Editing Chisago County, Minnesota (section)

===European Settlement===

The first European settlers arrived in the Chisago County area in the early 1800s. Most of them were of [[Swedish diaspora|Swedish descent]], and they came in search of land and new opportunities.<ref>{{cite journal | last=Flanagan | first=John T. | year=1963 | title=Chisago Reminiscences | journal=Swedish Pioneer Historical Quarterly | volume=14 | pages=6–18 }}</ref> They established small farms and communities throughout the county. Chisago County's early economy was based on farming, logging, and mining. Its forests and mines attracted many settlers to the area. Records of early businesses in Chisago County are recorded in ''Lindströmsjö''.<ref name="Lindströmsjö">{{cite web |title=Chisago County Historical Society |url=https://www.chisagocountyhistory.org/Home.html |access-date=April 28, 2023 |website=Chisago County Historical Society}}</ref> Many Swedes emigrated seeking religious freedom from the oppressive [[Lutheran]] [[Church of Sweden]]. However, the majority left for reasons other than religious repression and still identified as Lutherans.<ref name="Johnson 1948">{{cite book | last=Johnson | first=E. | title=A Church is Planted: The Story of the Lutheran Minnesota Conference, 1851-1876 | publisher=Lutheran Minnesota Conference | year=1948 | url=https://books.google.com/books?id=UYnTAAAAMAAJ | access-date=December 5, 2023 | page=}}</ref> The early Swedish churches in Minnesota, like the Chisago Lake Evangelical Lutheran Church in Center City, were initially lay-led due to the absence of ordained clergy.<ref>{{cite book | last=Eckman | first=F. M. | title=Minneskrift 1854-1904, Svenska Ev. Lutherska forsamlingen i Chisago Lake (Memorial publication 1854-1904, the Swedish Evangelical Lutheran Church in Chisago Lake) | year=1904 | publisher=Svenska Ev. Lutherska forsamlingen i Chisago Lake | language = Swedish|location=Center City, Minn. }}</ref>

In the mid-1800s, the area that is now Chisago County was part of the Minnesota Territory, and it was not officially established as a county until 1851.<ref>{{cite web |title=Chisago County, Minnesota |url=https://genealogytrails.com/minn/chisago/history_naming.html |publisher=Minnesota Geographic Names |access-date=April 26, 2022}}</ref> It took its name from the [[Chisago Lake]].<ref>{{cite book|last=Upham|first=Warren|title=Minnesota Geographic Names: Their Origin and Historic Significance|url=https://archive.org/details/minnesotageogra00uphagoog|year=1920|publisher=Minnesota Historical Society|page=[https://archive.org/details/minnesotageogra00uphagoog/page/n126 107]}}</ref> In its aboriginal form it was "Ki-chi-saga", from two Ojibwe words: "kichi" (large) and "saga" (fair or lovely).<ref name="Wikisource, the free online library 2023">{{cite web | title=Page:A history of the Swedish-Americans of Minnesota.djvu/9 | website=Wikisource, the free online library | date=March 27, 2023 | url=https://en.wikisource.org/wiki/Page:A_history_of_the_Swedish-Americans_of_Minnesota.djvu/9 | access-date=May 5, 2023}}</ref>

The county seat was originally in [[Taylors Falls, Minnesota|Taylors Falls]], but was relocated to Chisago City in 1865. It took three more years before the legislature approved this relocation and voters approved it in a referendum. The move was later challenged in the courts on allegations of election fraud, resulting in a two-year delay before the state Supreme Court validated the results. In 1875, the county seat was again moved, this time to Center City where it remains as of {{Currentyear}}.<ref name="j048">{{cite web |title=Facilities |url=https://www.chisagocountymn.gov/Facilities |access-date=2024-08-28 |website=Chisago County, MN}}</ref>

The development of transportation infrastructure in Chisago County began with the completion of the first bridge across the St. Croix River at Taylors Falls in 1856. Prior to the bridge, ferryboats provided crossings at Sunrise and Rush City. In 1868, a military road was constructed, spanning the entire county from north to south. Railroads soon became a vital mode of transportation, with the completion of the [[St. Paul and Duluth Railroad]], also running north to south, in 1870.<ref name="u439" />