Округ Кук, Миннесота: История и География

County in Minnesota, United States

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.

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. Completion of the Erie Canal (1825) and 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.

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 2,301 feet (701 m) ASL. The county has an area of 3340 square miles (8,651 km2), of which 1452 square miles (3,761 km2) is land and 1887 square miles (4,887 km2) (57%) is water. It is Minnesota's second largest county by area. Minnesota's highest natural point, Eagle Mountain at 2301 feet (701 m), and highest lake, Lake Abita at 2048 feet (624 m), are in Cook County. Lake Superior is at the county's southern border.

As of the census of 2000, there were 5,168 people, 2,350 households, and 1,438 families in the county. The population density was There were 4,708 housing units at an average density of The racial makeup of the county was 89.45% White, 7.59% Native American, 0.33% Asian, 0.29% Black or African American, 0.04% Pacific Islander, 0.25% from other races, and 2.05% from two or more races. 0.75% of the population were Hispanic or Latino of any race. 21.6% were of German, 17.7% Norwegian, 11.5% Swedish, 7.2% Irish and 5.4% English ancestry. There were 2,350 households, of which 24.4% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 52.0% were married couples living together, 6.1% had a female householder with no husband present, and 38.8% were non families. 32.5% of all households were made up of individuals, and 10.8% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.17 and the average family size was 2.73. The county population contained 20.4% under the age of 18, 5.4% from 18 to 24, 25.8% from 25 to 44, 31.2% from 45 to 64, and 17.2% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 44. For every 100 females there were 99.7 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 98.5 males. The median income for a household in the county was $36,640, and the median income for a family was $47,132. Males had a median income of $31,211 versus $23,650 for females. The per capita income for the county was $21,775. About 8.1% of families and 10.1% of the population were below the poverty line, including 12.2% of those under age 18 and 6.8% of those age 65 or over.