St. Louis County, Minnesota
|St. Louis County, Minnesota|
St. Louis County Courthouse
Location in the U.S. state of Minnesota
Minnesota's location in the U.S.
|Founded||February 20, 1855|
|Named for||St. Louis River|
|• Total||6,860 sq mi (17,767 km2)|
|• Land||6,247 sq mi (16,180 km2)|
|• Water||612 sq mi (1,585 km2), 8.9%|
|• Density||32/sq mi (12/km²)|
|Time zone||Central: UTC-6/-5|
St. Louis County is a county located in the northeastern part of the U.S. state of Minnesota. As of the 2010 census, the population was 200,226. Its county seat is Duluth. It is the largest county by total area in Minnesota, and the largest in the United States east of the Mississippi River.
Major industries include pulpwood production and tourism. Surface mining of taconite and processing it into high grade iron ore remains an important part of the economy of the Iron Range. Parts of the federally recognized Bois Forte and Fond du Lac Indian reservations are in the county.
- 1 History
- 2 Geography
- 3 Demographics
- 4 Government
- 5 Politics
- 6 Communities
- 7 See also
- 8 References
- 9 External links
This area was long inhabited by Algonquian-speaking tribes: the Ojibwe (Chippewa), Ottawa and Potawatomi peoples were loosely affiliated in the Council of Three Fires. As European-American settlers entered the territory, the Native Americans were pushed to outer areas.
St. Louis County was founded by European Americans on February 20, 1855, as Doty County, and had its name changed to Newton County on March 3, 1855. It originally consisted of the area east and south of the St. Louis River, while the area east of the Vermilion River and north of the St. Louis River was part of Superior County. Superior County was renamed St. Louis County.
On March 1, 1856, that St. Louis County was renamed as Lake County. Newton County was renamed as St. Louis County and had that eastern area added to it; it was also expanded westward by incorporating parts of Itasca County, which then also included most of Carlton County. On May 23, 1857, St. Louis County took its current shape when Carlton County was formed from parts of St. Louis and Pine counties.
According to the U.S. Census Bureau, the county has a total area of 6,860 square miles (17,800 km2), of which 6,247 square miles (16,180 km2) is land and 612 square miles (1,590 km2) (8.9%) is water. By area, it is the largest county in Minnesota and the largest in the U.S. east of the Mississippi River.
St. Louis County is known for its spectacular natural beauty. Voyageurs National Park, established in 1975, is located in its northwestern corner, on the south shore of Rainy Lake on the Canada–US border; it is popular with canoeists, kayakers, other boaters and fishermen. The county also includes parts of Superior National Forest, established in 1909, and the Boundary Waters Canoe Area Wilderness on the border, established in 1978. The BWCAW is a 1,090,000-acre (4,400 km2) wilderness area designated for fishing, camping, hiking, and canoeing, and is one of the most visited wilderness areas in the United States. St. Louis County has more than 500 lakes, including Rainy, Kabetogama, Namakan, Sand Point, and Crane lakes. The largest lakes are Pelican and Vermilion.
The "Hill of Three Waters" on the Laurentian Divide lies northeast of Hibbing. Rain falling on this hill runs to three watersheds: Hudson Bay to the north, the Gulf of Saint Lawrence to the east (via Lake Superior), or the Gulf of Mexico to the south and west (via the Mississippi River). The county is drained by the St. Louis, Vermilion, and other rivers.
- Interstate Highway 35
- Interstate Highway 535 – John Blatnik Bridge
- U.S. Highway 2
- U.S. Highway 53
- U.S. Highway 169
- Minnesota State Highway 1
- Minnesota State Highway 23
- Minnesota State Highway 33
- Minnesota State Highway 37
- Minnesota State Highway 39 – McCuen Street
- Minnesota State Highway 61 – North Shore
- Minnesota State Highway 73
- Minnesota State Highway 135
- Minnesota State Highway 169
- Minnesota State Highway 194
- Minnesota State Highway 210
- St. Louis County Road 4 - Rice Lake Road
- St. Louis County Road 13 – Midway Road
- Rainy River District, Ontario, Canada (north)
- Lake County (east)
- Douglas County, Wisconsin (southeast)
- Carlton County (south)
- Aitkin County (southwest)
- Itasca County (west)
- Koochiching County (northwest)
National protected areas
- Superior National Forest (part)
- Voyageurs National Park (part)
|U.S. Decennial Census
As of the 2010 census, there were 200,226 people residing in the county. The racial makeup of the county was 94.0 White, 2.2% Native American, 0.4% Black or African American, 0.9% Asian, 0.2% of some other race and 2.3% of two or more races. 1.2% were Hispanic or Latino (of any race). According to the 2010–2015 American Community Survey, the ancestral makeup was 24.3% German, 15.9% Norwegian, 13.0% Swedish, and 10.2% Irish.
As of the 2000 census, there were 200,528 people, 82,619 households, and 51,389 families residing in the county. The population density was 32 people per square mile (12/km²). There were 95,800 housing units at an average density of 15 per square mile (6/km²). The racial makeup of the county was 94.86% White, 0.85% Black or African American, 2.03% Native American, 0.66% Asian, 0.03% Pacific Islander, 0.22% from other races, and 1.35% from two or more races. 0.80% of the population were Hispanic or Latino of any race.
27.60% of households included children under the age of 18, 49.30% were married couples living together, 9.40% had a female householder with no husband present, and 37.80% were non-families. 31.20% of all households consisted of individuals and 13.00% of individuals 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.32 and the average family size was 2.90.
The population spread by age was 22.40% under the age of 18, 11.40% from 18 to 24, 25.90% from 25 to 44, 24.30% from 45 to 64, and 16.10% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 39 years. For every 100 females there were 96.80 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 93.80 males.
The median income for a household in the county was $36,306, and the median income for a family was $47,134. Males had a median income of $37,934 versus $24,235 for females. The per capita income for the county was $18,982. About 7.20% of families and 12.10% of the population were below the poverty line, including 13.10% of those under age 18 and 8.90% of those age 65 or over.
Like all counties in Minnesota, St. Louis County is governed by an elected and nonpartisan board of commissioners. In Minnesota, county commissions usually have five members, but St. Louis, Hennepin, and Ramsey counties each have seven members. Each commissioner represents a single-member district of equal population.
The county commission elects a chair who presides at meetings.
Commissioners as of January 2015:
|District||Commissioner||In office since||Current term expires|
|1st||Frank Jewell (chair)||2011||January 7, 2019|
|2nd||Patrick Boyle||2014||January 4, 2021|
|3rd||Beth Olson||2017||January 4, 2021|
|4th||Tom Rukavina||2015||January 7, 2019|
|5th||Pete Stauber||2013||January 4, 2021|
|6th||Keith Nelson||2003||January 7, 2019|
|7th||Mike Jugovich||2017||January 4, 2021|
|Election results from statewide races|
In 2007, St. Louis County considered doing a study about dividing into two counties. This plan was abandoned.
This county is one of the most reliably Democratic counties in the state, as no Republican or independent candidate has won this county in any statewide election since 1992. The only time a Democrat obtained less than 50% of the vote was in 1998, when Jesse Ventura of the Reform ticket won statewide; some 24% of the county voted for him. Since 1992, the only time when a Republican obtained more than 34% of the vote was in the elections of 1994 (year of Republican Revolution) when the incumbent Independent-Republican governor won the statewide vote by a landslide of more than 60%, and when the Independent-Republican senatorial candidate won election with 49% statewide, both of which are rare occurrences in Minnesota.
Democrats have swept St. Louis County in the last 20 consecutive presidential elections. The last Republican candidate to carry the county was Herbert Hoover in 1928, before the Great Depression. In recent elections, Republicans have received about 1/3rd of the county's vote. In 2016, Donald Trump earned 39.7% of the county's vote, while the Democrat vote deteriorated to 51.4%; according to exit polls, this was due to residents' concerns about the decline of mining and forestry in the county.
|2016||39.7% 44,630||51.4% 57,771||8.9% 10,021|
|2012||33.9% 39,131||63.5% 73,378||2.7% 3,085|
|2008||32.6% 38,742||65.1% 77,351||2.3% 2,721|
|2004||33.6% 40,112||65.2% 77,958||1.3% 1,495|
|2000||33.0% 35,420||59.8% 64,237||7.3% 7,807|
|1996||25.5% 25,553||60.6% 60,736||13.9% 13,907|
|1992||22.6% 24,579||56.8% 61,813||20.6% 22,423|
|1988||30.8% 31,799||68.1% 70,344||1.1% 1,094|
|1984||30.3% 34,162||68.8% 77,683||0.9% 1,013|
|1980||29.1% 33,407||60.5% 69,403||10.3% 11,864|
|1976||31.0% 35,331||65.8% 75,040||3.3% 3,704|
|1972||39.8% 41,435||58.7% 61,103||1.6% 1,642|
|1968||25.5% 25,981||71.0% 72,267||3.5% 3,549|
|1964||24.0% 25,246||75.6% 79,529||0.4% 408|
|1960||36.2% 39,620||63.3% 69,270||0.6% 632|
|1956||38.8% 39,902||60.5% 62,190||0.6% 631|
|1952||37.7% 38,900||61.0% 63,032||1.3% 1,354|
|1948||29.3% 28,490||64.3% 62,553||6.4% 6,249|
|1944||29.9% 27,493||68.9% 63,369||1.2% 1,080|
|1940||31.4% 32,243||66.9% 68,620||1.7% 1,760|
|1936||23.9% 22,332||74.2% 69,365||1.9% 1,813|
|1932||41.7% 34,883||48.0% 40,181||10.4% 8,665|
|1928||61.1% 44,331||35.0% 25,401||3.8% 2,785|
|1924||57.3% 37,033||4.0% 2,577||38.7% 25,013|
|1920||57.0% 27,987||30.1% 14,767||13.0% 6,361|
|1916||41.5% 10,834||46.2% 12,056||12.4% 3,234|
|1912||18.6% 3,881||24.5% 5,124||56.9% 11,873|
|1908||66.1% 12,076||24.4% 4,464||9.5% 1,734|
|1904||77.7% 10,375||14.8% 1,972||7.5% 998|
|1900||63.7% 8,851||33.6% 4,667||2.7% 372|
|1896||56.4% 9,810||42.6% 7,412||1.1% 184|
|1892||49.7% 5,157||34.5% 3,586||15.8% 1,640|
St. Louis County is in Minnesota's 8th congressional district. For many years it was represented by Democrat Jim Oberstar, but in 2010 he was defeated after 36 years by Republican Chip Cravaack. Two years later Cravaack was defeated by Rick Nolan, a member of the Democratic Party, who is the current Representative of the 8th district.
- Alango Township
- Alborn Township
- Alden Township
- Angora Township
- Arrowhead Township
- Ault Township
- Balkan Township
- Bassett Township
- Beatty Township
- Biwabik Township
- Breitung Township
- Brevator Township
- Camp 5 Township
- Canosia Township
- Cedar Valley Township
- Cherry Township
- Clinton Township
- Colvin Township
- Cotton Township
- Crane Lake Township
- Culver Township
- Duluth Township
- Eagles Nest Township
- Ellsburg Township
- Elmer Township
- Embarrass Township
- Fairbanks Township
- Fayal Township
- Field Township
- Fine Lakes Township
- Floodwood Township
- Fredenberg Township
- French Township
- Gnesen Township
- Grand Lake Township
- Great Scott Township
- Greenwood Township
- Halden Township
- Industrial Township
- Kabetogama Township
- Kelsey Township
- Kugler Township
- Lakewood Township
- Lavell Township
- Leiding Township
- Linden Grove Township
- McDavitt Township
- Meadowlands Township
- Midway Township
- Morcom Township
- Morse Township
- Ness Township
- New Independence Township
- Normanna Township
- North Star Township
- Northland Township
- Owens Township
- Pequaywan Township
- Pike Township
- Portage Township
- Prairie Lake Township
- Sandy Township
- Solway Township
- Stoney Brook Township
- Sturgeon Township
- Toivola Township
- Van Buren Township
- Vermilion Lake Township
- Waasa Township
- White Township
- Willow Valley Township
- Wuori Township
- Angleworm Lake
- Bear Head Lake
- Birch Lake
- Camp A Lake
- Crab Lake
- Dark River
- Hay Lake
- Heikkala Lake
- Hush Lake
- Janette Lake
- Leander Lake
- Linwood Lake
- Marion Lake
- Mud Hen Lake
- Nett Lake
- Northeast St. Louis
- Northwest St. Louis
- Pfeiffer Lake
- Picket Lake
- Potshot Lake
- Sand Lake
- Slim Lake
- Sturgeon River
- Sunday Lake
- Tikander Lake
- Whiteface Reservoir
- Ash Lake
- Bear River
- Central Lakes
- Clover Valley
- Crane Lake
- Eldes Corner
- Four Corners
- French River
- Gheen Corner
- Island Lake
- Linden Grove
- Meadow Brook
- Sherman Corner
- Side Lake
- Vermilion Dam
- National Register of Historic Places listings in St. Louis County, Minnesota
- Independent School District 2142
- "Minnesota Place Names". Minnesota Historical Society. Retrieved March 19, 2014.
- Chicago and North Western Railway Company (1908). A History of the Origin of the Place Names Connected with the Chicago & North Western and Chicago, St. Paul, Minneapolis & Omaha Railways. p. 164.
- "State & County QuickFacts". United States Census Bureau. Retrieved September 1, 2013.
- Duluth News Tribune September 22, 2004, p. 2B. According to the U.S. Census Bureau, Aroostook County, Maine has a smaller overall area but a greater land area.
- "2010 Census Gazetteer Files". United States Census Bureau. August 22, 2012. Retrieved October 25, 2014.
- Ripley, George; Dana, Charles A., eds. (1879). "Saint Louis. I. A N. E. county of Minnesota". The American Cyclopædia.
- "7 km NE of Hibbing, Minnesota, United States 7/1/1983". Microsoft Research Terraserver. USGS. Archived from the original on November 25, 2012. Retrieved June 17, 2011.
See USGS map sheet "Hibbing Quadrangle", Minnesota-St. Louis county, 7.5 minute series, the "three-way watershed" marker is located at a spot on the hill about 375 meters south of the truck shop on the property of Hibbing Taconite Iron ore mining company.
- "Population and Housing Unit Estimates". Retrieved June 9, 2017.
- "U.S. Decennial Census". United States Census Bureau. Retrieved October 25, 2014.
- "Historical Census Browser". University of Virginia Library. Retrieved October 25, 2014.
- "Population of Counties by Decennial Census: 1900 to 1990". United States Census Bureau. Retrieved October 25, 2014.
- "Census 2000 PHC-T-4. Ranking Tables for Counties: 1990 and 2000" (PDF). United States Census Bureau. Retrieved October 25, 2014.
- "2015 American Community Survey".
- Dave Leip's Atlas of U.S. Presidential Elections. Uselectionatlas.org. Retrieved on July 12, 2013.
- St. Louis County considers a split | Minnesota Public Radio News. Minnesota.publicradio.org (July 30, 2007). Retrieved on 2013-07-12.
- Geographie Electorale
- "Hibbing voters tapped GOP Trump change", Minnesota Public Radio News, November 9, 2016
- St. Louis County Government site – Link
- Duluth News Tribune site
- Mn/DOT maps of St. Louis County (Southwest portion, West–Central portion, Southeast portion, East–Central portion, Northern part of West–Central portion, Northwest portion, Northeast portion)