Koochiching County, Minnesota facts for kids

Quick facts for kids Koochiching County
U.S. county
Koochiching County Courthouse
Location within the U.S. state of Minnesota
Minnesota's location within the U.S.
Country	United States
State	Minnesota
Founded	December 19, 1906
Named for	Ojibway words for neighbor lake, river
Seat	International Falls
Largest city	International Falls
Area
• Total	3,154 sq mi (8,170 km2)
• Land	3,104 sq mi (8,040 km2)
• Water	50 sq mi (100 km2)  1.6%%
Population  (2020)
• Total	12,062
• Estimate  (2023)	11,751
• Density	3.9/sq mi (1.5/km2)
Time zone	UTC−6 (Central)
• Summer (DST)	UTC−5 (CDT)
Congressional district	8th

Koochiching County (/ˈkuːtʃɪtʃɪŋ/ koo-CHITCH-ing) is a county in the U.S. state of Minnesota. As of the 2020 census, the population was 12,062. Its county seat is International Falls. A portion of the Bois Forte Indian Reservation is in the county. A small part of Voyageurs National Park extends into its boundary, with Lake of the Woods County to its northwest.

History

About 10,000 years ago almost 90% of Koochiching County was covered by Lake Agassiz. When it receded it left low areas of decayed vegetation (muskeg); as a result, three-quarters of northern Koochiching are underlain with 2 to 50 feet of peat.

The name "Koochiching" comes from either the Ojibwe word Gojijiing or Cree Kocicīhk (recorded in some documents as "Ouchichiq"), both meaning "at the place of inlets," referring to the neighboring Rainy Lake and River. Reverend J.A. Gilfillan recorded their meaning, "according to some, Neighbor lake, according to others a lake somewhere," possibly referring to the neighbouring Rainy Lake and to Lake Couchiching located in southern Ontario. Early French inhabitants gave the names Lac à la Pluie (Rainy Lake) and Rivière à la Pluie (Rainy River) to the nearby bodies of water because of the mist-like rain present at the falls of Rainy River and then to the settlement that became known as International Falls.

This area was among the last in Minnesota to be settled. European settlers in Koochiching County started coming in the late 1800's. Some of the last lands were ceded from the Chippewa in a 1904 Land Act. Homesteads were being proven primarily in the 1900-1910 decade. Settlers were lumberjacks and farmers and many other trades, they "suffered through isolation, illness, harsh weather, and poverty... They built schools, churches, and fought for good roads."

The county is one of the youngest in the state, having been created in 1906 after separating from Itasca County.

Geography

Voyageurs National Park

Koochiching County lies on the northern edge of Minnesota. Its northern border abuts the south border of Canada (across the Rainy River). The Rainy River flows west-northwestward along its north border, being fed by several rivers which drain from the county into the Rainy: Rat Root River drains the east central part of the county; Little Fork River flows northward through the eastern part of the county; Big Fork River flows northward through the east-central part of the county; Black River flows northward through the central part of the county; Rapid River and East Fork Rapid River flow north-northwestward through the western part of the county, joining in the northwestern part of the county shortly before exiting the county's west line to discharge into the Rainy, just west of the county's northwestern corner.

The county terrain consists of low rolling hills, with swampy areas where Lake Agassiz basin was deepest. There are also deposits of peat from 1½ to 50 feet in the low areas. The fairly level soil is broken by ledges of precambrian rock. Bedrock in the area includes Ely greenstone and greenstone schists that are said to be among the oldest on the planet. The terrain slopes to the north, with its highest point on the western part of its southern border at 1,515 ft (462 m) ASL. The county has a total area of 3,154 square miles (8,170 km²), of which 3,104 square miles (8,040 km²) is land and 50 square miles (130 km²) (1.6%) is water. It is the second-largest county in Minnesota by land area (second to neighboring St. Louis County) and third-largest by total area.

Major highways

Adjacent counties

Protected areas

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Lakes

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Demographics

2020 Census

Communities

Koochiching County is one of two counties in Minnesota that have no organized civil township governments within the county (the other is neighboring Lake of the Woods County), due to legislative action taken by the county to absorb existing township governments. Survey townships, as defined by the Public Land Survey System exist but are not organized. Six city governments have been created, and the rest of the county consists of unorganized territories and unincorporated communities.

Cities

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Unorganized territories

Census-designated place

• Nett Lake (part)

Other unincorporated communities

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Ghost towns

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See also

In Spanish: Condado de Koochiching para niños