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Aitkin County, Minnesota

77 topographic sheets cover 40 settlements here, and 10 properties are on the National Register of Historic Places.

Research this county

From the record

10 National Register listings published here.

Sources: the National Register database, National Park Service

Minnesota within the United States
Aitkin County within Minnesota

What the record shows

  • 291 topographic sheet readings cover the county's settlements.
  • 10 properties here are on the National Register of Historic Places: 8 buildings and 2 sites.
  • 1 of the 10 listings was added during the 1970s.
  • The Geographic Names Information System records 40 populated places in this county; 40 are covered by at least one topographic sheet.

Places on the National Register

10

Every property in this county listed on the National Register of Historic Places, with the year it was listed and the federal nomination document.

Photograph PropertyType ListedReference
Aitkin Carnegie Librarybuilding198282002924
Aitkin County Courthouse and Jailbuilding198282002923
Arthyde Stone Housebuilding198282002930
Bethelhem Lutheran Churchbuilding198282002928
Patrick Casey Housebuilding198282002925
National Woodenware Company Superintendent's Residencebuilding198282002929
Northern Pacific Depotbuilding198282002926
Pine-Hickory Lakes Roadside Parking Areasite201616000276
Potter/Casey Company Buildingbuilding198282002927
Savanna Portagesite197373000963

Wildfire, 1992 to 2020

1,408 fires

Every wildfire the federal occurrence database records inside this county: 1,408 of them, burning about 23,964 acres. 23 started naturally and 225 were recorded as arson. Each settlement page carries the fires within five miles of it.

Reported cause Fires
Debris and open burning612
Missing data/not specified/undetermined235
Arson/incendiarism225
Equipment and vehicle use166
Recreation and ceremony64
Smoking28
Power generation/transmission/distribution26
Natural23
Railroad operations and maintenance14
Misuse of fire by a minor8
Other causes4
Fireworks3

The five largest, by the area the report gives. Five of them were set deliberately.

DateCause SizeReported by Name on the report
2 April 2015Missing data/not specified/undetermined3,200 acresMinnesota Department of Natural Resourcesnot named
14 April 2009Arson/incendiarism1,150 acresMinnesota Department of Natural Resourcesnot named
28 April 1997Arson/incendiarism930 acresMinnesota Department of Natural Resourcesnot named
17 March 2012Arson/incendiarism850 acresMinnesota Department of Natural ResourcesST. PATRICK'S DAY FIRE
30 April 1996Arson/incendiarism725 acresMinnesota Department of Natural Resourcesnot named
24 October 1999Equipment and vehicle use700 acresMinnesota Department of Natural ResourcesMCGRATH FIRE
25 March 1999Arson/incendiarism679 acresMinnesota Department of Natural Resourcesnot named
30 May 1997Debris and open burning640 acresMinnesota Department of Natural Resourcesnot named

Every settlement page carries the fires within five miles of it - see the settlement index below.

Storms, 1952 to 2025

60 of 374 shown

The NOAA Storm Events Database holds 374 reports for this county, causing 1 death, 4 injuries and about $4,167,250 in recorded property damage. Each settlement page carries the reports that name it.

Kind of event Reports
Thunderstorm Wind180
Hail139
Tornado22
Flash Flood16
Flood13
Lightning3
Heavy Rain1

The most serious of them, by death, then injury, then recorded damage. The accounts are quoted exactly as the forecast office filed them.

WhenEvent Place namedHarm What the report says
August 1969Tornado (F3)not stated1 killed, 3 hurt, $250,000no account filed
August 2018Thunderstorm WindWaukenabo1 hurtThe roof of a trailer home collapsed and the home sustained other significant damage from the storm. A 10 year-old girl was trapped inside and her leg was crushed and fractured due to the damage. Downed trees were also blocking State Highway 3.
August 1969Tornado (F4)not stated$2,500,000no account filed
June 2024Tornado (EF1)Aitkin$500,000Another tornado developed on the northern portion of Hammal lake, where localized pockets of extensive tree damage were located, and one three-season cabin and boat house were completely destroyed and partially thrown into the water. The tornado continued east- southeast, uprooting and snapping several mature tree trunks as it crossed Highway 169 and Hanging Kettle Lake. The tornado then took a east-southeastward path through Ripple Lake, uprooting trees and knocking over an 85 foot tall antenna tower before the tornado ended over southeastern Ripple Lake. No fatalities or injuries were reported.
July 1985Tornado (F0)not stated$250,000no account filed
July 1978Tornado (F1)not stated$250,000no account filed
September 1977Tornado (F2)not stated$250,000no account filed
June 2024Tornado (EF0)Aitkin$50,000The tornado initially formed near Wolford in Crow Wing County and entered Aitkin County near the end of Cedar Lake Drive on Cedar Lake. The tornado path was to the southeast, crossing 456th Place, 320th Street, and, finally, 310th Street before lifting. This last section of the tornado path after Cedar Lake shows damage to numerous trees via satellite imagery before the visible damage path ends just to the southwest of the intersection of 310th Street and Pioneer Avenue. The tornado was rates as an EF-0 in Aitkin County, but produced EF-2 damage in Crow Wing County just before crossing into Aitkin County. No fatalities or injuries were reported.
July 1985Tornado (F2)not stated$25,000no account filed
July 1952Tornado (F2)not stated$25,000no account filed
June 2025Thunderstorm WindAitkin$20,000A large oak tree was down on a house with other trees also down on powerlines.
August 2025Thunderstorm WindMc Gregor$10,000A large tree down estimated to be 12 inches in diameter was down onto a barn roof causing damage.
August 2025LightningThorp$10,000A large white pine was hit by lightning and exploded causing damage to headstones and grave markers at the Thorp Cemetery.
July 2024Thunderstorm WindMalmo$10,000Photos were received of extremely localized wind damage consisting of numerous medium to large trees snapped near the base along with upstairs windows blown in. There was no damage to nearly neighbors. A weakening storm moved overhead and likely produced a microburst over the property.
July 2017HailMc Grath$8,000A car was so damaged by the hail that it was declared totaled.
June 1983Tornado (F0)not stated$2,500no account filed
June 1973Tornado (F0)not stated$2,500no account filed
June 1968Tornado (F3)not stated$2,500no account filed
July 2014HailJacobson$1,000no account filed
June 1994Thunderstorm WindAitkin$500Power lines were blown over by strong thunderstorm winds.
July 1955Tornado (F1)not stated$250no account filed
June 2025Thunderstorm WindWaukenabo-A gust to 62 mph was recorded by the Waukenabo MNDOT RWIS station.
June 2025Thunderstorm WindTamarack-A gust of 59 mph was recorded by the Tamarack MNDOT RWIS station.
June 2025Thunderstorm WindSheshebee-Numerous large pine trees broken at their mid section.
June 2025Thunderstorm WindAitkin-County dispatch reported multiple trees and powerlines down in Aitkin.
June 2025Thunderstorm WindWaukenabo-Several large branches were broken off at the reporter's location.
June 2025Thunderstorm WindLibby-Several large trees were down onto a driveway along with no power.
June 2025Thunderstorm WindPalisade-County dispatch reported multiple trees and powerlines down in the community of Palisade.
June 2025Thunderstorm WindMc Gregor-County dispatch reported multiple trees down in and just north of McGregor.
June 2025Thunderstorm WindPalisade-Three large oak trees were blown over.
June 2025Thunderstorm WindLibby-Numerous reports received of large trees down around Big Sandy Lake.
July 2025Thunderstorm WindMinnewawa-Trees were down on power lines in the area.
July 2025Thunderstorm WindLibby-Several pontoon boats were flipped over on Big Sandy Lake.
July 2025Thunderstorm WindHassman-Several five inch diameter oak tree limbs were broken off.
July 2025Thunderstorm WindMinnewawa-A large tree was blown over onto a camper at the Eagle Point Campground on Big Sandy Lake.
July 2025Thunderstorm WindPalisade-Four large oak trees were down at the spotter's location.
August 2025Thunderstorm WindRossburg-A medium-sized tree was down partially across Highway 47.
August 2025Thunderstorm WindMinnewawa-Numerous trees were down in the vicinity of Minnesota 65 and 450th Street north of McGregor.
August 2025Thunderstorm WindSheshebee-Several trees were down on powerlines along with several trees across County Road 6 near Round Lake.
August 2025Thunderstorm WindPalisade-A large oak tree was snapped four to six feet from the base.
August 2025Thunderstorm WindLibby-Four medium to large trees were down with one uprooted with the full root ball. One tree fell on garage.
July 2024Thunderstorm WindMc Gregor-A video was received showing two dock pieces blowing across a parking lot.
July 2024Thunderstorm WindAitkin-Two large oak trees were blown down from west to east.
August 2024Thunderstorm WindJacobson-Several trees were downed on the west side of Ball Bluff Lake.
June 2024Tornado (EF0)Glen-A third tornado developed near Glen, MN. Storm chaser and spotter video depict a wispy tornado with no debris visible. Due to the rural and forested nature of this damage and no reports of damage, a ground survey has not been completed. This tornado rating and details may be updated in the future as additional aerial imagery becomes available.
September 2023Thunderstorm WindGlory-Photos were received showing four pine tree trunks that had been snapped about halfway up. The trees were estimated to be about one foot in diameter.
September 2023Thunderstorm WindGlory-Photos were received of several trees that were snapped off.
May 2022Thunderstorm WindCutler-Two pontoon boats were overturned and a boat lift was mangled. Furniture was blown off a porch. Additionally, a tree was snapped and a large branch was down as well.
May 2022Thunderstorm WindAitkin-Multiple trees were reported down that were around a foot in diameter. A healthy tree was also snapped a few feet off the ground.
May 2022Thunderstorm WindEast Lake-A few roof shingles were blown off a home.
May 2022Thunderstorm WindCutler-Multiple trees around 20 inches in diameter were snapped and down across a road.
July 2022Thunderstorm WindMinnewawa-A tree was knocked down during the storm.
September 2022Thunderstorm WindPalisade-A medium-sized tree was downed across a county road.
June 2022Thunderstorm WindAitkin-Numerous medium to large trees were snapped and uprooted over roadways and alleyways.
June 2022Thunderstorm WindAitkin-The top of a large pine tree was snapped.
June 2022Thunderstorm WindLawler-Multiple large to medium sized trees were snapped and down over roads and powerlines.
June 2022Thunderstorm WindAitkin-Parts of a metal building were ripped off and strewn over semi trucks.
June 2022Thunderstorm WindAitkin-Numerous trees were reported downed.
June 2022Thunderstorm WindAitkin-Multiple trees were snapped and were covering roads and a house.
June 2022Thunderstorm WindMinnewawa-Multiple trees were downed impacting powerlines and roads.

Mines and quarries

21 recorded

The Survey's mineral resources record lists 21 workings inside this county. 3 still produce and 18 are closed or unrecorded. Each settlement page carries the workings within five miles of it.

Commodity Workings
Limestone, General12
Sand and Gravel, Construction4
Iron3
Peat1
Sulfur-Pyrite1
Manganese1

The least common of them first, because a county's hundredth gravel pit says nothing its first ten did not.

Where SiteCommodity StatusRecorded
Aitkin County Peat BogsPeatProducer
Glen ReserveSulfur-PyritePast ProducerHematite, Magnetite
Rice River Reserve St-8Iron, ManganeseProspect
Glen ReserveIronProspect
Rice River Reserve St-8IronPast ProducerHematite, Magnetite
Haddeland Pit & MillSand and Gravel, ConstructionProducer
Johnson PitSand and Gravel, ConstructionUnknown
Mel Johnson PitSand and Gravel, ConstructionPast Producer
Mel Johnson Pit & MillSand and Gravel, ConstructionProducer
Aitkin County Marl Beds No 1Limestone, GeneralOccurrence
Aitkin County Marl Beds No 10Limestone, GeneralOccurrence
Aitkin County Marl Beds No 11Limestone, GeneralOccurrence
Aitkin County Marl Beds No 12Limestone, GeneralOccurrence
Aitkin County Marl Beds No 2Limestone, GeneralOccurrence
Aitkin County Marl Beds No 3Limestone, GeneralOccurrence
Aitkin County Marl Beds No 4Limestone, GeneralOccurrence
Aitkin County Marl Beds No 5Limestone, GeneralOccurrence
Aitkin County Marl Beds No 6Limestone, GeneralOccurrence
Aitkin County Marl Beds No 7Limestone, GeneralOccurrence
Aitkin County Marl Beds No 8Limestone, GeneralOccurrence
Aitkin County Marl Beds No 9Limestone, GeneralOccurrence

Every populated place in the county

40

Named settlements recorded in the Geographic Names Information System, each with the topographic sheets covering it. Villages, hamlets and abandoned places alike. Each is shown with the nearest named watercourse or landform and the survey quadrangle it falls on.

The vanished settlements of Aitkin County: the places named above that are no longer on the map.

Provenance

  • Topographic sheets. USGS Historical Topographic Map Collection, county index, measured from the bulk metadata.
  • Fire insurance maps. Library of Congress Sanborn collection, faceted to this county.
  • Photographs. Each place queried individually against the Library of Congress Prints and Photographs search.
  • Wildfire. Short, Karen C. 2022. Spatial wildfire occurrence data for the United States, 1992-2020 [FPA_FOD_20221014]. 6th Edition. Fort Collins, CO: Forest Service Research Data Archive. https://doi.org/10.2737/RDS-2013-0009.6 Collected with United States Government funding and usable without additional permissions or fees.
  • Mines and quarries. USGS Mineral Resources Data System (MRDS) https://mrdata.usgs.gov/mrds/ A work of the United States government, no copyright under 17 U.S.C. 105.
  • Storms. NOAA National Centers for Environmental Information, Storm Events Database https://www.ncei.noaa.gov/stormevents/ A work of the United States government, no copyright under 17 U.S.C. 105. Narratives are quoted verbatim from the National Weather Service report and are not edited or summarised.