Kanabec County ( ) is a county in the East Central part of U.S. state of Minnesota. As of the 2020 census, the population was 16,032. Its county seat is Mora.
History
The Minnesota legislature authorized creation of Kanabec County on March 13, 1858, with territory partitioned from Pine County. No county seat was designated at that time, and the county organization was not effected at that time. The county name came from the Ojibwe term ginebig, meaning "snake," after the Snake River — Kanabecosippi (Ginebigo-ziibi in the modern spelling) — which flows through the county.
The area of Kanabec County was attached to Chisago County for administrative and judicial purposes. What county business was handled locally was performed by part-time County Auditor and County Treasurer, in a single room in a stopping place operated by lumber-trader George Staples at Millet Rapids.
In 1871 the county was detached from Chisago, and assigned to Pine County. This assignment lasted through 1881.
The 1870 United States census listed 53 occupants of the Kanabec County area. However, an influx of settlers into its southern areas occurred in the early 1870s, and by 1876 an official county building was needed. A one-room wood building was erected at Millet Rapids, put into use in 1876. In 1881 the county was detached from Pine, and the government structure was finalized, with the county seat being designated at Brunswick. Only one court term was held at Brunswick; in the 1882 general election, a nearly-unanimous vote designated Mora as the county seat. The old courthouse building was sold to a local farmer, who moved it to his property to use as a home. The wood courthouse erected at Mora was used until 1894, when it burned and was replaced by a more fireproof building.
Geography
The Snake River flows south-southeasterly through the central part of the county, fed by Groundhouse River (flowing northeasterly from the county's SW corner) and Red Creek and Mud Creek. The Snake continues easterly into Pine County. The county terrain consists of partly-wooded rolling hills, etched by drainages. It is largely devoted to agriculture. The terrain slopes to the south and east, with its highest point near the NW corner, at ASL. The county has a total area of , of which is land and (2.3%) is water.
Lakes
Ann Lake
Bachman Dam
Bass Lake (part) Beauty Lake Featherbed Lake Fish Lake Kent Lake Knife Lake Lake Eleven Lake Five Lake Full of Fish Lewis Lake Long Lake Pennington Lake Pomroy Lake Rice Lake Spring Lake Thirteen Lake White Lily Lake
Adjacent counties
Aitkin County - north
Pine County - east
Chisago County - southeast
Isanti County - south
Mille Lacs County - west
Protected areas
Ann Lake State Wildlife Management Area
Bean Dam State Wildlife Management Area
Hay-Snake State Wildlife Management Area
Rice Creek State Wildlife Management Area
Rum River State Forest (part) Tosher Creek State Wildlife Management Area Whited State Wildlife Management Area
Historic Locations
Ann River Logging Company Farm
Kanabec County Courthouse
Knife Lake prehistoric district
Ogilvie Watertower
C. E. Williams House
Zetterberg Company
Infrastructure
Airports
Mora Municipal Airport
Highways
Minnesota State Highway 23
Minnesota State Highway 27
Minnesota State Highway 47
Minnesota State Highway 65
Minnesota State Highway 70
Minnesota State Highway 107
County Roads
County Road 1 - County Road 30
Demographics
2020 Census
2010 census
As of the census of 2010, there were 16,239 people and 6,277 households in the county. The population density was . There were 7,808 housing units (2014 estimate). The racial makeup of the county was 96.6% White, 0.6% Black or African American, 0.8% Native American or Alaska Native, 0.4% Asian, <0.1% Pacific Islander or Native Hawaiian, and 1.6% from other races or two or more races. 1.7% of the population were Hispanic or Latino of any race. As of the 2000 census, 30.2% were of German, 18.1% Swedish, 13.1% Norwegian, 5.5% American and 5.4% Irish ancestry.