Cook County is the easternmost county in the U.S. state of Minnesota. As of the 2020 census, the population was 5,600, making it Minnesota's seventh-least populous county. Its county seat is Grand Marais. The Grand Portage Indian Reservation is in the county.

History

Ojibwe people were early inhabitants of this area. The first non-indigenous people to explore the area were French fur traders, a few of whom settled in the area. By the 1830s, the French population was a few dozen. In the 1830s, settlers began arriving from New England and from upstate New York. The completion of the Erie Canal (1825) and the settling of the Black Hawk War (1831) made migration easier.

Most of Cook County's 1830s settlers came from Orange County, Vermont and Down East Maine (modern day Washington County and Hancock County). Most were fishermen and farmers. By 1845 the future Cook County contained 350 people of European descent; by 1874 there were about 2,000. They were primarily members of the Congregational Church, Methodist, and Baptist churches. By 1900 there were about 3,000 people in Cook County.

The first decade of the 20th century saw a large influx of Europeans from Germany, Scandinavia, and Ireland. These waves introduced Lutheranism and Catholicism to Cook County.

The county was created on March 9, 1874. It was named for Territorial and State Senator Michael Cook (1828-1864).

Geography

thumb|225px|[[Eagle Mountain (Minnesota)|Eagle Mountain, the highest natural point in Minnesota at , is located in northern Cook County.]]

Cook County is a rugged, heavily wooded triangle of land on Minnesota's northeastern tip. It abuts Canada's southern border and is largely surrounded by the northern end of the Great Lakes. It is heavily dotted with lakes, ponds and streams. The state's highest point is in the county, at ASL. The county has an area of , of which is land and (57%) is water. It is Minnesota's second-largest county by area. Minnesota's highest natural point, Eagle Mountain at , and the highest lake, Lake Abita at , are in Cook County. Lake Superior is at the county's southern border.

Major highways

  • 20px Minnesota State Highway 61
  • 20px Cook County Road 12 – Gunflint Trail

Adjacent counties

Cook County is in the extreme northeast of the state at the tip of the Arrowhead region; it is adjacent to only one other county by land. Its geographic neighbors are:

  • Rainy River District, Ontario Canada - northwest
  • Thunder Bay District, Ontario Canada - northeast (EST Border east of the 90th meridian west)
  • Lake County - west
  • Ashland County, Wisconsin - south
  • Keweenaw County, Michigan - east/EST Border
  • Ontonagon County, Michigan - southeast/EST Border

Protected areas

  • Cascade River State Park
  • Grand Portage National Monument
  • Judge C. R. Magney State Park
  • Kodunce River State Wayside Area
  • North Shore State Trail (part)
  • Pat Bayle State Forest
  • Superior National Forest (part)
  • Boundary Waters Canoe Area Wilderness (part)
  • Temperance River State Park

|date=August 2010

Northern Minnesota offers extreme winter weather. While the averages are low, the extremes provide more details. A third of the year is below freezing (31.9%, 116 days, or 4 months). Of those days, 21 are below zero degrees Fahrenheit (−17.8 °C).

{| class="wikitable"

|-

! Jan

! Feb

! Mar

! Apr

! May

! June

! Jul

! Aug

! Sep

! Oct

! Nov

! Dec

! Year

|-

| colspan="12" | Days Below 32 °F/0 °C

| align-fn = center

| footnote = U.S. Decennial Census<br/>1790-1960 1900-1990<br/>1990-2000 2010-2020

!Pop 1990

!Pop 2000

!Pop 2010

!style="background-color: #ffffb3;" | Pop 2020

!% 1980

!% 1990

!% 2000

!% 2010

!style="background-color: #ffffb3;" |% 2020

|-

|White alone (NH)

|3,774

|3,558

|4,609

|4,528

|style='background: #ffffe6; |4,670

|92.23%

|91.99%

|89.18%

|87.48%

|style='background: #ffffe6; |83.39%

|-

|Black or African American alone (NH)

|11

|5

|15

|15

|style='background: #ffffe6; |25

|0.27%

|0.13%

|0.29%

|0.29%

|style='background: #ffffe6; |0.45%

|-

|Native American or Alaska Native alone (NH)

|278

|271

|387

|437

|style='background: #ffffe6; |450

|6.79%

|7.01%

|7.49%

|8.44%

|style='background: #ffffe6; |8.04%

|-

|Asian alone (NH)

|9

|20

|17

|27

|style='background: #ffffe6; |48

|0.22%

|0.52%

|0.33%

|0.52%

|style='background: #ffffe6; |0.86%

|-

|Native Hawaiian or Pacific Islander alone (NH)

|x

|x

|2

|3

|style='background: #ffffe6; |1

|x

|x

|0.04%

|0.06%

|style='background: #ffffe6; |0.02%

|-

|Other race alone (NH)

|14

|0

|3

|1

|style='background: #ffffe6; |25

|0.34%

|0.00%

|0.06%

|0.02%

|style='background: #ffffe6; |0.45%

|-

|Mixed race or Multiracial (NH)

|x

|x

|96

|107

|style='background: #ffffe6; |258

|x

|x

|1.86%

|2.07%

|style='background: #ffffe6; |4.61%

|-

|Hispanic or Latino (any race)

|6

|14

|39

|58

|style='background: #ffffe6; |123

|0.15%

|0.36%

|0.75%

|1.12%

|style='background: #ffffe6; |2.20%

|-

|Total

|4,092

|3,868

|5,168

|5,176

|style='background: #ffffe6; |5,600

|100.00%

|100.00%

|100.00%

|100.00%

|style='background: #ffffe6; |100.00%

|}

2020 census

As of the 2020 census, the county had a population of 5,600. The median age was 53.1 years. 15.9% of residents were under the age of 18 and 30.6% of residents were 65 years of age or older. For every 100 females there were 101.9 males, and for every 100 females age 18 and over there were 99.3 males age 18 and over.

The racial makeup of the county was 83.7% White, 0.4% Black or African American, 8.2% American Indian and Alaska Native, 0.9% Asian, <0.1% Native Hawaiian and Pacific Islander, 0.9% from some other race, and 5.9% from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino residents of any race comprised 2.2% of the population.

There were 2,711 households in the county, of which 19.4% had children under the age of 18 living in them. Of all households, 47.3% were married-couple households, 22.4% were households with a male householder and no spouse or partner present, and 22.5% were households with a female householder and no spouse or partner present. About 34.4% of all households were made up of individuals and 15.8% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. and 2020, it was the largest county by area in the contiguous states where Trump lost every precinct, although several counties in Hawaii and county equivalents in western Alaska and the northern Panhandle beat it in both elections. In 2024, the county shifted even further to the left, with Kamala Harris' vote share of over 66% being the highest ever by a Democratic presidential nominee.

Elections and officeholders

<!-- PresRow should be -->

{| class="wikitable"

|+County Board of Commissioners

! colspan="2" |Position

!Name

!District

|-

|

|Commissioner

|Debra White

|District 1

|-

|

|Commissioner

|Stacey Hawkins

|District 2

|-

|

|Commissioner

|David Mills

|District 3

|-

|

|Commissioner

|Ann Sullivan

|District 4

|-

|

|Commissioner

|Ginny Storlie

|District 5

|}

{| class="wikitable"

|+State Legislature (2018-2020)

! colspan="2" |Position

!Name

!Affiliation

!District

|-

|style="background-color:"|

|Senate

|Grant Hauschild

|Democrat

|District 3

|-

| style="background-color:" |

|House of Representatives

|Roger Skraba

|Republican

|District 3A

|}

{| class="wikitable"

|+U.S Congress (2018-2020)

! colspan="2" |Position

!Name

!Affiliation

!District

|-

| style="background-color:" |

|House of Representatives

|Pete Stauber

|Republican

|8th

|-

| style="background-color:" |

|Senate

|Amy Klobuchar

|Democrat

|N/A

|-

| style="background-color:" |

|Senate

|Tina Smith

|Democrat

|N/A

|}

Education

Public education is provided by Cook County Schools.

See also

  • National Register of Historic Places listings in Cook County, Minnesota

Notes

References

  • Cook County Government's website
  • Mn/DOT – maps of Cook County (Southwest portion, Eastern portion, Northwest portion)