County Has Birthday-But Exact Age Is Unknown

Duluth Herald Sunday March 3, 1946 page 6b

Submitted by Shirley Solem - SSolem8522@aol.com - added January 24, 2001

St. Louis county has a birthday today, either its 90th or 91st, depending on the viewpoint, for an apparently confused legislature created it twice in bills passed exactly a year apart.

In 1849, when Minnesota became a territory, the present area of St. Louis county was included in Itasca county, according to "St. Louis County Chronology," published in 1924 by the St. Louis County Historical society.

The territorial legislature passed a law Feb. 20, 1855, erecting Doty county, which included that part of the present area of St. Louis county, and Superior county, which comprised all of the state east of Doty county.

Doty and Superior counties, however, had short lives, for another act of the legislature, March 3, changed the name Doty county to Newton county and Superior county to St. Louis county.

"If the act said what was really intended," states the Chronology, "the name Newton was given to that part of the present St. Louis county in Doty county and the name St. Louis to what is now Lake and Cook counties. But these laws were repealed or utterly ignored very soon after they were made."

On March 3, 1856, another legislative action created St. Louis county. "The former Doty county." the Chronology says, "was tranquilly ignored, not even being honored by mention." The same bill created Lake county, which then included all of what is now Carlton county. St. Louis, Itasca and Lake counties were given a member in the state house of representatives, increasing the membership of that body from 38 to 39.

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