Mille Lacs

Formed May 23, 1857 (48^th county)

Mille Lacs County (26,467), Milaca (3,020), Princeton (5,008)

In 1923 the masonry Classical Revival courthouse was erected for Mille Lacs County.  It is on the corner of 6^th Avenue and 2^nd Street.  Minnesota State Highway 23 is one block to the east of the courthouse.  Croft & Boener, Inc., are the architects.  The building was renovated in 1978.  The Justice Center sits behind the courthouse.  Princeton had the 1888 courthouse.  A Judicial Center was added in 2010.  Mille Lacs County was taken from Benton County on May 23, 1857 as the 48^th county.  The county’s name is French for “thousand lakes.”  The county seat name is taken from the county’s name. 

Mille Lacs 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 Mille Lacs, Becker, Benton, Clay, Douglas, Morrison, Otter Tail, Stearns, Todd, and Wadena counties (judicial.) The county is in eastern Minnesota.  Minneapolis, Minnesota is south of the county.  The county center is 13.3 miles North of Milaca nearer Onamia.  The county is surrounded clockwise by Aitkin, Kanabec, Isanti, Sherburne, Benton, Morrison, and Crow Wing counties. 

The area of the county is 574.5 square miles.  It is 55 out of 87 in the state.  It ranks 39 out of 87 in population in the state.  It has a density of 46.1 persons per square mile making it 29 out of 87 in the state.  Mille Lacs County has 39.6% of its population in its incorporated areas.  United States Highway 169 travels north to south through the county from Crow Wing County to Sherburne County.  The county is a tall capital letter T.  Milaca is in the southern quarter of the county.  Princeton is on the southern border and extends into Sherburne County.  Milaca is the county seat and Princeton is the largest city.  Milaca is 11.4% of the county population while Princeton is 17.8% of the county population.  The county is pronounced MIL LAK.  The county seat is pronounced MI-LAK-A.