Chisago County



Chisago County

       Chisago County, located just northeast of the seven-county Minneapolis-St. Paul metropolitan area in east central Minnesota, was established in 1851, seven years before Minnesota became a state. The county seat, first at Taylors Falls, moved to Chisago City in 1865 and to Center City in 1875. Chisago, the name of our county, comes from the Chippewa Indian word, Ki-Chi-Saga , which means Fair and Lovely Lakes. Taylors Falls had been the seat since 1852, when the county (which then included parts of what are now Pine, Carlton, and Kanabec counties) was organized. But by 1860 the county was reduced to its present borders. The Swedes and other immigrants in the central and western parts, who outnumbered the Yankees on the St. Croix River, wanted to move the center of government to a more conveniently located place. In an 1860 election, the voters chose Center City. There was some back and forth but the seat eventually moved to Center City, where is sits today. Farming, begun in the 1850s, was a focus until the 1890s when vacationers discovered the county’s bountiful lakes and rivers. Today it is the beauty of the Dalles of the St. Croix, its park system and abundant recreational areas that bring visitors to the county.


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