Saint Louis

Formed February 20, 1855 (28^th county)

Saint Louis County (200,223), Duluth (86,720)

The governmental masonry Classical Revival courthouse was built in 1909.  It is on Courthouse Circle at 1^st Street and 5^th Avenue.  Interstate Highway 35 is two blocks to the southeast of the site.  Daniel H. Burnham and J. J. Wangenstein provided the courthouse designs.  The structure features faux columns and a fountain sits in front.  Hibbing and Virginia have augmenting courthouses.  Saint Louis County was established on February 20, 1855 from Itasca County as the 28^th county with Duluth as the only county seat.  The county is named for the Saint Louis River.  The county seat is named for explorer Daniel Greysolon Du Luth.  Saint Louis County was the birthplace of 1 Minnesota Governor, Rudolph G. Perpich, Sr. 

Saint Louis County government consists of a sheriff, an administrator, an attorney, a treasurer, an auditor, an assessor and a clerk (executive).  It has 7 Commissioners (legislative.)  Fourteen District Court Judges serve St. Louis, Carlton, Cook, and Lake counties (judicial.) The county is in the northeast part of the state.  Canada is on its northern border.  Lake Superior is its southeast coast.  Wisconsin is on its southern border.  The county center is 81.3 miles North of Duluth nearer Tower.  The county is surrounded clockwise by Canada and Lake County and Wisconsin and Carlton, Aitkin, Itasca, and Koochiching counties. 

The area of the county is 6225.2 square miles.  It is 1 out of 87 in the state.  It ranks 6 out of 87 in population in the state.  It has a density of 32.2 persons per square mile making it 38 out of 87 in the state.  Saint Louis County has 88.0% of its population in its incorporated areas.  Interstate Highway 35 originates in the county and travels south into Carlton County.  United States Highway 2 goes east to west from Wisconsin to Aitkin County.  United States Highway 53 enters from the northwest, Koochiching County, and exits to the southeast, Wisconsin.  The overall county shape is a rectangle except for the wandering northern border.  Duluth is located in the southeast corner of the county.  Duluth is the county seat and the largest city.  It is 43.3% of the county population.  The county seat is pronounced DU-LUTH.  This county is in the Duluth Metropolitan Statistical Area.