Kittson

Formed March 9, 1878 (77^th county)

Kittson County (4,217), Hallock (907)                

The Modern appearance is in the tan brick courthouse.  It was built in 1965 in Hallock after replacing an 1895 classic courthouse for the county since its March 9, 1878 founding.  Wells, Denbrooke & Associates and Mooney, Nenning & Associates provided the designs.  The county was taken from Native American Territory as the 77^th county.  The building sits at 5^th, Douglas, 6^th, and Elm streets, two blocks east of United States Highway 75.  Kittson County is named for railroad officer Norman Kittson.  The county seat is named for hotel owner Charles Hallock. 

Kittson County government consists of a sheriff, an administrator, an attorney, a treasurer, an auditor, an assessor and a clerk (executive).  It has 5 Commissioners (legislative.)  Twenty-two District Court Judges serve Kittson, Aitkin, Beltrami, Cass, Clearwater, Crow Wing, Hubbard, Itasca, Koochiching, Lake of the Woods, Mahnomen, Marshall, Norman, Pennington, Polk, Red Lake, and Roseau counties (judicial.) Kittson County is in the northwest corner of the state.  It borders both North Dakota and Canada.  The county center is 4.7 miles Southeast of Hallock.  The county is surrounded clockwise by Canada and, Roseau and Marshall counties and North Dakota. 

The area of the county is 1097.1 square miles.  It is 18 out of 87 in the state.  It ranks 84 out of 87 in population in the state.  It has a density of 3.8 persons per square mile making it 86 out of 87 in the state.  Kittson County has 59.6% of its population in its incorporated areas.  United States Highway 59 originates and travels southeast into Marshall County.  United States Highway 75 also originates in the county and goes south into Marshall County.  The county is a fat plow.  Hallock is in the western quarter of the county.  Hallock is the county seat and the largest city.  It is 21.5% of the county population.  The county is pronounced KIT-SON.