* Waukenabo * Wealthwood

Government and politics

Aitkin County voters have selected the Democratic Party candidate in 62.5% of national elections since 1960, as of 2020. Recent presidential elections have shifted to the Republican Party, with their candidate winning five of the last six elections as of

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 ...

and their lone loss in that span coming by just 6 votes.

References

External links

Aitkin 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 of Aitkin County
southern portionnorthern portion

Records
{{Coord, 46.61, -93.41, display=title, type:adm2nd_region:US-MN_source:UScensus1990 Minnesota counties 1871 establishments in Minnesota Minnesota counties on the Mississippi River