Announcement.(04/24/03)The book History of Red Lake County is now available as a CD. The CD also contains an all-name index which will be helpful even for those who already own a copy of the book. The cost including postage and handling is $30. Make checks payable to the Red Lake County Historical Society, c/o Anne Healy, 135 Bottineau Ave. NE., Red Lake Falls, MN 56750.

Brief History of Red Lake County. The earliest known settlers in northwestern Minnesota were the Dakota Sioux who were well established by the late 1600's. By 1770 the Chippewa had become the dominant tribe in a wide area of northern and central Minnesota, including the area which later became Red Lake County. In 1863 the Chippewa signed a treaty with the Federal Government which opened up a large tract of land to homesteaders. When Polk County was formed in 1858, it included what would later be both Red Lake and Pennington Counties. In 1896 Red Lake County was formed from part of Polk County and in 1910 Pennington County was formed from part of Red Lake County.

Red Lake County Historical Society Lake Pleasant School House Rt. 1, Box 298 Red Lake Falls, MN 56750 Liaison: Andrea Thibert, 218-689-1184, email : Andrea Thibert Hours: Open first Sunday of the month, June thru Labor Day

Red Lake Falls Public Library 105 Champagne Avenue SW Red Lake Falls, MN 56750 Email:redlake@northernlights.lib.nm.us Library Home Page

Helpful General Links -

My name is Lynn Brandvold and I'm the coordinator for Red Lake County. If you read the above history of Red Lake County you will have noticed the very close relationship between Red Lake County and Pennington County. Because of this and because I'm also the coordinator for Pennington County, I'm willing to allow cross posting of queries between these two pages if they involve the years prior to 1910, when Pennington was formed.

Hopefully these pages will keep changing and improving. Please e-mail me directly with any suggestions, if something isn't working on these pages, or you have some resources for Red Lake County that you are willing to share. I don't live in Red Lake County or even in Minnesota. But I do have roots in Red Lake County. My great grandparents, Charles and Louisa Robbecke, owned and operated the Ogamah Hotel in St. Hilaire from 1882-1885. My grandmother, Louise Robbecke Lawrence was born in St. Hilaire in 1883.

The USGenWeb Project

In March and April 1996, a group of genealogists organized the Kentucky Comprehensive Genealogy Database. The idea was to provide a single entry point for all counties in Kentucky, where collected databases would be stored. In addition, the databases would be indexed and cross-linked, so that even if an individual were found in more than one county, they could be located in the index. This led to the USGenWeb of which Minnesota is a part. Volunteers are needed who are willing to coordinate the collection of databases and generally oversee the contents of the county web pages. If you would like to host an available Minnesota county, please contact the MNGenWeb State Coordinator.

email : Lynn Brandvold

Updated: 11 December 2023  

Background on these pages made by Glenda B ©1998 Glee Graphics. Lines and balls on these pages are by J. Payne ©1996.