South of Wilkin County is Traverse County (pop. 3,558), the least-populated county in Minnesota.

Traverse County reached its peak population of 8,283 in 1940.

Lake Traverse, the county’s largest lake, is the southernmost body of water in the Hudson Bay watershed; its waters flow north into the Boix de Sioux River, then to the Red River and on into Canada.

Red River watershed

Within a mile of the southern end of Lake Traverse, on the other side of a small hill, is the Little Minnesota River, which flows into the Minnesota River, then to the Mississsippi and on to the Gulf of Mexico.

Lake Traverse in the background

Traverse is the only county in Minnesota that borders both Dakotas.

Two Dakotas

The county seat of Traverse County is Wheaton (pop. 1,424). Its small courthouse was built in 1892.

Traverse County Courthouse

The Traverse County Historical Society Museum is in Wheaton’s former Chicago, Milwaukee, St. Paul and Pacific Railroad depot.

Milwaukee Road, for short

The Gopher Theater in Wheaton shows first-run movies, but it’s scheduled to close at the end of 2012.

Minneapolis and Hibbing once had Gopher theaters.

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