OUR COMMUNITY / OUR STORY

A county shaped
by water & time.

Thousands of years of Indigenous heritage, a river-powered lumber economy, and communities with stories to share.

Indigenous & ancient heritage

Archaeological evidence places people in the Mille Lacs region as early as 3000 BCE; copper tools were being made before 1000 BCE. The area was home to Mdewakanton Dakota for centuries. Following conflict at Cormorant Point in the mid-1700s, Ojibwe (Anishinaabe) communities gained control of the region. The Mille Lacs Band of Ojibwe remains an enduring part of its present and future.

The Kathio National Historic Landmark recognizes the archaeological and cultural importance of the Mille Lacs Lake and Rum River area.

Exploration, pine & the Rum River

Daniel Greysolon, Sieur Du Luth, explored and traded in the region in 1679. Father Louis Hennepin was at Mille Lacs in 1680. In the mid-1800s, pine logging along the Rum River drew lumber expeditions and non-Indigenous settlement, including the work of Daniel Stanchfield around 1848.

Becoming Mille Lacs County

Established on May 23, 1857, the county took shape through changes involving Benton and Monroe counties. Its present boundaries were drawn in 1860. Princeton served as county seat until 1920, when the seat moved to Milaca. A new courthouse followed in 1923.

Keep exploring the past

Mille Lacs County Historical Society ↗
The historic Great Northern Railway depot in Princeton houses local history, photographs and memorabilia, with a pioneer schoolhouse nearby.

Milaca Area Historical Society & Museum ↗
Discover regional artifacts inside a 1907 power plant and the adjoining 1936 WPA-era city hall.

Further reading: Minnesota Historical Society · Mille Lacs County history. Historical summary prepared from publisher-supplied information and these references.