St. Louis County, Minnesota

History

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.

Saint 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 Saint Louis River, while the area east of the Vermilion River and north of the Saint Louis River was part of Superior County. Superior County was renamed Saint Louis County.

On March 1, 1856, that Saint Louis County was renamed as Lake County. Newton County was renamed as Saint 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, Saint Louis County took its current shape when Carlton County was formed from parts of Saint Louis and Pine counties.

Geography

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.

Saint 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. Saint 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 Saint Louis, Vermilion, and other rivers.

Duluth on Lake Superior is one of the most important fresh-water ports in the United States and located in this county.

The county encompasses part of the Iron Range. It has had a significant taconite mining industry, particularly in the city of Virginia.

Adjacent counties

National protected areas

Demographics

As of the 2010 United States Census, there were 200,226 people residing in the county. 94.0% were 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). 18.4% of the residents identified as being of German, 11.2% as Norwegian, 10.6% Finnish, 9.0% Swedish and 6.1% as being of Irish ancestry.

As of the census of 2000, 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. 17.0% were of German, 13.7% Norwegian, 12.1% Finnish, 9.7% Swedish, 6.0% Irish, and 5.3% Italian ancestry.

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.

Government

Like all counties in Minnesota, Saint Louis County is governed by an elected and nonpartisan board of commissioners. In Minnesota, county commissions usually have five members, but Saint 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:

Politics

In 2007, Saint 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.

Presidential elections

Democrats have swept Saint 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.

Congress

Saint 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.

Census-designated places

Former Census-designated place

Ghost towns