Editing Aitkin County, Minnesota (section)

==History==
Aitkin County was established in 1857 as ''Aiken County''. The current spelling was adopted in 1872. It was named for [[William Alexander Aitken]], a fur trader for the [[American Fur Company]], under [[John Jacob Astor]]. Formed from [[Ramsey County, Minnesota|Ramsey]] and [[Pine County, Minnesota|Pine]] counties, Aiken County originally consisted of the 17 [[township (United States)|townships]] closest to [[Mille Lacs Lake]]. It acquired outlands of Ramsey, [[Itasca County, Minnesota|Itasca]] and Pine Counties to its north and east. It was organized in 1871, taking up lands from [[Cass County, Minnesota|Cass]] and Itasca Counties and losing a point in the southwestern corner to [[Crow Wing County, Minnesota|Crow Wing]] County to form its current boundaries.