Otter Tail

Formed March 18, 1858 (57^th county)

Otter Tail County (60,074), Fergus Falls (14,120)

The tan brick Classical Revival building was built in 1921.  The courthouse is on Junius Avenue at Court Street.  United States Highway 59 Business goes three blocks north of the site.  The architects are Buechner and Orth.  The structure was enlarged in 1962 with a Justice Center annex and in 1972.  The courthouse features faux columns.  The 1880 courthouse was destroyed by a tornado.  Otter Tail County was created on March 18, 1858 from parts of Kittson and Cass counties as the 57^th county.  Otter Tail City was the county seat until 1872 when Fergus Falls assumed the county seat.  The county is named for the river and lake.  The county seat is named for settler James Fergus and the local falls. 

Otter Tail 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 Otter Tail, Becker, Benton, Clay, Douglas, Mille Lacs, Morrison, Stearns, Todd, and Wadena counties (judicial.) The county is in western Minnesota.  Minneapolis, Minnesota is southeast and Fargo, North Dakota is west of the county.  The county center is 25.5 miles Northeast of Fergus Falls nearer Star Lake.  The county is surrounded clockwise by Becker, Wadena, Todd, Douglas, Grant, Wilkin, and Clay counties. 

The area of the county is 1979.7 square miles.  It is 7 out of 87 in the state.  It ranks 17 out of 87 in population in the state.  It has a density of 30.4 persons per square mile making it 41 out of 87 in the state.  Otter Tail County has 45.6% of its population in its incorporated areas.  Interstate Highway 94 goes northwest to south in the county from Wilkin County to Grant County.  United States Highway 52 is joined with Interstate Highway 94 from Wilkin to Grant counties.  United States Highway 59 crosses north to south from Becker County to Grant County.  The county is a large rectangle with the northwest corner notched out.  Fergus Falls is in the southwest quarter of the county.  Fergus Falls is the county seat and the largest city.  It is 23.5% of the county population.  This county is in the Fergus Falls Micropolitan Statistical Area.

Wadena