Wilkin County, Minnesota

Wilkin County
Wilkin County
County
	Wilkin County Courthouse in Breckenridge
	Location within the U.S. state of Minnesota
	Minnesota's location within the U.S.
	Coordinates: 46°22′N 96°28′W / 46.36°N 96.47°W
Country	United States
State	Minnesota
Founded	March 8, 1858 (created as Toombs); 1863 (renamed); March 6, 1868 (renamed)
Named for	Alexander Wilkin
Seat	Breckenridge
Largest city	Breckenridge
Area
• Total	751 sq mi (1,950 km2)
• Land	751 sq mi (1,950 km2)
• Water	0.69 sq mi (1.8 km2) 0.03%
Population (2020)
• Total	6,506
• Estimate (2023)	6,306
• Density	8.7/sq mi (3.4/km2)
Time zone	UTC−6 (Central)
• Summer (DST)	UTC−5 (CDT)
Congressional district	7th
Website	www.co.wilkin.mn.us

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.^[1] Its county seat is Breckenridge.^[2] 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.^[3]

Geography

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.^[5] The terrain slopes to the west and north, with its highest point on the upper east border at 1,250 ft (380 m) ASL.^[6] The county has a total area of 751 square miles (1,950 km²), of which 751 square miles (1,950 km²) is land and 0.2 square miles (0.52 km²) (0.03%) is water.^[7]

Major highways

Adjacent counties

Protected areas^[5]

Akron State Wildlife Management Area
Atherton State Wildlife Management Area
Richard M. and Mathilde Rice Elliot Scientific and Natural Area
Rothsay State Wildlife Management Area
Sunnyside Township State Game Refuge
Western Prairie Scientific and Natural Area

Lakes

Breckenridge Lake - formed by a dam on the Otter Tail River in Breckenridge Township

Demographics

Historical population
Census	Pop.	Note	%±
1860	40		—
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%
2020	6,506		−1.1%
2023 (est.)	6,306	^[8]	−3.1%
U.S. Decennial Census^[9] 1790-1960^[10] 1900-1990^[11] 1990-2000^[12] 2010-2020^[1]

2020 Census

Wilkin County Racial Composition^[13]
Race	Num.	Perc.
White (NH)	5,918	91%
Black or African American (NH)	41	0.63%
Native American (NH)	87	1.34%
Asian (NH)	8	0.12%
Pacific Islander (NH)	1	0.02%
Other/Mixed (NH)	240	3.7%
Hispanic or Latino	211	3.24%

2000 census

2022 US Census population pyramid for Wilkin County, from ACS 5-year estimates

As of the census of 2000, there were 7,138 people, 2,752 households, and 1,926 families in the county. The population density was 9.50 per square mile (3.67/km²). There were 3,105 housing units at an average density of 4.13 per square mile (1.59/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.

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.

The county population contained 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.

Communities

Cities

Unincorporated communities

Townships

Politics

Wilkin County voters have traditionally voted Republican. In no national election since 1976 has the county selected the Democratic Party candidate (as of 2020).

United States presidential election results for Wilkin County, Minnesota^[14]^[15]
Year	Republican		Democratic		Third party
Year	No.	%	No.	%	No.	%
2020	2,328	67.87%	1,026	29.91%	76	2.22%
2016	2,129	64.48%	893	27.04%	280	8.48%
2012	1,884	58.47%	1,258	39.04%	80	2.48%
2008	1,786	52.31%	1,550	45.40%	78	2.28%
2004	2,303	65.30%	1,169	33.14%	55	1.56%
2000	2,032	61.48%	1,046	31.65%	227	6.87%
1996	1,508	46.83%	1,319	40.96%	393	12.20%
1992	1,626	46.32%	1,122	31.97%	762	21.71%
1988	1,933	56.08%	1,486	43.11%	28	0.81%
1984	2,367	62.36%	1,410	37.14%	19	0.50%
1980	2,224	54.15%	1,496	36.43%	387	9.42%
1976	1,882	45.79%	2,103	51.17%	125	3.04%
1972	2,292	56.00%	1,739	42.49%	62	1.51%
1968	2,037	48.91%	1,946	46.72%	182	4.37%
1964	1,636	37.26%	2,751	62.65%	4	0.09%
1960	2,340	50.14%	2,319	49.69%	8	0.17%
1956	2,335	55.36%	1,881	44.59%	2	0.05%
1952	2,979	65.39%	1,564	34.33%	13	0.29%
1948	1,700	41.87%	2,291	56.43%	69	1.70%
1944	1,945	51.51%	1,819	48.17%	12	0.32%
1940	2,067	48.65%	2,176	51.21%	6	0.14%
1936	1,278	32.45%	2,428	61.66%	232	5.89%
1932	1,126	30.75%	2,488	67.94%	48	1.31%
1928	1,874	53.90%	1,578	45.38%	25	0.72%
1924	1,342	47.17%	245	8.61%	1,258	44.22%
1920	2,106	75.19%	561	20.03%	134	4.78%
1916	690	44.20%	808	51.76%	63	4.04%
1912	209	14.47%	586	40.58%	649	44.94%
1908	779	53.03%	614	41.80%	76	5.17%
1904	1,103	77.30%	246	17.24%	78	5.47%
1900	812	52.05%	663	42.50%	85	5.45%
1896	631	41.30%	855	55.96%	42	2.75%
1892	434	42.67%	363	35.69%	220	21.63%

County Board of Commissioners^[16]
	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