Trails to the Past

Minnesota

Koochiching County

 

 

 

Trails to the Past would appreciate any genealogy information that you may have such as news items, wills, deaths, births, biographies etc. if you have any of these items they can be emailed to Marie Miller the state of Minnesota Adminstrator

Its county seat is International Falls. A portion of the Bois Forte Indian Reservation is in the county. A small part of Voyageurs National Park extends into its boundary, with Lake of the Woods County to its northwest.

Historymakers of Koochiching County were of many occupations. They were explorers, traders, homesteaders, and lumberjacks. They also were teachers, preachers, merchants, engineers, and builders of industry. Settlers came at the beginning of the 1900s and suffered through isolation, illness, harsh weather, and poverty. They built schools, churches, and good roads. Koochiching County is the second largest county in area next to Saint Louis County. It is also one of the youngest counties in the state having been created in 1906 after it was separated from Itasca County. The name "Koochiching" comes from either the Ojibwe word Gojijiing or Cree Kocicihk (recorded in some documents as "Ouchichiq"), both meaning "at the place of inlets," referring to the neighboring Rainy Lake and River. Reverend J.A. Gilfillan recorded their meaning, "according to some, Neighbor lake, according to others a lake somewhere," possibly referring to the neighbouring Rainy Lake and to Lake Couchiching located in southern Ontario. Early European (French) inhabitants gave the names Lac à la Pluie (Rainy Lake) and Rivière à la Pluie (Rainy River) to the nearby bodies of water because of the mist-like rain present at the falls of Rainy River and then to the settlement that became known as International Falls. About 10,000 years ago almost 90% of Koochiching County was covered by Lake Agassiz. When it receded it left low areas of decayed vegetation (muskeg); as a result, three-quarters of northern Koochiching are underlain with 2 to 50 feet of peat.

 

Cities
Big Falls
International Falls (county seat)
Littlefork
Mizpah
Northome
Ranier
Unorganized territories
East Koochiching
Nett Lake
Northome
Northwest Koochiching
Rainy Lake
South Koochiching
Census-designated place
Nett Lake
Other unincorporated communities
Birchdale
Bramble
Central
Craigville
Ericsburg
Forest Grove
Frontier
Gemmell
Grand Falls
Indus
Island View
Jameson
Lindford
Loman
Margie
Pelland
Pinetop
Rauch
Ray
Silverdale
Wildwood
Ghost towns
Border
Fairland
Falls Junction
Gates Corner
Laurel
Manitou
Nakoda
Rainy Lake City
Ridge
South International Falls
The Pines
Wayland

 

 

Adjacent counties
Rainy River District, Ontario (north)
Saint Louis County (east)
Itasca County (south)
Beltrami County (southwest)
Lake of the Woods County (northwest)

 

International Falls Courthouse

 

Webspace for this site has been generously provided by Genealogy Village and Access Genealogy Thank You!

 

 

The information on Trails to the Past © Copyright    may be used in personal family history research, with source citation. The pages in entirety may not be duplicated for publication in any fashion without the permission of the owner. Commercial use of any material on this site is not permitted.  Please respect the wishes of those who have contributed their time and efforts to make this free site possible.~Thank you!