Beltrami County, MN

County in Northwest MN

Beltrami County has over 116,000 acres of lakes and 459,000 acres of state forest lands. It is comprised of 86 townships and contains portions of two Indian reservations, Red Lake and Leech Lake.

Beltrami County was named after the Italian, Count Beltrami, an early explorer of the area. In 1887 Beltrami County was part of one of the state’s original nine counties: Benton, Dakotah, Itasca, Ramsey, Mahkahta, Pembina, Wabasha, Wishington and Wahnata. The County was created in 1866 and organized in 1896 with 137 townships.

Nineteen townships were given to Roseau County in 1895, reducing Beltrami County to 118 full and 37 fractional townships. On May 17, 1897, Beltrami County was fully organized with Bemidji as the county seat.

In 1902, Clearwater County was created by vote of the residents of Beltrami County. Twenty-eight full and two fractional townships went to the new county.

On January 1, 1923, the last county to be created in Minnesota, Lake of the Woods County was created and Beltrami County reached its present size of 1,604,695 acres.

Sponsors of Beltrami County, MN


Since the founding of our communities, organizations, businesses and citizens have stepped forward to build and serve their community. Click on any of the logos below to learn about those who made this website possible! If you would like to learn about becoming a sponsor CLICK HERE!

Towns of Beltrami County, MN


The small towns of the Midwest are rich in history and a great way of life! Below you can visit and learn about the small towns we call home! Towns that have their name highlighted have become FEATURED TOWNS. Businesses/organizations from these towns have stepped forward as SPONSORS enabling us to include (or will include as acquired) stories and website links to ALL their community organizations (chambers, groups and departments, etc.), stories and website links to ALL their points of interest, annual festivals/events and stories done about their citizens, veterans and faith community. To learn how to become a featured town CLICK HERE!

Businesses of Beltrami County, MN


The businesses of our towns are truly the lifeblood of each community, click on any businesses below to learn about them, to learn how to add your business to your town and county page CLICK HERE!