Mille Lacs County, Minnesota

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Mille Lacs County (Template:IPAc-en Template:Respell) is a county in the East Central part of the U.S. state of Minnesota. As of the 2020 census, the population was 26,459.<ref name="QF">Template:Cite web</ref> Its county seat is Milaca.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> The county was founded in 1857, and its boundary was expanded in 1860.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref><ref>Template:Cite web</ref>

Mille Lacs County is included in the Minneapolis-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).<ref>Upham, Warren. (1920; repr. 1991), Minnesota Place Names, St. Paul: Minnesota Historical Society Press.</ref>

History

The US legislature established the Wisconsin Territory effective July 3, 1836. It existed until its eastern portion was granted statehood (as Wisconsin) 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.<ref name="MLM">Mille Lacs County MN Google Maps (accessed May 3, 2019)</ref> The terrain slopes to the south and east,<ref name="MLGM">Template:Cite web</ref> with its highest point at Template:Convert from the southwest shoreline of Mille Lacs Lake, in Mille Lacs Kathio State Park. A hill there measures Template:Convert ASL.<ref>Mille Lacs County High Point, Minnesota. PeakBagger.com (accessed May 3, 2019)</ref>

According to the United States Census Bureau, the county has a total area of Template:Convert, of which Template:Convert is land<ref>The total county area can be accurately calculated using its described boundaries. The quantity of "land", however, is not consistent across all sources. The US Census Bureau lists 572 square miles; the Mille Lacs County website "History" section lists 583 square miles, and the Census Bureas's Quick Facts website lists 574.47 square miles.</ref> and Template:Convert (16%) is water.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>

File:Mille Lacs Lake.jpg

Mille Lacs located in the north of Mille Lacs County

Protected areas

Sources:<ref name=MLM/><ref name=MLGM/> Template:Div col

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)

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Demographics

Template:US Census population

2020 Census

Mille Lacs County Racial Composition<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>
Race	Num.	Perc.
White (NH)	17,947	87.42%
Black or African American (NH)	78	0.3%
Native American (NH)	1,466	5.54%
Asian (NH)	124	0.47%
Pacific Islander (NH)	6	0.02%
Other/Mixed (NH)	1,173	4.43%
Hispanic or Latino	481	1.82%

2000 census

File:MilleLacsCountyMn2022PopPyr.png

2022 US Census population pyramid for Mille Lacs County, from ACS 5-year estimates

As of the census of 2000, there were 22,330 people, 8,638 households, and 6,003 families in the county. The population density was Template:Convert. There were 10,467 housing units at an average density of Template:Convert. The racial makeup of the county was 93.55% White, 0.27% Black or African American, 4.68% Native American, 0.21% Asian, 0.01% Pacific Islander, 0.22% from other races, and 1.05% from two or more races. 0.96% of the population were Hispanic 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 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 for the county was $17,656. About 6.70% of families and 9.60% of the population were below the poverty line, including 10.90% of those under age 18 and 11.30% of those age 65 or over.