Twelve Mile Circle – An Appreciation of Unusual Places

Fewest County Borders – Part III: Red Lake Co., MN

We’ve established that a county in the United States can have zero borders if it is an island and one border if it is a peninsula. However, there are no fully landlocked counties with just a single border. But what about landlocked counties that have two borders? Surprisingly there seems to be only one lone example, Red Lake County, Minnesota. To the best that I can tell, every other landlocked county has three or more neighbors. If I am mistaken, please somebody let me know, because I’ve looked hard and I can only find this one.

Red Lake County Minnesota. Underlying map via MapQuest.

Pennington County forms Red Lake County’s northern border. Polk County cradles Red Lake on the remaining three sides. Red Lake formed from Polk in 1896 after a series of backroom deals, shady elections, and wily maneuvering as described in the Red Lake County History. It’s a quite fascinating story. To briefly summarize, many residents felt that their representatives in Polk County were quite willing to accept their taxes but provided few services in return. As a result they formed a new county.

Today nearly 4,300 residents call Red Lake County home, with 1,600 of them in Red Lake Falls, the county seat. I was once within a few miles of this special location when I explored Lake Itasca, the source of the Mississippi River. However I failed to recognize the significance of this spot at the time and I’ve been kicking myself ever since.

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5 responses to “Fewest County Borders – Part III: Red Lake Co., MN”

  1. Ethan Neal Avatar
    Ethan Neal

    There’s a couple of other counties that have 2 borders, Clallam County, WA (Jefferson and San Juan (over water) and Canada, also over water), Santa Cruz County, AZ (Cochise and Pima, but borders Mexico), Cameron County, TX (Hidalgo and Willacy, but it’s not landlocked), Monroe County, FL (Miami-Dade and Collier, also not landlocked), and New Hanover County, NC (Brunswick and Pender, also not landlocked) all have just 2 neighbors.

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    1. Ethan Neal Avatar
      Ethan Neal

      Lake County, MN also has 2 counties (St Louis and Cook, but Canada and Lake Superior also border it).

      Reply
  2. TheAvidGeographer Avatar
    TheAvidGeographer

    Presidio County, Texas has two bordering counties, but it borders Mexico also. But there are BILLIONS of counties touching only ONE other county in Virginia. Harrisonburg, Staunton, Waynesboro are all tiny little counties within counties. I understand though that they are officially listed as “independent cities” but on county maps are referred to as counties, so I guess you could count them.

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  3. swiss us weeb Avatar
    swiss us weeb

    If the two opposite counties on a quadripoint don’t touch each other, there is another landlocked county with just two borders: Storey County, NV. It touches Washoe and Lyon County and, at a quadripoint, Carson City. And if you count the unorganized borough as one unit, there is Fairbanks North Star. (But I think you don’t)

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  4. swiss us weeb Avatar
    swiss us weeb

    As you mentioned in your second article of the serie, County Equivalents such as independent Cities doesn‘t count. So, there is Arlington County, VA. It borders Fairfax County, and, at a quadripoint, Montgomery County, MD. It also borders DC, Falls Church and Alexandria, all County Equivalents.

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