What is a fun fact about Otter Tail County MN?

Otter Tail County is one of the state's largest counties encompassing 21 towns from tiny town of Vining to the city of Fergus Falls . It's a haven for outdoor recreation and boats 1,048 lakes, more than any county in the United States.

How did Otter Tail get its name?

History. The Otter Tail River gets its name from early French explorers who called it Lac de la Queue de la Outer, which translates as Lake of the Otter's Tail . Humans have been in the Otter Tail River region for many years.

What is the history of Fergus Falls?

The city was claimed in 1857 by Joseph Whitford, named for James Fergus, financial backer of Whitford's expedition, and laid out in 1870 . It became a trading centre, and early growth was based on the milling of lumber, flour, and wool, using the river's waterpower.

What are three otters facts?

Charismatic otters are the largest members of the weasel family . Unlike other weasels, otters are semi-aquatic. Their sleek bodies range in size from two to nearly six feet long. Thirteen otter species slide down riverbanks, juggle rocks, and float on their backs in watersheds on five continents.

When did the Fergus Falls asylum close?

The Fergus Falls Regional Treatment Center, as it was later renamed, officially closed in 2005 .

How old is the town of Fergus?

Fergus is a community located on the Grand River 22 km north of Guelph. First incorporated as a village in 1858 and later as a town in 1952 , it was incorporated into the township of Centre Wellington in 1999.

What is Fergus known for?

Fergus is known for its boutique shopping, historic architecture and the annual Fergus Scottish Festival & Highland Games that attracts world-class competitors and entertainers. These games are said to be the world's largest gathering of clans outside Scotland and Cape Breton.

How many lakes are in Otter Tail County, MN?

Many boaters and anglers accustomed to motoring to other counties might be surprised to know Otter Tail County holds 1,048 lakes - not only more than any other county in Minnesota but more than any county in the United States.

How big is otter tail?

The tails of river otters and clawless otters are long, and about one-third of total body length . They are thick at the base, muscular, flexible, and taper to a point.

What is the mission of Otter Tail County?

Our Mission Enrich lives, innovate services and enhance resources .

How deep does Otter Tail Lake get?

Otter Tail Lake has a maximum depth of 120 feet ; however, 57% of the lake is less than 15 feet in depth.

Townships Otter Tail County Historical Society (2024)

Otter Tail County lies in the central part of west central Minnesota. It is 54 miles east-west, and 42 miles north-south. That equals 1,433,726 acres; 162,749 are covered by water. A major continental divide runs through the county. This separates waters that drain south into the Mississippi river or those that flow into the Red River of the North. Most of the county is generally flat with rolling hills. The Leaf Mountains occupy the south central portion, rising one to three hundred feet. Two-thirds of the county was originally forested. The other third was prairie, and occupied the western edge of the county. Today, a large portion of the county is farm land or pasture.

Click on a township for more information:

Alphabetically followed by Township and Range, Date organized, and Number organized:

1. Aastad T.131N., R.43W., March 4, 1871 - 16th
2. Amor T.134N., R.40W., March 19, 1879 - 41st
3. Aurdal T.133N., R.42W., October 9, 1869 - 5th
4. Blowers T.136N., R.36W., March 20, 1884 - 60th
5. Bluffton T.135N., R.36W., July 17, 1878 - 39th
6. Buse T.132N., R.43W., October 3, 1870 - 14th
7. Butler T.137N., R.37W., July 26, 1883 - 58th
8. Candor T.137N., R.41W., January 18, 1880 - 45th
9. Carlisle T.133N., R.44W., February 24, 1881 - 51st
10. cl*therall T.132N., R.40W., October 24, 1868 - 1st
11. Compton T.134N., R.36W., May 10, 1875 - 31st
12. Corliss T.137N., R.38W., January 3, 1884 - 59th
13. Dane Prairie T.132N., R.42W., May 10, 1870 - 7th
14. Dead Lake T.135N., R.40W., March 24, 1897 - 62nd
15. Deer Creek T.134N., R.37W., July 1, 1873 - 25th
16. Dora T.136N., R.41W., July 22, 1879 - 42nd
17. Dunn T.137N., R.42W., March 16, 1880 - 48th
18. Eagle Lake T.131N., R.40W., September 5, 1870- 9th
19. Eastern T.131N., R.36W., July 29, 1875 - 32nd
20. Edna T.136N., R.40W., March 21, 1882 - 53rd
21. Effington T.131N., R.38W., March 21, 1872 - 22nd
22. Elizabeth T.134N., R.43W., September 5, 1870 - 10th
23. Elmo T.132N., R.37W., March 16, 1880 - 47th
24. Erhards Grove T.135N., R.43W., September 24, 1870 - 13th
25. Everts T.133N., R.40W., July 22, 1879 - 43rd
26. Fergus Falls T.133N., R.43W., June 29, 1870 - 8th
27. Folden T.132N., R.38W., Februrary 24, 1881 - 52nd
28. Friberg T.134N., R.42W., January 6, 1874 - 30th
29. Girard T.133N., R.39W., March 21, 1882 - 55th
30. Gorman T.137N., R.39W., September 4, 1873 - 28th
31. Henning T.133N., R.38W., July 17, 1878 - 38th
32. Hobart T.137N., R.40W., July 10, 1871 - 17th
33. Homestead T.136N., R.37W., July 26, 1880 - 50th
34. Inman T.133N., R.37W., March 18, 1878 - 37th
35. Leaf Lake T.134N., R.38W., July 22, 1879 - 44th
36. Leaf Mountain T.131N., R.39W., January 7, 1874 - 29th
37. Lida T.136N., R.42W., March 19, 1879 - 40th
38. Maine T.134N., R.41W., September 5, 1871 - 19th
39. Maplewood T.135N., R.42W., July 26, 1880 - 49th
40. Newton T.135N., R.37W., March 22, 1877 - 35th
41. Nidaros T.132N., R.39W., September 5, 1871 - 20th
42. Norwegian Grove T.136N., R.44W., January 7, 1873 - 23rd
43. Oak Valley T.133N., R.36W., January 2, 1877 - 33rd
44. Orwell T.132N., R.44W., July 27, 1886 - 61st
45. Oscar T.134N., R.44W., July 1, 1873 - 26th
46. Otter Tail T.134N., R.39W., September 5, 1870 - 11th
47. Otto T.135N., R.38W., March 22, 1883 - 57th
48. Paddock T.137N., R.36W., March 21, 1882 - 54th
49. Parkers Prairie T.131N., R.37W., January 4, 1870 - 6th
50. Pelican T.136N., R.43W., September 5, 1870 - 12th
51. Perham T.136N., R.39W., March 19, 1872 - 21st
52. Pine Lake T.136N., R.38W., January 5, 1883 - 56th
53. Rush Lake T.135N., R.39W., January 3, 1871 - 15th
54. Scambler T.137N., R.43W., August 8, 1871 - 18th
55. St. Olaf T.131N., R.41W., March 20, 1869 - 2nd
56. Star Lake T.135N., R.41W., January 18, 1880 - 46th
57. Sverdrup T.133N., R.41W., March 18, 1878 - 36th
58. Tordenskjold T.132N., R.41W., September 8, 1869 - 4th
59. Trondhjem T.135N., R.44W., July 1, 1873 - 27th
60. Tumuli T.131N., R.42W., September 8, 1869 - 3rd
61. Western T.131N., R.44W., January 7, 1873 - 24th
62. Woodside T.132N., R.36W., January 2, 1877 - 34th

By Date Organized

1. cl*therall	22. Effington	43. Everts
2. St. Olaf	23. Norwegian Grove	44. Leaf Lake
3. Tumuli	24. Western	45. Candor
4. Tordenskjold	25. Deer Creek	46. Star Lake
5. Aurdal	26. Oscar	47. Elmo
6. Parkers Prairie	27. Trondhjem	48. Dunn
7. Dane Prairie	28. Gorman	49. Maplewood
8. Fergus Falls	29. Leaf Mountain	50. Homestead
9. Eagle Lake	30. Friberg	51. Carlisle
10. Elizabeth	31. Compton	52. Folden
11. Otter Tail	32. Eastern	53. Edna
12. Pelican	33. Oak Valley	54. Paddock
13. Erhards Grove	34. Woodside	55. Girard
14. Buse	35. Newton	56. Pine Lake
15. Rush Lake	36. Sverdrup	57. Otto
16. Aastad	37. Inman	58. Butler
17. Hobart	38. Henning	59. Corliss
18. Scambler	39. Bluffton	60. Blowers
19. Maine	40. Lida	61. Orwell
20. Nidaros	41. Amor	62. Dead Lake
21. Perham	42. Dora

By Township and Range:

1. T.131N., R.36W. Eastern
2. T.131N., R.37W. Parkers Prairie
3. T.131N., R.38W. Effington
4. T.131N., R.39W. Leaf Mountain
5. T.131N., R.40W. Eagle Lake
6. T.131N., R.41W. St. Olaf
7. T.131N., R.42W. Tumuli
8. T.131N., R.43W. Aastad
9. T.131N., R.44W. Western

10. T.132N., R.36W. Woodside
11. T.132N., R.37W. Elmo
12. T.132N., R.38W. Folden
13. T.132N., R.39W. Nidaros
14. T.132N., R.40W. cl*therall
15. T.132N., R.41W. Tordenskjold
16. T.132N., R.42W. Dane Prairie
17. T.132N., R.43W. Buse
18. T.132N., R.44W. Orwell

19. T.133N., R.36W. Oak Valley
20. T.133N., R.37W. Inman
21. T.133N., R.38W. Henning
22. T.133N., R.39W. Girard
23. T.133N., R.40W. Everts
24. T.133N., R.41W. Sverdrup
25. T.133N., R.42W. Aurdal
26. T.133N., R.43W. Fergus Falls
27. T.133N., R.44W. Carlisle

28. T.134N., R.36W. Compton
29. T.134N., R.37W. Deer Creek
30. T.134N., R.38W. Leaf Lake
31. T.134N., R.39W. Otter Tail
32. T.134N., R.40W. Amor
33. T.134N., R.41W. Maine
34. T.134N., R.42W. Friberg
35. T.134N., R.43W. Elizabeth
36. T.134N., R.44W. Oscar

37. T.135N., R.36W. Bluffton
38. T.135N., R.37W. Newton
39. T.135N., R.38W. Otto
40. T.135N., R.39W. Rush Lake
41. T.135N., R.40W. Dead Lake
42. T.135N., R.41W. Star Lake
43. T.135N., R.42W. Maplewood
44. T.135N., R.43W. Erhards Grove
45. T.135N., R.44W. Trondhjem

46. T.136N., R.36W. Blowers
47. T.136N., R.37W. Homestead
48. T.136N., R.38W. Pine Lake
49. T.136N., R.39W. Perham
50. T.136N., R.40W. Edna
51. T.136N., R.41W. Dora
52. T.136N., R.42W. Lida
53. T.136N., R.43W. Pelican
54. T.136N., R.44W. Norwegian Grove

55. T.137N., R.36W. Paddock
56. T.137N., R.37W. Butler
57. T.137N., R.38W. Corliss
58. T.137N., R.39W. Gorman
59. T.137N., R.40W. Hobart
60. T.137N., R.41W. Candor
61. T.137N., R.42W. Dunn
62. T.137N., R.43W. Scambler

By Range and Township

1. R.36W., T.131N. Eastern
2. R.36W., T.132N. Woodside
3. R.36W., T.133N. Oak Valley
4. R.36W., T.134N. Compton
5. R.36W., T.135N. Bluffton
6. R.36W., T.136N. Blowers
7. R.36W., T.137N. Paddock

8. R.37W., T.131N. Parkers Prairie
9. R.37W., T.132N. Elmo
10. R.37W., T.133N. Inman
11. R.37W., T.134N. Deer Creek
12. R.37W., T.135N. Newton
13. R.37W., T.136N. Homestead
14. R.37W., T.137N. Butler

15. R.38W., T.131N. Effington
16. R.38W., T.132N. Folden
17. R.38W., T.133N. Henning
18. R.38W., T.134N. Leaf Lake
19. R.38W., T.135N. Otto
20. R.38W., T.136N. Pink Lake
21. R.38W., T.137N. Corliss

22. R.39W., T.131N. Leaf Mountain
23. R.39W., T.132N. Nidaros
24. R.39W., T.133N. Girard
25. R.39W., T.134N. Otter Tail
26. R.39W., T.135N. Rush Lake
27. R.39W., T.136N. Perham
28. R.39W., T.137N. Gorman

29. R.40W., T.131N. Eagle Lake
30. R.40W., T.132N. cl*therall
31. R.40W., T.133N. Everts
32. R.40W., T.134N. Amor
33. R.40W., T.135N. Dead Lake
34. R.40W., T.136N. Edna
35. R.40W., T.137N. Hobart

36. R.41W., T.131N. St. Olaf
37. R.41W., T.132N. Tordenskjold
38. R.41W., T.133N. Sverdrup
39. R.41W., T.134N. Maine
40. R.41W., T.135N. Star Lake
41. R.41W., T.136N. Dora
42. R.41W., T.137N. Candor

43. R.42W., T.131N. Tumuli
44. R.42W., T.132N. Dane Prairie
45. R.42W., T.133N. Aurdal
46. R.42W., T.134N. Friberg
47. R.42W., T.135N. Maplewood
48. R.42W., T.136N. Lida
49. R.42W., T.137N. Dunn

50. R.43W., T.131N. Aastad
51. R.43W., T.132N. Buse
52. R.43W., T.133N. Fergus Falls
53. R.43W., T.134N. Elizabeth
54. R.43W., T.135N. Erhards Grove
55. R.43W., T.136N. Pelican
56. R.43W., T.137N. Scambler

57. R.44W., T.131N. Western
58. R.44W., T.132N. Orwell
59. R.44W., T.133N. Carlisle
60. R.44W., T.134N. Oscar
61. R.44W., T.135N. Trondhjem
62. R.44W., T.136N. Norwegian Grove

Townships Otter Tail County Historical Society (2024)

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References