Our Family's Journey Through Time
Notes:
Crow Wing County is a county in the East Central part of the U.S. state of Minnesota. As of the 2020 census, the population was 66,123.[1] Its county seat is Brainerd.[2] The county was formed in 1857, and was organized in 1870.[3]
Crow Wing County is included in the Brainerd, MN Micropolitan Statistical Area.
History
This area was long occupied by the Ojibwe people, also known as Chippewa. In addition, numerous Dakota people lived in central and southern Minnesota before European settlement. European Americans established a trading post by 1837 in this area, on the east side of the Mississippi River opposite the mouth of the Crow Wing River. The post (named Crow Wing) soon became a center of trading with the region's Native Americans, with a general-supply store that served the area. By 1866, the village contained about 600 whites and Chippewa; it was a major population center. The territorial government enacted the county's creation on May 23, 1857, and named Crow Wing the county seat.[4] The governmental structure of the county was not effected until March 3, 1870. The county was named for the river,[5] which is named for an island in the river that resembles a crow's wing.
Brainerd township was founded in 1870 when the Northern Pacific Railroad selected the site for a crossing of the Mississippi River. It attracted development and population, soon surpassing Crow Wing. It was also designated as the new county seat, drawing off more residents and businesses from what became known as a ghost town, Old Crow Wing. Crow Wing State Park encompasses much of the former village site along the river.
Brainerd City was incorporated on November 19, 1881, named for Lawrence Brainerd, the father-in-law of J. Gregory Smith, the first president of the Northern Pacific Railroad Company. Smith served as governor of Vermont from 1863 to 1865 before moving west. He is called the father and founder of Brainerd. Lawrence Brainerd was the first president of the Vermont Central Railroad.[citation needed] The Northern Pacific Railroad ran a special train as its first service to Brainerd on March 11, 1871. Its regular passenger service began the next September. The first passenger train from the Twin Cities, by way of Sauk Rapids, arrived on November 1, 1877.
On February 18, 1887, the Minnesota legislature annexed part of Cass County (west of the Mississippi) to Crow Wing County, which doubled the former area of Crow Wing County.
Latitude: 000000, Longitude: -93.968333Matches 1 to 1 of 1
Last Name, Given Name(s)  |
Birth  |
Person ID | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 |  Weninger, William Julius | 26 Jul 1901 | Crow Wing County, Minnesota, United States | I28294 |
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