[3] Crow Wing County is included in the Brainerd, MN Micropolitan Statistical Area.

In addition, numerous Dakota people lived in central and southern Minnesota before European settlement.

The post (named Crow Wing) soon became a center of trading with the region's Native Americans, with a general-supply store that served the area.

Brainerd township was founded in 1870 when the Northern Pacific Railroad selected the site for a crossing of the Mississippi River.

It was also designated as the new county seat, drawing off more residents and businesses from what became known as a ghost town, Old Crow Wing.

[citation needed] The Northern Pacific Railroad ran a special train as its first service to Brainerd on March 11, 1871.

The Cuyuna Lakes State Trail lies in the Upper Mississippi River Basin.

The topography is gently rolling to flat, mostly wooded and heavily dotted with waters and wetlands.

[8] It is home to an abundance of wildlife, including white-tailed deer, cottontail rabbit, snowshoe hare, raccoon, red fox, gray fox, coyote, mink, muskrat, squirrels, beaver, occasional American black bear, Bald eagle, osprey and many other waterfowl.

The top ten by size are: [8] The presence of railroads increased development in the county, but also brought environmental problems.

This created sludge that contaminated both the underlying soils and the groundwater with creosote and polynuclear aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs).