Becker

Formed March 18, 1858 (56^th county)

Becker County (35,176), Detroit Lakes (10,021)

The Modern concrete and masonry courthouse was built in 1942.  A very nice courthouse from 1885 was in Detroit Lakes also, the only county seat.  It is located on Lake Avenue at Holmes Street.  United States Highway 10 is three blocks north of the location.  The building was enlarged in 2007.  Foss and Company and Willard E. Randolph were the architects.  Becker County was established on March 18, 1858 from parts of Cass and Kittson counties as the 56^th county.  The county is named for railroad land commissioner George Loomis Becker.  The county seat is named for Detroit, Michigan which is Native American for “strait” plus the numerous local lakes. 

Becker 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-five District Court Judges serve Becker, Benton, Clay, Douglas, Mille Lacs, Morrison, Otter Tail, Stearns, Todd, and Wadena counties (judicial.) The county is situated in northeast Minnesota.  The county is in the northwest part of the state.  Fargo, North Dakota is west and Minneapolis, Minnesota is southeast of the county.  The county center is 13.5 miles Northeast of Detroit Lakes nearer Rochert.  The county is surrounded clockwise by Mahnomen, Clearwater, Hubbard, Wadena, Otter Tail, Clay, and Norman counties. 

The area of the county is 1310.4 square miles.  It is 15 out of 87 in the state.  It ranks 31 out of 87 in population in the state.  It has a density of 26.8 persons per square mile making it 44 out of 87 in the state.  Becker County has 37.2% of its population in its incorporated areas.  United States Highway 10 crosses south to west in the county from Otter Tail County to Clay County.  United States Highway 59 goes north to south from Mahnomen County to Otter Tail County.  The county is a rectangle.  Detroit Lakes is in the southwest quarter of the county.  Detroit Lakes is the county seat and the largest city.  It is 28.5% of the county population.

Wolf Lake