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County · code 27159

Wadena CountyMinnesota

Wadena County is a county in Minnesota, with its seat in Wadena. It was created in 1858 from Cass and Todd counties.

  • Founded1858
  • County seatWadena
  • Land area536 sq mi + 7 sq mi water
  • Population14,065 2020 Census
  • Parcels mapped11,820 checked 15 October 2026
Open the free map Click any parcel in Wadena County: acreage, parcel id, address and who publishes the map. No sign-in.

Updated

ToddHubbardCassOtter TailBecker Wadena Census outline · seat marked

Where it is

Wadena on the map of Minnesota

Minnesota has 87 counties and county equivalents, each with its own records office. Shapes with a page are links.

Aitkin CountyAnoka CountyBecker CountyBeltrami CountyBenton CountyBig Stone CountyBlue Earth CountyBrown CountyCarlton CountyCarver CountyCass CountyChippewa CountyChisago CountyClay CountyClearwater CountyCook CountyCottonwood CountyCrow Wing CountyDakota CountyDodge CountyDouglas CountyFaribault CountyFillmore CountyFreeborn CountyGoodhue CountyGrant CountyHennepin CountyHouston CountyHubbard CountyIsanti CountyItasca CountyJackson CountyKanabec CountyKandiyohi CountyKittson CountyKoochiching CountyLac qui Parle CountyLake CountyLake of the Woods CountyLe Sueur CountyLincoln CountyLyon CountyMcLeod CountyMahnomen CountyMarshall CountyMartin CountyMeeker CountyMille Lacs CountyMorrison CountyMower CountyMurray CountyNicollet CountyNobles CountyNorman CountyOlmsted CountyOtter Tail CountyPennington CountyPine CountyPipestone CountyPolk CountyPope CountyRamsey CountyRed Lake CountyRedwood CountyRenville CountyRice CountyRock CountyRoseau CountySt. Louis CountyScott CountySherburne CountySibley CountyStearns CountySteele CountyStevens CountySwift CountyTodd CountyTraverse CountyWabasha CountyWaseca CountyWashington CountyWatonwan CountyWilkin CountyWinona CountyWright CountyYellow Medicine CountyWadena County Wadena
Counties of Minnesota · Wadena highlighted

History

Formed in 1858 from Cass County and Todd County

An old deed may name a county that no longer exists, or a boundary that has since moved.

Wadena County was created from Cass and Todd on June 11, 1858. Over the following decades, it was attached to neighboring counties for judicial and record purposes—first to Crow Wing in 1866, then Morrison in 1867, then back to Crow Wing in 1871—before becoming fully organized and independent in 1881. Hubbard County was attached to Wadena for judicial purposes in 1883 but detached four years later when fully organized. Wadena gained territory from Cass County in 1898.

Boundary changes from the Newberry Library, Atlas of Historical County Boundaries; the 5 that matter most are shown first.

  1. 1858
    Wadena County created Wadena created from Cass and Todd.
    from Cassfrom Todd
    · Minn. Laws 1857-1858, spec., ch. 179, secs. 1-2/pp. 448-449
  2. 1866
    Changed Wadena attached to Crow Wing "for judicial purposes."
    Crow Wing
    · Minn. Gen. Stat. 1866, ch. 64, title 4, sec. 33/p. 419
  3. 1867
    Changed Wadena detached from Crow Wing, attached to Morrison "for judicial and record purposes."
    Crow WingMorrison
    · Minn. Laws 1867, gen., ch. 113, secs. 1-3/pp. 159-160
  4. 1871
    Changed Wadena detached from Morrison, attached to Crow Wing "for record and judicial purposes."
    MorrisonCrow Wing
    · Minn. Laws 1871, spec., ch. 75, secs. 1-3/p. 285
  5. 1898
    Gained territory Wadena gained from Cass.
    from Cass
    · Minn. Laws 1897, gen., ch. 396, secs. 1-4/pp. 649-650
Show all 11 changes (6 more)
  1. 1858
    Wadena County created Wadena created from Cass and Todd.
    from Cassfrom Todd
    · Minn. Laws 1857-1858, spec., ch. 179, secs. 1-2/pp. 448-449
  2. 1866
    Changed Wadena attached to Crow Wing "for judicial purposes."
    Crow Wing
    · Minn. Gen. Stat. 1866, ch. 64, title 4, sec. 33/p. 419
  3. 1867
    Changed Wadena detached from Crow Wing, attached to Morrison "for judicial and record purposes."
    Crow WingMorrison
    · Minn. Laws 1867, gen., ch. 113, secs. 1-3/pp. 159-160
  4. 1871
    Changed Wadena detached from Morrison, attached to Crow Wing "for record and judicial purposes."
    MorrisonCrow Wing
    · Minn. Laws 1871, spec., ch. 75, secs. 1-3/p. 285
  5. 1873
    Changed Wadena organized for county government. · Minn. Laws 1873, gen., ch. 97, sec. 1/p. 219; Minn. Laws 1881, gen., ch. 131, sec. 1/p. 173
  6. 1873
    Changed Wadena authorized to gain 25 adjoining townships of Otter Tail, dependent upon local referendum; change not effected.
    Otter Tail
    · HRS Minn., Otter Tail, 9; Minn. Laws 1873, gen., ch. 95, secs. 1-2/pp. 214-215
  7. 1881
    Changed Wadena fully organized, detached from Crow Wing.
    Crow Wing
    · Minn. Laws 1881, reg. sess., gen., ch. 131, sec. 1/pp. 173- 174
  8. 1883
    Changed Hubbard attached to Wadena "for judicial purposes."
    Hubbard
    · Minn. Laws 1883, gen., ch. 78, secs. 1, 4/p. 108
  9. 1883
    Changed Wadena authorized to gain the five adjacent townships of Cass, dependent upon local referendum that failed (no change).
    Cass
    · Minn. Gen. Stat. 1894, ch. 8, title 1, sec. 612/p. 178; Minn. Laws 1883, gen., ch. 79, secs. 1-3/p. 109
  10. 1887
    Changed Hubbard fully organized, detached from Wadena.
    Hubbard
    · Minn. Laws 1887, gen., ch. 110, sec. 1/pp. 193-194
  11. 1898
    Gained territory Wadena gained from Cass.
    from Cass
    · Minn. Laws 1897, gen., ch. 396, secs. 1-4/pp. 649-650

Land and parcels

What the maps cover in Wadena

Who publishes each layer, how good it is, and when we last checked.

Official
from the office that keeps the record
Good enough
a reliable statewide or national copy
Fallback
a guide only; check the official record
Missing
nothing public found yet

People and land

Wadena by the Census

Population
14,065 2020 Census count
Housing units
6,939 2020 Census count
Land area
536 square miles
Water area
7 square miles
People per sq mi
26 population ÷ land area

Source: US Census Bureau, 2020 Census; US Census Bureau, 2020 Gazetteer Files. Not endorsed or certified by the Census Bureau.

Rules and offices

Who to ask before you build, dig or sell

Official county pages only. We link to them; we do not copy them, because they change.

Inside a city or town, permits usually come from that city rather than the county.

Permits

County government

See your own lot on these maps

Open Wadena County on Parcel Chart's free map and click your parcel. Save it with a free account; the full record of your place (site map, projects, documents) is Pro, in early access.

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Questions

Common questions about Wadena County

When was Wadena County founded?
Wadena County was founded in 1858, formed from Cass County and Todd County.
What is the county seat of Wadena County?
The county seat of Wadena County is Wadena.
Is there an online parcel map for Wadena County?
Yes. Wadena County publishes a parcel map of 11,820 parcels, rated good enough here. You can click any parcel on it in Parcel Chart's free map, no sign-in needed.
Has Wadena County's boundary or name changed?
Wadena County was created in 1858 from Cass County and Todd County. Since then the Atlas of Historical County Boundaries records 9 later changes, chiefly involving Crow Wing County, Hubbard County and Morrison County.
Is my lot in a flood zone?
We do not have flood maps for Wadena County yet. Look up the address on FEMA's Flood Map Service Center, which shows the effective flood map for any lot.

Nearby

Counties next door