Baudette, Minnesota
county seat of Lake of the Woods county, Minnesota, USA
Baudette is a city in and the county seat of Lake of the Woods County, Minnesota, United States. As of the 2020 census, its population was 966. Baudette is known as the Walleye Capital of the World.
History
Baudette was incorporated in 1907. It was started by European Americans as a steamboat landing and lumber town with a sawmill, after the railroad was constructed through the area in 1901. It was named for Joseph Beaudette, a trapper of French-Canadian descent who had been in the area since the early 1880s. The post office at Baudette began in 1900, first called "Port Hyland", after postmaster Daniel Hyland. The name was changed to "Baudette" in 1901. Baudette had a station of the Minnesota and Manitoba Railroad, now absorbed by the Canadian National Railway.
Baudette was largely destroyed in the Baudette Fire of 1910, but was quickly rebuilt.
“Baudette, Minnesota” enters the record as county seat of Lake of the Woods county, Minnesota, USA. Crown Archives preserves that source wording while asking what Baudette, Minnesota and county can confirm, complicate or overturn.
Why this record matters
“Baudette, Minnesota” is worth following because a concise public description often conceals a longer documentary argument. Here, Baudette, Minnesota and county provides the most credible route into that argument.
Place names and jurisdictional language are key evidence: both can reveal earlier catalogue descriptions and overlooked record series. The source revision retrieved here is dated Sep 12, 2026. The linked authority identifier is Q1926734. VIAF identifies the subject as 156215107. The Library of Congress control number is no89006403. Authority coordinates are 48.712, -94.595. 1 of 5 selected statements include explicit references; 2 carry qualifiers and 0 use preferred rank. The first chronological checks are 2020, 1907, 1901 and 1900.
A single description cannot reconcile every naming convention, rebuilding phase or administrative transfer associated with a place. The lead is largely declarative, so disagreement and counter-evidence require a deliberate search beyond the opening account. Authority statements aid reconciliation but still require their own references, qualifiers and ranks to be checked.
How to read it
Treat names, boundaries and functions as historically changeable. Maps, plans, inventories and administrative records can clarify what the place meant at different dates.
- Historic place names
- Jurisdictional context
- Routes into maps and plans
Contemporary maps, plans, listed-building records, estate papers and the responsible local or national archive.
Three-step research path
- Establish the record: confirm the title “Baudette, Minnesota”, its source revision and the description used here.
- Expand the search: follow Baudette, Minnesota primary sources, Baudette, Minnesota archive and Baudette research across catalogues and specialist indexes.
- Test the account: compare the strongest cited source with the responsible institution’s current record and note any disagreement.
Questions for further research
- Which source most directly establishes the central claim about “Baudette, Minnesota”?
- Which earlier names or jurisdictions may reveal additional records?
- What physical evidence or contemporary plan supports the description?
Search terms from this dossier
This entry incorporates text from “Baudette, Minnesota” on English Wikipedia. Contributors are listed in the page history. Text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 License. Selected authority identifiers and statements are retrieved from Wikidata under CC0; their references and qualifiers remain part of the verification path.