# Pine County, Minnesota *County in Minnesota, United States* Pine County lies in east-central [[Minnesota]]. The 2020 census counted 28,876 residents, and the county seat is Pine City.[^1] The county dates from 1856 and was reorganized in 1872. A portion of the Mille Lacs Indian Reservation falls within its borders.[^1] The county's boundaries shifted several times in its first two decades. It was carved from neighboring counties at its creation, lost territory to new counties in 1857 and 1858, absorbed the dissolved Buchanan County in 1861, and was reorganized around a smaller area in 1872.[^2] In presidential elections, Democrats carried the county in all but two contests from 1932 through 2008. Republicans have carried it in every presidential election from 2012 through 2024, by margins that widened from 95 votes in 2012 to more than 35 percentage points in 2024.[^3] The record shows the sequence of these changes. It does not establish their causes. ## History The county was created on March 1, 1856, from land taken from Chisago and Ramsey counties. Chengwatana was its first seat, and the county took its name from the pine forests that covered it.[^4] The Wikipedia article's lead gives 1856 as the year of formation and 1872 as the year of organization. Its History section instead dates the organization to March 1, 1856, and calls the 1872 event a reorganization.[^1][^4] In 1857 the original county gave up all of what became Buchanan County, together with the southern portions of Aitkin and Carlton counties. Kanabec County was organized from it the next year.[^2] Buchanan County was abolished in 1861, and its territory returned to Pine County.[^2] At the 1872 reorganization, Pine City became the seat of the reduced county.[^2] Chengwatana, the first seat, now appears among the county's ghost towns.[^17] ### Popular culture Author Dean Hovey has set a series of mystery novels in the county.[^5] ## Geography The county sits on Minnesota's eastern edge. The St. Croix River runs south along its southeastern boundary and separates it from Wisconsin.[^6] The Kettle River crosses the middle of the county toward the southeast and joins the St. Croix on the eastern boundary. The Snake River runs east across the southern part of the county to its own junction with the St. Croix.[^6] The land is made up of low rolling hills cut by drainages, partly forested and partly farmed. It descends toward the south and east from a high point of 1,319 feet (402 m) above sea level near the northeast corner.[^7] Of the county's 1,435 square miles, 1,411 square miles are land and 23 square miles (1.6%) are water.[^7] The article describes Devil's Lake, at the southeastern edge of Pine City, as perhaps the best-known body of water in the county.[^7] Interstate 35 runs through the county, along with Minnesota State Highways 18, 23, 48, 70, 107 and 123.[^8] Neighboring counties are: - in Minnesota: Carlton (north), Chisago (south), Isanti (southwest), Kanabec (west) and Aitkin (northwest); - in Wisconsin: Douglas (northeast) and Burnett (east).[^9] The protected areas in the county are: - Banning State Park, St. Croix State Park and part of Wild River State Park; - the Chengwatana, DAR Memorial and General C. C. Andrews state forests, and part of Nemadji State Forest; - the Kettle River Scientific and Natural Area and the Pine County State Game Refuge; - part of the Saint Croix National Scenic Riverway.[^10] ## Demographics ### 2020 census The 2020 census counted 28,876 people, with a median age of 45.1 years. Residents under 18 made up 20.4% of the population, and residents 65 or older made up 20.7%.[^11] The county had 114.3 males for every 100 females overall, and 116.7 males for every 100 females among adults 18 and over.[^11] By race, the census recorded the following shares: - 88.2% White; - 1.7% Black or African American; - 3.5% American Indian and Alaska Native; - 0.9% Asian; - under 0.1% Native Hawaiian and Pacific Islander; - 0.8% some other race; - 4.9% two or more races. Hispanic or Latino residents of any race made up 2.5%.[^12] The census classed under 0.1% of residents as urban and 100.0% as rural.[^12] Of the county's 11,442 households: - 25.3% included children under 18; - 48.2% were married couples; - 21.2% had a male householder with no spouse or partner present, and another 21.2% had a female householder with no spouse or partner present; - 28.9% were one-person households; - 13.8% had a resident 65 or older living alone.[^13] The county had 16,886 housing units, and 32.2% of them were vacant. Owners occupied 80.2% of the occupied units and renters 19.8%. The vacancy rate was 1.5% for homeowner units and 5.8% for rental units.[^14] ### 2000 census The 2000 census counted 26,530 people in 9,939 households and 6,917 families, a density of 18.8 people per square mile. That count also recorded 15,353 housing units, or 10.9 per square mile.[^15] ## Communities The county has 14 cities: - Askov (first called Partridge) - Brook Park (first called Pokegama Creek) - Bruno - Denham - Finlayson - Henriette (first called Cornell) - Hinckley (first called Central Station) - Kerrick - Pine City, the county seat - Rock Creek - Rutledge (first called Kettle River) - Sandstone - Sturgeon Lake - Willow River.[^16] The article also lists 16 unincorporated communities, among them Beroun, Friesland and Groningen. It lists 22 ghost towns, Chengwatana among them, and 33 townships, from Arlone Township to Windemere Township.[^17] ## Politics From 1932 through 2008, Democrats lost the county in only two presidential elections. Both were national Republican landslides: Dwight D. Eisenhower carried it in 1952, and Richard Nixon carried it by 87 votes in 1972.[^3] Democrats won the 2000, 2004 and 2008 contests in the county with pluralities only, and never by more than 2.5%.[^3] Republican Mitt Romney carried the county in 2012 over incumbent Democrat Barack Obama. He won by under 1%, a margin of 95 votes, and was the first Republican in 40 years to carry it.[^3] Republican Donald Trump won the county by more than 26% in 2016, more than 30% in 2020 and more than 35% in 2024. In 2020 he became the first Republican since Warren G. Harding, about a century before, to receive more than 60% of the county's vote.[^3] In the 2018 midterm elections, the county backed every Republican candidate for statewide office except in the U.S. Senate race. There it narrowly supported the re-election of Democratic Senator [[Amy Klobuchar]]; it voted against her in 2024, when she again won re-election statewide.[^18] In 2022 the county again voted Republican for every statewide office and in the U.S. House race.[^18] ## Notes [^1]: Wikipedia contributors, *Pine County, Minnesota* (revision 1375334228, retrieved 2026-10-25) — lead: state, 2020 population, county seat, 1856 formation and 1872 date, Mille Lacs Indian Reservation. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pine_County,_Minnesota [^2]: Wikipedia contributors, *Pine County, Minnesota*, History (revision 1375334228, retrieved 2026-10-25) — 1857 formation of Buchanan County and the southern parts of Aitkin and Carlton counties, 1858 Kanabec County, 1861 dissolution of Buchanan County, 1872 reorganization with Pine City as seat. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pine_County,_Minnesota [^3]: Wikipedia contributors, *Pine County, Minnesota*, Politics (revision 1375334228, retrieved 2026-10-25) — presidential results and margins in the county, 1932–2024. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pine_County,_Minnesota [^4]: Wikipedia contributors, *Pine County, Minnesota*, History (revision 1375334228, retrieved 2026-10-25) — organization on March 1, 1856, from Chisago and Ramsey counties; original seat Chengwatana; origin of the name. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pine_County,_Minnesota [^5]: Wikipedia contributors, *Pine County, Minnesota*, History: Popular culture (revision 1375334228, retrieved 2026-10-25) — Dean Hovey mystery series. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pine_County,_Minnesota [^6]: Wikipedia contributors, *Pine County, Minnesota*, Geography (revision 1375334228, retrieved 2026-10-25) — location; St. Croix, Kettle and Snake rivers. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pine_County,_Minnesota [^7]: Wikipedia contributors, *Pine County, Minnesota*, Geography (revision 1375334228, retrieved 2026-10-25) — terrain, highest point, land and water area, Devil's Lake. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pine_County,_Minnesota [^8]: Wikipedia contributors, *Pine County, Minnesota*, Geography: Major highways (revision 1375334228, retrieved 2026-10-25) — Interstate 35 and state highways. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pine_County,_Minnesota [^9]: Wikipedia contributors, *Pine County, Minnesota*, Geography: Adjacent counties (revision 1375334228, retrieved 2026-10-25) — neighboring counties and directions. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pine_County,_Minnesota [^10]: Wikipedia contributors, *Pine County, Minnesota*, Geography: Protected areas (revision 1375334228, retrieved 2026-10-25) — state parks, forests, refuges and riverway. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pine_County,_Minnesota [^11]: Wikipedia contributors, *Pine County, Minnesota*, Demographics: 2020 census (revision 1375334228, retrieved 2026-10-25) — population, median age, age shares, sex ratios. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pine_County,_Minnesota [^12]: Wikipedia contributors, *Pine County, Minnesota*, Demographics: 2020 census (revision 1375334228, retrieved 2026-10-25) — racial and Hispanic/Latino composition; urban and rural shares. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pine_County,_Minnesota [^13]: Wikipedia contributors, *Pine County, Minnesota*, Demographics: 2020 census (revision 1375334228, retrieved 2026-10-25) — household count and composition. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pine_County,_Minnesota [^14]: Wikipedia contributors, *Pine County, Minnesota*, Demographics: 2020 census (revision 1375334228, retrieved 2026-10-25) — housing units, vacancy, tenure, vacancy rates. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pine_County,_Minnesota [^15]: Wikipedia contributors, *Pine County, Minnesota*, Demographics: 2000 census (revision 1375334228, retrieved 2026-10-25) — population, households, families, density, housing units. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pine_County,_Minnesota [^16]: Wikipedia contributors, *Pine County, Minnesota*, Communities: Cities (revision 1375334228, retrieved 2026-10-25) — cities and their original names. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pine_County,_Minnesota [^17]: Wikipedia contributors, *Pine County, Minnesota*, Communities (revision 1375334228, retrieved 2026-10-25) — unincorporated communities, ghost towns, townships. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pine_County,_Minnesota [^18]: Wikipedia contributors, *Pine County, Minnesota*, Politics (revision 1375334228, retrieved 2026-10-25) — 2018 and 2022 statewide and congressional results; Klobuchar 2018 and 2024. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pine_County,_Minnesota