Mille Lacs County, Minnesota

Etymology

The name Mille Lacs, meaning "thousand lakes" in French, comes from Mille Lacs Lake (French: Grand lac du Pays des Mille Lacs), largest lake in the Brainerd Lakes Area as the area was called "Region of Thousand Lakes" (Pays des Mille Lacs) in French.

History

Mille Lacs County was organized on May 23, 1857, cleaving off the easternmost portion of Benton County, Minnesota. The original Mille Lacs 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 2 northwestern townships in Isanti County were organized apart from either Benton or Mille Lacs County to form Monroe County, leaving the northern "Square Top-knot" as the Mille Lacs County. In 1860, Monroe and Mille Lacs Counties merged. Shortly thereafter, the two southeastern townships were transferred to Isanti County, forming the contemporary boundaries for the county.

Geography

According to the U.S. Census Bureau, the county has a total area of 682 square miles (1,770 km²), of which 572 square miles (1,480 km²) is land and 109 square miles (280 km²) (16%) is water.

Major highways

Adjacent counties

National protected area

Demographics

As of the census of 2000, there were 22,330 people, 8,638 households, and 6,003 families residing in the county. The population density was 39 people per square mile (15/km²). There were 10,467 housing units at an average density of 18 per square mile (7/km²). 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.

In the county, the population was spread out with 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.

Unincorporated communities

Census-designated place

Ghost towns