Editing Lake County, Minnesota (section)

==History==
Prior to the arrival of Europeans, the area had long been inhabited by Native American groups. At the time of European contact, the principal Native American groups in the region were the [[Sioux|Dakota]] (Sioux) and [[Ojibwe]] (also called Anishinabe or Chippewa). The economy of these groups was based on hunting, fishing and gathering, with [[wild rice]] being of particular importance. The first Europeans to explore the area were the French in the late 17th century<ref>{{Cite web |title=MNHS "Time Line" |url=http://events.mnhs.org/TimePieces/Timeline.cfm |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20060917211935/http://events.mnhs.org/TimePieces/timeline.cfm |archive-date=September 17, 2006 |access-date=August 11, 2009}}</ref> who were followed by trappers, fur traders, [[missionaries]], and [[Exploration|explorers]].

The [[Wisconsin Territory]] was established by the Federal Government effective July 3, 1836, and existed until its eastern portion was granted statehood (as [[Wisconsin]]) in 1848. Therefore, the Federal Government set up the [[Minnesota Territory]] effective March 3, 1849. The newly organized territorial legislature created nine counties across the territory in October of that year. One of those original counties, [[Itasca County, Minnesota|Itasca]], had its eastern section partitioned off on February 20, 1855, into two new counties: the western part was designated Newton and the eastern part was named Superior County. The territorial legislature returned to the matter on March 3, changing Superior County to Saint Louis County. Then on March 1, 1856, the county name was again changed, to Lake County, and the "Saint Louis County" name was given to the previous Newton County. With the new name came the designation of county seat at [[Beaver Bay, Minnesota|Beaver Bay]], which had first been platted in 1856. The county's boundaries were altered in 1874, when its eastern part was partitioned off to create [[Cook County, Minnesota|Cook County]].

In 1868, [[iron ore]] was discovered on the [[Vermilion Range (Minnesota)|Vermilion Range]] by George Stuntz. A spur of the Duluth and Iron Range Railroad was extended to the [[Lake Superior]] shore, and a settlement quickly sprang up at the terminus. This settlement was incorporated as a village ([[Two Harbors, Minnesota|Two Harbors]]) on March 9, 1888, and that same year a vote was taken to transfer the county seat from Beaver Bay to Two Harbors (1888).<ref>[https://books.google.com/books?id=ShcLAAAAYAAJ&pg=PA293 Upham, Warren. Minnesota Geographic Names (1920), pp. 293-96 (accessed April 23, 2019)]</ref>

[[Commercial fishing]] on Lake Superior became important during the late 1880s, spurred by the arrival of [[Swedes|Swedish]] and [[Norwegians|Norwegian]] immigrants to the [[North Shore (Lake Superior)|North Shore]]. In 1890, the Merritt brothers discovered the [[Mesabi Range]]. The [[Two Harbors Lighthouse]] was built on Agate Bay in 1892. Ten years later, five Two Harbors businessmen signed the [[articles of incorporation]] for a new [[mining]] company named [[Minnesota Mining and Manufacturing|3M]]. Today, 3M Corporation has over 70,000 employees worldwide and produces more than 50,000 [[adhesive]] household products, now has its headquarters in [[Saint Paul, Minnesota|Saint Paul]].

In 1906, the [[Court House]], which stands to this day, was built. In 1907, one of the nation's first [[steel]] [[ore]] docks was built in Two Harbors. In 1944, one of the first [[Health Maintenance Organizations|HMO]]s in the [[United States]] was created in Lake County to serve [[railroad]] employees. A second iron ore boom took place in the 1950s with the development of the [[taconite]] [[beneficiation]] process for turning lean, low-grade iron ore into a shippable product.

In 2021, the [[Greenwood Fire]] burned over 10,500 acres of the county southwest of [[Isabella, Minnesota|Isabella]], beginning near [[Greenwood Lake (Lake County, Minnesota)|Greenwood Lake]].<ref>{{Cite web |last=Hollingsworth |first=Jana |date=August 23, 2021 |title=Minnesota's largest wildfire likened to a 'freight train' as it grows, spurs more evacuations |url=https://www.startribune.com/minnesota-s-largest-wildfire-likened-to-a-freight-train-as-it-grows-spurs-more-evacuations/600090311/ |access-date=August 24, 2021 |website=[[Star Tribune]]}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |date=August 23, 2021 |title=Greenwood Fire expected to cross Highway 1; more evacuations begin |url=https://www.duluthnewstribune.com/news/fires/7164138-Greenwood-Fire-expected-to-cross-Highway-1-more-evacuations-begin |access-date=August 24, 2021 |website=[[Duluth News Tribune]] |language=en}}</ref>