Kanabec County ( ) is a county in the east-central part of the U.S. state of Minnesota. As of the 2020 census, the population was 16,032. Its county seat is Mora.

History

The Minnesota legislature authorized the creation of Kanabec County on March 13, 1858, with territory partitioned from Pine County. No county seat was designated at that time, and the county organization was not effected at that time. The county name came from the Ojibwe term ginebig, meaning "snake," after the Snake River — Kanabecosippi (Ginebigo-ziibi in the modern spelling) — which flows through the county.

The area of Kanabec County was attached to Chisago County for administrative and judicial purposes. What county business was handled locally was performed by part-time County Auditor and County Treasurer, in a single room in a stopping place operated by lumber-trader George Staples at Millet Rapids.

In 1871 the county was detached from Chisago, and assigned to Pine County. This assignment lasted through 1881.

The 1870 United States census listed 53 occupants of the Kanabec County area. However, an influx of settlers into its southern areas occurred in the early 1870s, and by 1876 an official county building was needed. A one-room wood building was erected at Millet Rapids, put into use in 1876. In 1881 the county was detached from Pine, and the government structure was finalized, with the county seat being designated at Brunswick. Only one court term was held at Brunswick; in the 1882 general election, a nearly-unanimous vote designated Mora as the county seat. The old courthouse building was sold to a local farmer, who moved it to his property to use as a home. The wood courthouse erected at Mora was used until 1894, when it burned and was replaced by a more fireproof building.

Geography

The Snake River flows south-southeasterly through the central part of the county, fed by Groundhouse River (flowing northeasterly from the county's SW corner) and Red Creek and Mud Creek. The Snake continues easterly into Pine County. The county terrain consists of partly-wooded rolling hills, etched by drainages. It is largely devoted to agriculture. The terrain slopes to the south and east, with its highest point near the NW corner, at ASL. The county has a total area of , of which is land and (2.3%) is water.

thumb|266x266px|Sunset over Fish Lake in Kanabec County

Lakes

Source:

  • Ann River Logging Company Farm
  • Kanabec County Courthouse
  • Knife Lake prehistoric district
  • Ogilvie Watertower
  • C. E. Williams House
  • Zetterberg Company

Infrastructure

Airports

  • Mora Municipal Airport

Highways

  • 20px Minnesota State Highway 23
  • 20px Minnesota State Highway 27
  • 20px Minnesota State Highway 47
  • 20px Minnesota State Highway 65
  • 20px Minnesota State Highway 70
  • 20px Minnesota State Highway 107

County Roads

  • County Road 1 - County Road 30

Demographics