Aitkin County, Minnesota
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
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 Aitkin6. A portion of the Mille Lacs Indian Reservation is in the county.
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[edit] 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 Aitkin", 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 Ramsey 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.
[edit] Geography
According to the U.S. Census Bureau, the county has a total area of 5,168 km² (1,995 mi²). 4,712 km² (1,819 mi²) of it is land and 456 km² (176 mi²) 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.
[edit] Major Highways
[edit] 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)
[edit] Demographics
As of the census2 of 2000, there were 15,301 people, 6,644 households, and 4,458 families residing in the county. The population density was 3/km² (8/mi²). There were 14,168 housing units at an average density of 3/km² (8/mi²). 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.
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.
