Wilkin County, Minnesota facts for kids

Quick facts for kids Wilkin County
U.S. county
Wilkin County Courthouse in Breckenridge
Location within the U.S. state of Minnesota
Minnesota's location within the U.S.
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

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

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 1,250 ft (380 m) ASL. 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.

Major highways

Adjacent counties

Protected areas

Lakes

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

Demographics

2020 Census

Communities

Cities

Unincorporated communities

Townships

See also

In Spanish: Condado de Wilkin para niños