Red Lake County was formed on December 24, 1896 from sections of Polk County. It was named for the Red Lake River. Its designated county seat was Red Lake Falls, which had been incorporated in 1881. The county has two sites on the National Register of Historic Places: the courthouse and Clearwater Evangelical Lutheran Church.
Geography
The RedLake River flows southward into the county from Pennington. It is joined near Red Lake Falls by the Clearwater River; the combined flow flows southwestward to Huot, where it is augmented by the Black River which drains the NW part of the county. The Red Lake River then flows southwestward into Polk County. The county terrain consists of low rolling hills, etched by drainages and gullies. The area is devoted to agriculture. The county terrain slopes to the west, with its highest elevation on its SE corner, at 1,201' ASL. The county has a total area of, of which is land and is water. Despite its name, Red Lake County contains only one named lake: Moran Lake, near Huot. Red Lake County is the only landlocked county in the United States to border exactly two other counties.
As of the 2000 United States Census, there were 4,299 people, 1,727 households, and 1,131 families in the county. The population density was 9.95/sqmi. There were 1,883 housing units at an average density of 4.36/sqmi. The racial makeup of the county was 97.44% White, 0.19% Black or African American, 1.84% Native American, 0.07% Asian, 0.12% from other races, and 0.35% from two or more races. 0.30% of the population were Hispanic or Latino of any race. 31.9% were of Norwegian, 25.0% German, 16.7% French and 6.3% French Canadian ancestry. There were 1,727 households out of which 30.70% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 55.40% were married couples living together, 6.80% had a female householder with no husband present, and 34.50% were non-families. 30.50% of all households were made up of individuals and 15.50% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.39 and the average family size was 3.02. The county population contained 25.50% under the age of 18, 7.50% from 18 to 24, 24.70% from 25 to 44, 23.20% from 45 to 64, and 19.10% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 40 years. For every 100 females there were 100.80 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 99.90 males. The median income for a household in the county was $32,052, and the median income for a family was $40,275. Males had a median income of $28,494 versus $20,363 for females. The per capita income for the county was $15,372. About 8.40% of families and 10.80% of the population were below the poverty line, including 11.50% of those under age 18 and 13.10% of those age 65 or over.
Red Lake County was formerly solidly Democratic, voting for that party's presidential nominee in all elections from 1928 until 1996, although since 2000 it has generally voted Republican, with the exception of its support for Barack Obama in 2008.
Media attention
The county received mention in the media when a Washington Post reporter, Christopher Ingraham, wrote a story calling Red Lake County "the absolute worst place to live in America." After vigorous objections from local and state inhabitants and legislators, Ingraham subsequently visited the county and not only reversed his position but later moved there with his family and wrote a book about his experience.
