Saint Louis County, Minnesota | |
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Saint Louis County Courthouse
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Location in the U.S. state of Minnesota |
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Minnesota's location in the U.S. |
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Founded | February 20, 1855 |
Named for | Saint Louis River |
Seat | Duluth |
Largest city | Duluth |
Area | |
• Total | 6,860 sq mi (17,767 km2) |
• Land | 6,247 sq mi (16,180 km2) |
• Water | 612 sq mi (1,585 km2), 8.9% |
Population (est.) | |
• (2016) | 199,980 |
• Density | 32/sq mi (12/km²) |
Congressional district | 8th |
Time zone | Central: UTC-6/-5 |
Website | www |
Saint Louis County (abbreviated St. Louis County) is a county located in the northeastern part of the U.S. state of Minnesota. As of the 2010 census, the population was 200,226. Its county seat is Duluth. It is the largest county by total area in Minnesota, and the largest in the United States east of the Mississippi River.
Saint Louis County is included in the Duluth, MN-WI Metropolitan Statistical Area.
Major industries include pulpwood production and tourism. Surface mining of high-grade iron-ore remains an important part of the economy of the Iron Range. Parts of the federally recognized Bois Forte and Fond du Lac Indian reservations are in the county.
This area was long inhabited by Algonquian-speaking tribes: the Ojibwe (Chippewa), Ottawa and Potawatomi peoples were loosely affiliated in the Council of Three Fires. As European-American settlers entered the territory, the Native Americans were pushed to outer areas.
Saint Louis County was founded by European Americans on February 20, 1855, as Doty County, and had its name changed to Newton County on March 3, 1855. It originally consisted of the area east and south of the Saint Louis River, while the area east of the Vermilion River and north of the Saint Louis River was part of Superior County. Superior County was renamed Saint Louis County.