Wilkin County is a county in the U.S. state of Minnesota. As of the 2020 census, the population of Wilkin County was 6,506. Its county seat is Breckenridge. The county is named for Colonel Alexander Wilkin, a lawyer who served as Minnesota's U.S. marshal and was later killed in the Civil War.
Wilkin County is part of the Wahpeton, ND—MN Micropolitan Statistical Area, which is included in the Fargo-Wahpeton, ND-MN Combined Statistical Area.
History
In 1849, the newly organized Minnesota Territory legislature authorized the creation of nine large counties across the territory. One of those, Pembina (later renamed as Kittson), contained areas that were partitioned off on March 8, 1858, to create Toombs County, named after Robert Toombs (1810–85) of Georgia. Toombs had been a member of the US House of Representatives (1845–1853), and US Senate (1853–1861). He became the Confederate secretary of state in 1861; this disloyalty to the Union displeased county residents, who petitioned for a name change. Accordingly, in 1863, the county was renamed Andy Johnson County for Andrew Johnson, who was serving as the military governor of Tennessee at the time. However, Johnson's actions and positions as US President (1865–1869) also displeased county residents, so on March 6, 1868, the county name was again changed, to Wilkin County. It was named for Colonel Alexander Wilkin, a Minnesota attorney and secretary to the Minnesota Territory governor.
The future Breckenridge, Minnesota was settled beginning in the 1850s, and a town was platted there in the spring of 1857. Thus, when Toombs County was authorized in 1858, Breckenridge was listed as the county seat. It continued as the county seat through the subsequent county name changes.
Geography
thumb|right|Soils of Wilkin County
Wilkin County lies on the west side of Minnesota. Its west border abuts the east border of the state of North Dakota (across a river). The Bois de Sioux River flows northward along the county's west border. The Rabbit River flows westward through the lower part of the county and discharges into the Bois de Sioux on the county's lower west border. The Otter Tail River flows west-northwestward through the central part of the county and merges with the Bois de Sioux at Breckenridge to form the Red River, which continues to flow along the county's west line northward toward the Hudson Bay in Canada.
Wilkin County terrain consists of low rolling hills, completely devoted to agriculture. The terrain slopes to the west and north, with its highest point on the upper east border at ASL. The county has a total area of , of which is land and (0.03%) is water.
Major highways
- 20px Interstate 94
- 20px U.S. Highway 52
- 20px U.S. Highway 75
- 20px Minnesota State Highway 9
- 20px Minnesota State Highway 55
- 20px Minnesota State Highway 108
- 20px Minnesota State Highway 210
Adjacent counties
- Clay County - north
- Otter Tail County - east
- Grant County - southeast
- Traverse County - south
- Richland County, North Dakota - west
Protected areas
Source:
| 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)
|8,373
|7,405
|6,912
|6,294
|style='background: #ffffe6; |5,918
|99.04%
|98.52%
|96.83%
|95.71%
|style='background: #ffffe6; |90.96%
|-
|Black or African American alone (NH)
|2
|2
|11
|13
|style='background: #ffffe6; |41
|0.02%
|0.03%
|0.15%
|0.20%
|style='background: #ffffe6; |0.63%
|-
|Native American or Alaska Native alone (NH)
|33
|41
|30
|59
|style='background: #ffffe6; |87
|0.39%
|0.55%
|0.42%
|0.90%
|style='background: #ffffe6; |1.34%
|-
|Asian alone (NH)
|26
|23
|10
|18
|style='background: #ffffe6; |8
|0.31%
|0.31%
|0.14%
|0.27%
|style='background: #ffffe6; |0.12%
|-
|Native Hawaiian or Pacific Islander alone (NH)
|x
|x
|1
|0
|style='background: #ffffe6; |1
|x
|x
|0.01%
|0.00%
|style='background: #ffffe6; |0.02%
|-
|Other race alone (NH)
|9
|2
|0
|0
|style='background: #ffffe6; |5
|0.11%
|0.03%
|0.00%
|0.00%
|style='background: #ffffe6; |0.08%
|-
|Mixed race or Multiracial (NH)
|x
|x
|64
|62
|style='background: #ffffe6; |235
|x
|x
|0.90%
|0.94%
|style='background: #ffffe6; |3.61%
|-
|Hispanic or Latino (any race)
|11
|43
|110
|130
|style='background: #ffffe6; |211
|0.13%
|0.57%
|1.54%
|1.98%
|style='background: #ffffe6; |3.24%
|-
|Total
|8,454
|7,516
|7,138
|6,576
|style='background: #ffffe6; |6,506
|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 6,506. The median age was 42.4 years. 23.5% of residents were under the age of 18 and 19.8% of residents were 65 years of age or older. For every 100 females there were 108.3 males, and for every 100 females age 18 and over there were 104.9 males age 18 and over.
The racial makeup of the county was 92.1% White, 0.6% Black or African American, 1.5% American Indian and Alaska Native, 0.1% Asian, <0.1% Native Hawaiian and Pacific Islander, 1.0% from some other race, and 4.6% from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino residents of any race comprised 3.2% of the population.
There were 2,735 households in the county, of which 27.4% had children under the age of 18 living in them. Of all households, 49.0% were married-couple households, 22.4% were households with a male householder and no spouse or partner present, and 21.9% were households with a female householder and no spouse or partner present. About 31.6% of all households were made up of individuals and 15.1% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older.|source2=
<!-- PresRow should be -->
{| class="wikitable"
|+County Board of Commissioners
! colspan="2" |Position
!Name
!District
|-
|
|Commissioner and Vice Chair
|Eric Klindt
|District 1
|-
|
|Commissioner
|Jonathan Green
|District 2
|-
|
|Commissioner and Chairperson
|Lyle Hovland
|District 3
|-
|
|Commissioner
|Rick Busko
|District 4
|-
|
|Commissioner
|Dennis Larson
|District 5
|}
{| class="wikitable"
|+State Legislature (2021–2023)
! colspan="2" |Position
!Name
!Affiliation
!District
|-
| style="background-color:" |
|Senate
|Torrey Westrom
|Republican
|District 12
|-
| style="background-color:" |
|House of Representatives
|Jeff Backer
|Republican
|District 12A
|}
{| class="wikitable"
|+U.S Congress (2021–2023)
! colspan="2" |Position
!Name
!Affiliation
!District
|-
| style="background-color:" |
|House of Representatives
|Michelle Fischbach
|Republican
|7th
|-
| style="background-color:" |
|Senate
|Amy Klobuchar
|Democrat
|N/A
|-
| style="background-color:" |
|Senate
|Tina Smith
|Democrat
|N/A
|}
See also
- National Register of Historic Places listings in Wilkin County, Minnesota