Itasca County, Minnesota: History
The boundaries of Itasca County were first defined in 1849, upon the creation of the Minnesota Territory. It was originally much larger, stretching over today's Cook, Lake, Saint Louis, Koochiching, eastern Lake of the Woods, eastern Beltrami, Itasca, northern Aitkin, and northern Carlton Counties.
Itasca County was originally named for Lake Itasca (no longer in the county's present borders), which was determined to be the true source of the Mississippi River. After many disputes over the Mississippi's source, Henry Schoolcraft set out to find it in 1832. When he did, he named it Lake Itasca. At its source, the Mississippi can be crossed on foot. It then flows past Bemidji, through Itasca County, to the Gulf of Mexico.