Aitkin County, Minnesota

Infobox U.S. County
county = Aitkin County
state = Minnesota


founded year = 1857 [http://www.house.leg.state.mn.us/hinfo/govseries/No3.htm]
founded date = May 23
seat wl = Aitkin
largest city wl = Aitkin
area_total_sq_mi = 1995
area_total_km2 = 5168
area_land_sq_mi = 1819
area_land_km2 = 4712
area_water_sq_mi = 176
area_water_km2 = 456
area percentage = 8.82%
census yr = 2000
pop = 15301
density_sq_mi = 8
density_km2 = 3
time zone = Central
UTC offset = -6
DST offset = -5
footnotes =
web = www.co.aitkin.mn.us
named for = William Alexander Aitkin, a fur trader with the Ojibway Indians.

Aitkin County is a county located in the U.S. state of Minnesota. As of 2000, the population is 15,301. Its county seat is AitkinGR|6. A portion of the Mille Lacs Indian Reservation is in the county.

History

Aitkin County was established in 1857 as Aiken County and had a spelling change of its name to the current spelling in 1872. Aitkin County was named after William Alexander Aitken, a fur trader for the American Fur Company, under John Jacob Astor. Aiken County originally consisted of the 17 townships closest to Mille Lacs Lake. It acquired out-lands of Itasca and Pine Counties to its north and east. It was reorganized in 1871, taking up lands from Cass and Itasca Counties and losing a point located in the southwestern corner to Crow Wing County to form its current boundaries.

Geography

According to the U.S. Census Bureau, the county has a total area of 1,995 square miles (5,168 km²), of which, 1,819 square miles (4,712 km²) of it is land and 176 square miles (456 km²) of it (8.82%) is water.

The county contains what is locally referred to as the Aitkin Bog, a swampy area extending north from Aitkin to within about 10 miles of Hill City. Highway 6 runs through it. Until relatively recently, there were no buildings of any kind through its entire length, making it a most unpleasant spot to suffer a breakdown.

Major highways

Adjacent Counties

*Itasca County (north)
*St. Louis County (northeast)
*Carlton County (east)
*Pine County (southeast)
*Kanabec County (south)
*Mille Lacs County (south)
*Crow Wing County (southwest)
*Cass County (northwest)

Demographics

As of the censusGR|2 of 2000, there were 15,301 people, 6,644 households, and 4,458 families residing in the county. The population density was 8 people per square mile (3/km²). There were 14,168 housing units at an average density of 8 per square mile (3/km²). The racial makeup of the county was 96.41% White, 0.23% Black or African American, 2.28% Native American, 0.20% Asian, 0.02% Pacific Islander, 0.16% from other races, and 0.71% from two or more races. 0.60% of the population were Hispanic or Latino of any race. 29.5% were of German, 14.3% Norwegian, 13.0% Swedish, 6.2% Irish, 5.3% United States 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 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.

In the county the population was spread out with 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 $31,139, and the median income for a family was $37,290. Males had a median income of $31,604 versus $20,633 for females. The per capita income for the county was $17,848. About 8.20% of families and 11.60% of the population were below the poverty line, including 15.50% of those under age 18 and 11.00% of those age 65 or over.

"On ePodunk : [http://www.epodunk.com/cgi-bin/genInfo.php?locIndex=20794 Aitkin County] & [http://www.epodunk.com/cgi-bin/genealogyInfo.php?locIndex=20794 Aitkin Cty. ancestry] "

Cities and Towns

References

External links

* [http://www.co.aitkin.mn.us/ Aitkin County government’s website]