| Wilkin County, Minnesota | |
Location in the state of Minnesota |
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Minnesota's location in the U.S. |
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| Founded | March 6, 1868 [1] |
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| Named for | Colonel Alexander Wilkin, a lawyer who served as Minnesota’s U.S. marshal and was later killed in the Civil War. He is represented by a statue at the Minnesota State Capitol. |
| Seat | Breckenridge |
| Largest city | Breckenridge |
| Area - Total - Land - Water |
751.63 sq mi (1,947 km²) 751.43 sq mi (1,946 km²) 0.20 sq mi (1 km²), 0.03% |
| Population - (2010) - Density |
6,576 10/sq mi (4/km²) |
| Time zone | Central: UTC-6/-5 |
| Website | www.co.wilkin.mn.us |
Wilkin County is a county located in the U.S. state of Minnesota. It was originally established as Toombs County on March 8, 1858, named after Robert Toombs (1810–85) of Georgia, who had been a member of Congress, 1845–53, and was U.S. senator, 1853-61. Mr. Toombs became a leading disunionist, then a Confederate secretary of state in 1861, and later was a Confederate general. In 1863, the county was renamed Andy Johnson County after President Andrew Johnson and to disassociate with Mr. Toombs. The county again changed its name to Wilkin County on March 6, 1868.
Toombs County was formed from Pembina County. It is the parental county for Traverse County, and now are parts of Clay, Otter Tail, Grant, Stevens, Douglas and Pope Counties. As of 2010, the population of Wilkin County was 6,576.[1] Its county seat is Breckenridge[2].
Wilkin County is part of the Wahpeton, ND–MN Micropolitan Statistical Area.
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According to the 2000 census, the county has a total area of 751.63 square miles (1,946.7 km2), of which 751.43 square miles (1,946.2 km2) (or 99.97%) is land and 0.20 square miles (0.52 km2) (or 0.03%) is water.[3]
| Historical populations | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Census | Pop. | %± | |
| 1860 | 40 |
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| 1870 | 295 | 637.5% | |
| 1880 | 1,906 | 546.1% | |
| 1890 | 4,346 | 128.0% | |
| 1900 | 8,080 | 85.9% | |
| 1910 | 9,063 | 12.2% | |
| 1920 | 10,187 | 12.4% | |
| 1930 | 9,791 | −3.9% | |
| 1940 | 10,475 | 7.0% | |
| 1950 | 10,567 | 0.9% | |
| 1960 | 10,650 | 0.8% | |
| 1970 | 9,389 | −11.8% | |
| 1980 | 8,454 | −10.0% | |
| 1990 | 7,516 | −11.1% | |
| 2000 | 7,138 | −5.0% | |
| 2010 | 6,576 | −7.9% | |
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As of the census[4] of 2000, there were 7,138 people, 2,752 households, and 1,926 families residing in the county. The population density was 10 people per square mile (4/km²). There were 3,105 housing units at an average density of 4 per square mile (2/km²). The racial makeup of the county was 97.77% White, 0.15% Black or African American, 0.42% Native American, 0.15% Asian, 0.01% Pacific Islander, 0.49% from other races, and 0.99% from two or more races. 1.54% of the population were Hispanic or Latino of any race. 41.8% were of German and 29.2% Norwegian ancestry according to Census 2000.
There were 2,752 households out of which 35.2% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 59.5% were married couples living together, 7.0% had a female householder with no husband present, and 30.0% were non-families. 25.9% of all households were made up of individuals and 13.40% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.54 and the average family size was 3.09.
In the county the population was spread out with 27.8% under the age of 18, 7.0% from 18 to 24, 27.7% from 25 to 44, 21.5% from 45 to 64, and 16.1% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 38 years. For every 100 females there were 95.3 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 96.1 males.
The median income for a household in the county was $38,093, and the median income for a family was $46,220. Males had a median income of $31,273 versus $20,925 for females. The per capita income for the county was $16,873. About 6.2% of families and 8.1% of the population were below the poverty line, including 8.9% of those under age 18 and 8.3% of those age 65 or over.
| Cities | Townships | Unincorporated | Ghost town | ||
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† Rothsay is located in both Wilkin County and Otter Tail County.
| Cass County, North Dakota | Clay County | |||
| Otter Tail County | ||||
| Wilkin County, Minnesota | ||||
| Richland County, North Dakota | Traverse County | Grant County |
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