Morrison County, Minnesota | |
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 Location within the U.S. state ofMinnesota | |
 Minnesota's location within theU.S. | |
| Coordinates:45°58′00″N94°22′00″W / 45.966666666667°N 94.366666666667°W /45.966666666667; -94.366666666667 | |
| Country |  United States |
| State |  Minnesota |
| Founded | February 25, 1856 |
| Named after | William andAllan Morrison |
| Seat | Little Falls |
| Largest city | Little Falls |
| Area | |
• Total | 1,153 sq mi (2,990 km2) |
| • Land | 1,125 sq mi (2,910 km2) |
| • Water | 28 sq mi (73 km2) 2.5% |
| Population (2020) | |
• Total | 34,010 |
• Estimate (2024) | 34,520 |
| • Density | 30.23/sq mi (11.67/km2) |
| Time zone | UTC−6 (Central) |
| • Summer (DST) | UTC−5 (CDT) |
| Congressional district | 8th |
| Website | www |
Morrison County is acounty in theU.S. state ofMinnesota. As of the2020 census, the population was 34,010.[1] Itscounty seat isLittle Falls.[2]Camp Ripley Military Reservation occupies a significant area in north-central Morrison County.
Dakotah andOjibwe Indians lived in central Minnesota around theMississippi River. French and English fur traders and voyageurs traveled through Minnesota from the 17th century to the 19th century. They used the river to transport their goods and trade with the natives. The county was named for fur trading brothers William and Allan Morrison.
In the 19th century three prominent explorers led expeditions along the river through the area that became Morrison County.Zebulon Pike came through in 1805.Michigan Territory GovernorLewis Cass led an expedition through the area in 1820. Explorer and scientistJoseph Nicollet created the first accurate map of the area along the river in 1836.
Missionaries were some of the area's first European settlers. Methodist missionaries settled temporarily along the Little Elk River in 1838. The Reverend Frederic and Elisabeth (Taylor) Ayer moved to theBelle Prairie area in 1849. They started a mission and school there for the Ojibwe. FatherFrancis Xavier Pierz came to the area in 1852 and started many communities in central Minnesota, including Sobieski and Rich Prairie (later renamed Pierz) in Morrison County.
The US legislature established theWisconsin Territory effective July 3, 1836. It existed until its eastern portion was granted statehood (asWisconsin) in 1848. The federal government set up theMinnesota Territory effective March 3, 1849. The newly organized territorial legislature created nine counties across the territory in October of that year. On February 25, 1856,Benton, one of those original counties, had a portion of its northern section partitioned off to create Morrison County, withLittle Falls as the county seat.[3] It was named for William and Allen Morrison, early fur trappers and traders in the area.[4]
The event that prodded further development of the county was the building ofFort Ripley (originally named Ft. Gaines). In order to construct this military outpost, the Little Falls Mill and Land Company built a dam and sawmill in 1849. The company was formed by James Green, Allan Morrison, Henry Rice, John Irvine, John Blair Smith Todd, and Napoleon Jackson Tecumseh Dana. Fort Ripley was ostensibly built to protect theWinnebago Indians, who had been relocated by Henry Rice fromIowa to central Minnesota west of the Mississippi River, between theCrow Wing andLong Prairie rivers. Rice hoped the Winnebago would act as a buffer between the warring Ojibwe and Dakotah. His plan was unsuccessful and in 1855 the Winnebago were moved to theBlue Earth River in southern Minnesota.
The Little Falls area was first settled in 1848, and platted in 1855. Its growth occurred when the Little Falls Company (later called the Little Falls Manufacturing Company) built a second dam. This dam washed out, as had the first, and Little Falls entered a long period of economic depression and stagnant population. Bit by bit, Little Falls grew, until it was officially incorporated as a village in 1879.
Another wave of immigration occurred between 1880 and 1920. A wide variety of ethnic groups[6] settled in Morrison County. This wave of immigration was spurred by the construction of the third dam at Little Falls in 1887. A group of investors fromLouisville, Kentucky led by M. M. Williams financed the dam. To be sure their investment would succeed, they encouraged other major industries to move to the city, touting the water power.
Pine Tree Lumber Company, run by Charles A. Weyerhaeuser and Richard "Drew" Musser,[7] was one business that took advantage of the water power, with their operations in Little Falls beginning in 1890. Hennepin Paper Company also started operations that year in the city.
In 1889 the Louisville investors drew up a charter to transform Little Falls from a village to a city. Nathan Richardson, one of Morrison County's original organizers, became the city's first mayor.[8]
TheMississippi River flows south through west-central Morrison County. ThePlatte River flows south-southwest through the central part of the county, discharging into the Mississippi just at both rivers exit Morrison County at the border withStearns County. TheLittle Elk River rises in Morrison County and flows east to discharge into the Mississippi just north of Little Falls, picking up the flow of the South Branch of the Little Elk River atRandall. The Mississippi also receives the flow of theNokasippi River just aboveCamp Ripley. TheSkunk River rises in the northeast part of the county, and flows west-southwest through the lower central part of the county, discharging into the Platte southeast of Little Falls.
The terrain consists of low rolling hills, partly wooded, carved with drainages and gullies, and with all available area devoted to agriculture.[9] It generally slopes to the south, and slopes to the river valley from both east and west borders,[10] with its highest point on the Camp Ripley Military Reservation, 2.4 miles (3.9 km) east and 1.4 miles (2.3 km) north of the east end ofLake Alexander, at 1,521 ft (464 m) ASL.[11] The county has an area of 1,153 square miles (2,990 km2), of which 1,125 square miles (2,910 km2) is land and 28 square miles (73 km2) (2.5%) is water.[12]
| Census | Pop. | Note | %± |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1860 | 618 | — | |
| 1870 | 1,681 | 172.0% | |
| 1880 | 5,875 | 249.5% | |
| 1890 | 13,325 | 126.8% | |
| 1900 | 22,891 | 71.8% | |
| 1910 | 24,053 | 5.1% | |
| 1920 | 25,841 | 7.4% | |
| 1930 | 25,442 | −1.5% | |
| 1940 | 27,473 | 8.0% | |
| 1950 | 25,832 | −6.0% | |
| 1960 | 26,641 | 3.1% | |
| 1970 | 26,949 | 1.2% | |
| 1980 | 29,311 | 8.8% | |
| 1990 | 29,604 | 1.0% | |
| 2000 | 31,712 | 7.1% | |
| 2010 | 33,198 | 4.7% | |
| 2020 | 34,010 | 2.4% | |
| 2024 (est.) | 34,520 | [13] | 1.5% |
| U.S. Decennial Census[14] 1790-1960[15] 1900-1990[16] 1990-2000[17] 2010-2020[1] | |||
| Race | Num. | Perc. |
|---|---|---|
| White (NH) | 32,032 | 94.2% |
| Black or African American (NH) | 179 | 0.53% |
| Native American (NH) | 111 | 0.32% |
| Asian (NH) | 102 | 0.3% |
| Pacific Islander (NH) | 5 | 0.01% |
| Other/Mixed (NH) | 948 | 2.8% |
| Hispanic orLatino | 633 | 1.86% |
As of thecensus of 2000, there were 31,712 people, 11,816 households, and 8,460 families in the county. Thepopulation density was 28.2 per square mile (10.9/km2). There were 13,870 housing units at an average density of 12.3 per square mile (4.7/km2). The racial makeup of the county was 98.48%White, 0.21%Black orAfrican American, 0.32%Native American, 0.25%Asian, 0.03%Pacific Islander, 0.15% fromother races, and 0.55% from two or more races. 0.64% of the population wereHispanic orLatino of any race. 45.4% were ofGerman, 18.8%Polish, 7.3%Norwegian and 5.7%Swedish ancestry. 96.7% spokeEnglish, 1.4%Spanish and 1.2%German as their first language.
There were 11,816 households, out of which 34.50% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 59.40% weremarried couples living together, 7.80% had a female householder with no husband present, and 28.40% were non-families. 24.90% of all households were made up of individuals, and 11.80% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.64 and the average family size was 3.15.
The county population contained 28.00% under the age of 18, 8.00% from 18 to 24, 26.70% from 25 to 44, 21.70% from 45 to 64, and 15.60% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 37 years. For every 100 females there were 101.20 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 99.50 males.
The median income for a household in the county was $37,047, and the median income for a family was $44,175. Males had a median income of $31,037 versus $22,244 for females. Theper capita income for the county was $16,566. About 7.50% of families and 11.10% of the population were below thepoverty line, including 11.40% of those under age 18 and 18.50% of those age 65 or over.
In previous decades, Morrison County voters were fairly balanced, but since 1984 the county has swung Republican, only selecting the Democratic nominee for president twice since 1984. Morrison County has voted Republican at the federal level in every election in the 21st century, with increasingly higher Republican margins each time. In 2024,Donald Trump received the highest number of raw votes in Morrison County for a presidential candidate of all time with 15,666 votes.[20] This beat Trump's previous record in 2020 by 845 votes. Morrison was the most Republican out of all Minnesota counties in 2016, 2020 and 2024.[21]
| Year | Republican | Democratic | Third party(ies) | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| No. | % | No. | % | No. | % | |
| 1892 | 1,135 | 37.76% | 1,585 | 52.73% | 286 | 9.51% |
| 1896 | 1,960 | 51.77% | 1,734 | 45.80% | 92 | 2.43% |
| 1900 | 1,880 | 49.25% | 1,838 | 48.15% | 99 | 2.59% |
| 1904 | 2,498 | 66.74% | 1,128 | 30.14% | 117 | 3.13% |
| 1908 | 1,936 | 53.30% | 1,513 | 41.66% | 183 | 5.04% |
| 1912 | 699 | 19.18% | 1,341 | 36.79% | 1,605 | 44.03% |
| 1916 | 1,887 | 48.84% | 1,650 | 42.70% | 327 | 8.46% |
| 1920 | 5,371 | 77.57% | 1,131 | 16.33% | 422 | 6.09% |
| 1924 | 3,128 | 41.63% | 769 | 10.23% | 3,617 | 48.14% |
| 1928 | 3,846 | 42.18% | 5,222 | 57.27% | 51 | 0.56% |
| 1932 | 2,198 | 24.09% | 6,712 | 73.57% | 213 | 2.33% |
| 1936 | 2,682 | 27.23% | 6,112 | 62.06% | 1,054 | 10.70% |
| 1940 | 5,734 | 52.43% | 5,144 | 47.04% | 58 | 0.53% |
| 1944 | 5,035 | 55.93% | 3,920 | 43.55% | 47 | 0.52% |
| 1948 | 3,922 | 38.86% | 6,026 | 59.71% | 144 | 1.43% |
| 1952 | 6,050 | 56.87% | 4,551 | 42.78% | 38 | 0.36% |
| 1956 | 5,042 | 51.84% | 4,653 | 47.84% | 32 | 0.33% |
| 1960 | 4,403 | 37.43% | 7,337 | 62.37% | 24 | 0.20% |
| 1964 | 3,515 | 31.86% | 7,492 | 67.91% | 25 | 0.23% |
| 1968 | 4,511 | 40.08% | 6,111 | 54.29% | 634 | 5.63% |
| 1972 | 5,714 | 46.35% | 5,993 | 48.61% | 622 | 5.05% |
| 1976 | 4,590 | 34.53% | 8,176 | 61.50% | 528 | 3.97% |
| 1980 | 6,296 | 44.91% | 6,930 | 49.44% | 792 | 5.65% |
| 1984 | 7,556 | 54.44% | 6,225 | 44.85% | 99 | 0.71% |
| 1988 | 6,598 | 49.88% | 6,469 | 48.91% | 160 | 1.21% |
| 1992 | 5,038 | 34.88% | 5,588 | 38.69% | 3,816 | 26.42% |
| 1996 | 5,054 | 38.03% | 5,728 | 43.11% | 2,506 | 18.86% |
| 2000 | 8,197 | 55.85% | 5,274 | 35.93% | 1,206 | 8.22% |
| 2004 | 9,698 | 57.87% | 6,794 | 40.54% | 266 | 1.59% |
| 2008 | 9,735 | 58.14% | 6,547 | 39.10% | 461 | 2.75% |
| 2012 | 10,159 | 60.78% | 6,153 | 36.81% | 402 | 2.41% |
| 2016 | 12,925 | 73.38% | 3,637 | 20.65% | 1,052 | 5.97% |
| 2020 | 14,821 | 75.78% | 4,367 | 22.33% | 370 | 1.89% |
| 2024 | 15,666 | 77.12% | 4,306 | 21.20% | 341 | 1.68% |
Places adjacent to Morrison County, Minnesota | ||||||||||||||||
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Municipalities and communities ofMorrison County, Minnesota,United States | ||
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| Unincorporated communities | ||
| Indian reservation | ||
| Footnotes | ‡This populated place also has portions in an adjacent county or counties | |
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