Mahnomen Community Information

First National Bank is located in the City of Mahnomen, in Northwestern Minnesota. Mahnomen is the county seat of Mahnomen County. Some quick facts about our community:

The People:

The population of the City of Mahnomen is 1,202, (2000 census). Mahnomen County population is 5,190. From 1990 to 2000, Mahnomen County population grew 2.9 per cent.

The Land:

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 Community Focus:

Mahnomen Churches: