Cook County, Minnesota: History
Ojibwe people were early inhabitants of this area. The first non-indigenous people to explore the area were French fur traders, a few of whom settled in the area. By the 1830s, the French population was a few dozen. In the 1830s, settlers began arriving from New England and from upstate New York. The completion of the Erie Canal (1825) and the settling of the Black Hawk War (1831) made migration easier.
Most of Cook County's 1830s settlers came from Orange County, Vermont and Down East Maine (modern day Washington County and Hancock County). Most were fishermen and farmers. By 1845 the future Cook County contained 350 people of European descent; by 1874 there were about 2,000. They were primarily members of the Congregational Church, Methodist, and Baptist churches. By 1900 there were about 3,000 people in Cook County.
The first decade of the 20th century saw a large influx of Europeans from Germany, Scandinavia, and Ireland. These waves introduced Lutheranism and Catholicism to Cook County.
The county was created on March 9, 1874. It was named for Territorial and State Senator Michael Cook (1828-1864).
The first African American to serve as a county sheriff in the state of Minnesota was John Lyght from Lutsen, Minnesota, Lyght served as the Sheriff of Cook County from 1972 to 1994.