Wawina, Minnesota facts for kids
Quick facts for kids
Wawina
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 Wawina, Minnesota
Location in Minnesota
Wawina, Minnesota
Location in the United States
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| Country | United States |
| State | Minnesota |
| County | Itasca |
| Township | Wawina Township |
| Elevation | 1,266 ft (386 m) |
| Population | |
| • Total | 10 |
| Time zone | UTC-6 (Central (CST)) |
| • Summer (DST) | UTC-5 (CDT) |
| ZIP code |
55736 or 55784
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| Area code(s) | 218 |
| GNIS feature ID | 653862 |
Wawina is a small community in Itasca County, Minnesota, USA. It's called an unincorporated community because it doesn't have its own local government like a city does.
You can find Wawina between the towns of Grand Rapids and Floodwood. It's right where U.S. Highway 2 meets Itasca County Road 25.
Other nearby places include Swan River, Warba, Jacobson, and Goodland.
Wawina is about 13 miles northwest of Floodwood. It's also 23 miles southeast of Grand Rapids. The larger city of Duluth is about 53 miles to the northwest. The borders of Itasca, Saint Louis, and Aitkin counties are very close by.
The community of Wawina is part of Wawina Township, which has about 77 people living there. The ZIP Codes 55736 (for Floodwood) and 55784 (for Swan River) both cover the Wawina area.
History of Wawina
A post office opened in Wawina in 1912. It helped people send and receive mail for many years. The post office stayed open until 1993.
The name "Wawina" comes from the Ojibwe language. In Ojibwe, waawiinaa means "I mention him often." It comes from the word wiinzh, which means "mention him or her."
Wawina's Unique Telephone Company
Wawina is known for having the smallest telephone company in America. The Northern Telephone Company of Minnesota serves fewer than 40 customers in the area.
This small company once used an old telephone system called "N2 Carrier." This system used special sounds, or "tones," to connect calls between different phone offices. One important tone was 2600 Hz. This system was famous among people who were interested in how phones worked.
In June 2006, the telephone company updated its system. It switched from the old analog system to a modern digital one. This change made the phone service more reliable and secure for the community.
