Mahnomen Community Information
 

The People:

Mahnomen County consists of more than 550 square miles of both prime agricultural land along with rolling hills and beautiful spring-fed lakes.  The western half of the county lies on the eastern edge of the Red River Valley, while the eastern half consists of hardwood forests, lakes and wetlands. The county itself lies entirely within the White Earth Reservation, which also includes White Earth State Forest.

Employment:

Services, Government and Trade account for 85 percent of all employment in the county.  While private, non-farm employment gains were a vital part of Mahnomen's economic expansion in the 1990s, (growing more than 200%), agriculture will continue to be a key part of our area's economic future.

The Name:

"Mahnomen" is the Ojibway word for wild rice, Minnesota's state grain.  The city's first name was "Wild Rice" because of all the wild rice beds in the area.  Later, the city's name was changed to Mahnomen.  The county is one of Minnesota's prime producing areas of wild rice.

History

The City of Mahnomen was incorporated on April 25, 1905. When the Soo Line railroad was extended in 1904, the first permanent structures were erected.  Mahnomen County was established in on December 27, 1906, with the City of Mahnomen as the County Seat.  When the area was surveyed in the 1860s, surveyors found beds of white clay underneath the black soil, hence the name "White Earth."

Mahnomen Interactive Satellite Images

• MSN image from U.S. Geological Survey
  Opens new browser window. Zoom to 4 cm = 100 meters.
   
• Mapquest image from GlobeXplorer
  Opens new browser window.  Large photo available.

 
Mahnomen Community Focus:
 

 
Mahnomen Churches:
 

 
Mahnomen Festivals and Events:

Wild Rice Day

• Wild Rice Day info from Minnesota Office of Tourism
  Parade, foods, crafts and street dance. Held Third Saturday in July

Mahnomen County Fair: 

• County fair info; (Fair held the last weekend in July)
  Fair Office: (218) 935-9015
   
• View historic Mahnomen County Fair site Historic District images
  Minnesota Historical Society's Web site.

First National Bank in Mahnomen, PO Box 378, 103 North Main St., Mahnomen MN 56557
Phone: 218-935-5251    Toll-free: 1-877-935-5251    24-Hour TeleBanc: 1-800-933-5814
Fax: 218-935-2794

First National Bank is an Equal Housing Lender.
Member FDIC.