Editing Kittson County, Minnesota (section)

==History==
Evidence of occupation dating back 1800 years has been confirmed through archaeological expeditions done in the 1930s and 1970s around the burial mounds on the sand ridges in the eastern part of the county, which date to the [[Woodland Period]]. Evidence has been found that the Laurel, Arvilla, St. Croix, and Blackduck complexes were the area's early occupants. About 400 years ago, the [[Cree]], [[Assiniboine people|Assiniboine]], [[Sioux]] and [[Ojibway]] inhabited the county.

The early explorers of the region were fur traders. [[Pembina, North Dakota|Pembina]], North Dakota's oldest settlement, across the [[Red River of the North|Red River]] from Kittson County, dates from 1797, when the first trading post was established by Charles Baptiste Chaboillez of the [[Northwest Fur Company]]. The [[Hudson's Bay Company|Hudson Bay]] and American Fur Companies were also in Pembina as the fur trading industry increased. The fur traders and [[voyageurs]] traveled on the eastern side of the Red. [[Alexander Henry the younger]], who erected a fort for the North West Company in Pembina, is thought to be the first white man to test agriculture in the valley. [[Joe Rolette]], who started a fur post for the American Fur Company in Pembina, and [[Norman Kittson|Norman W. Kittson]] (for whom the county is named),<ref>{{Cite web |title=Minnesota Place Names |url=http://mnplaces.mnhs.org/upham/county.cfm |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120620201420/http://mnplaces.mnhs.org/upham/county.cfm |archive-date=June 20, 2012 |access-date=March 18, 2014 |publisher=Minnesota Historical Society}}</ref> were two early entrepreneurs who opened this area by developing the Red River Ox Cart trails and broadening the use of oxcarts. The need for oxcarts diminished as steamboats became the new mode for transporting furs and supplies. The railroad eventually replaced the steamboats.

Pembina County was one of five large counties the [[Minnesota Territory]] legislature established on October 27, 1849. It was not organized at that time. On March 9, 1878, the legislature renamed Pembina County to Kittson County. On February 25, 1879, Kittson County was divided, creating [[Marshall County, Minnesota|Marshall County]]. The county seat, Hallock, was organized in 1880. Kittson County was further diminished in 1894 when [[Roseau County, Minnesota|Roseau County]] was partitioned off. Kittson County has retained its present boundaries since 1894.<ref>[https://books.google.com/books?id=ShcLAAAAYAAJ&pg=PA535 Upham, Warren. ''Minnesota Geographic Names, pp. 276-279'' (1920). Accessed March 16, 2019]</ref>

St. Vincent, which is directly across the Red River from Pembina, was incorporated in 1857,<ref>{{Cite book |last=Upham |first=Warren |title=Minnesota Place Names: A Geographical Encyclopedia |publisher=Minnesota Historical Society Press |year=2001 |isbn=9780873513968 |edition=3rd, Revised |pages=293}}</ref> just before statehood. In 1878, the [[St. Paul & Pacific Railroad]] line reached St. Vincent and opened the area to settlement. With the railroad coming through, settlers began arriving to stake their claims. Many of the earliest settlers in what became Pembina and St. Vincent were [[Métis in the United States|Métis]], going back to the late 18th century. The railway extended through the western part of the county, with [[Donaldson, Minnesota|Donaldson]], [[Kennedy, Minnesota|Kennedy]], [[Hallock, Minnesota|Hallock]], [[Northcote, Minnesota|Northcote]], [[Humboldt, Minnesota|Humboldt]] and [[St. Vincent, Minnesota|St. Vincent]] along the line. The eastern part of the county was settled in the early 1900s. The [[Minneapolis, St. Paul and Sault Ste. Marie Railroad|Soo Line]] railroad was completed in 1904 and the communities of [[Karlstad, Minnesota|Karlstad]], [[Halma, Minnesota|Halma]], [[Lake Bronson, Minnesota|Bronson]], [[Lancaster, Minnesota|Lancaster]], [[Orleans, Minnesota|Orleans]] and [[Noyes, Minnesota|Noyes]] were established. Scandinavians, Ukrainians, Polish, Scottish, Irish, English, Germans, French Canadians, [[Canadian Gaelic]] speakers from [[New Brunswick]], and Métis all contributed to the county's melting pot.

Once home to over 10,000 people, the county population declined below 5,000 in 2006.<ref>{{Cite news |last=Jane Helmke |year=2008 |title=Struggle for survival in Kittson County |url=http://origin.kare11.com/news/investigative/extras/extra_article.aspx?storyid=496115&catid=57 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://archive.today/20130127035924/http://origin.kare11.com/news/investigative/extras/extra_article.aspx?storyid=496115&catid=57 |archive-date=January 27, 2013 |access-date=November 24, 2009 |publisher=[[KARE (TV)|KARE]]}}</ref>

===Historic sites===
Three sites in the county are listed in the [[National Register of Historic Places]]: the [[St. Nicholas Orthodox Church (Minnesota)|St. Nicholas Orthodox Church]], in [[Caribou Township, Minnesota|Caribou Township]]; the [[burial mounds]] known as the "[[Lake Bronson Site]]", in [[Norway Township, Kittson County, Minnesota|Norway]] and [[Percy Township, Minnesota|Percy]] Townships; and the [[Lake Bronson State Park]] [[Works Progress Administration|WPA]]/Rustic Style Historic Resources, which include an observation tower and several buildings. Lake Bronson State Park also has interpretive sites for the tower, a pioneer cemetery and the [[Works Progress Administration|WPA]] camp.