Wilkin County, Minnesota | |
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The Wilkin County Courthouse in Breckenridge
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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 | March 6, 1868 |
Named for | Alexander Wilkin |
Seat | Breckenridge |
Largest city | Breckenridge |
Area | |
• Total | 751 sq mi (1,945 km2) |
• Land | 751 sq mi (1,945 km2) |
• Water | 0.2 sq mi (1 km2), 0.03% |
Population (est.) | |
• (2015) | 6,396 |
• Density | 8.8/sq mi (3/km²) |
Congressional district | 7th |
Time zone | Central: UTC-6/-5 |
Website | www |
Wilkin County is a county located in the U.S. state of Minnesota. As of the 2010 census, the population of Wilkin County was 6,576. 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.
Wilkin County was originally established as Toombs County on March 8, 1858, named after Robert Toombs (1810–85) of Georgia, who had been a member of Congress, 1845–53, and was U.S. senator, 1853-61. Mr. Toombs became a leading disunionist, then a Confederate secretary of state in 1861, and later was a Confederate general. In 1863, the county was renamed Andy Johnson County after President Andrew Johnson and to disassociate with Mr. Toombs. The county again changed its name to Wilkin County on March 6, 1868.
Toombs County was formed in 1858 from Pembina County. It is the parental county for Traverse County, and now are parts of Clay, Otter Tail, Grant, Stevens, Douglas and Pope counties.