William Morrison (March 7, 1785 – August 7, 1866) was a Canadian fur trader and explorer who established numerous trading posts throughout Minnesota and is claimed to have been the first white person to discover Lake Itasca in 1804.

By autumn of that year, Morrison had reached Leech Lake and spent the winter at a post on the headwaters of the Crow Wing River.

[2][3] In a letter written to his brother in 1856, Morrison said he had left Grand Portage in 1802 and reached Leech Lake in September or October of that year.

While a member of this company, Morrison was listed as a superintendent of the department and developed a reputation for starving competition out of existence.

Ramsey would give it wide publicity, which influenced the Minnesota Legislature to name a county after him when it was organized on February 25, 1856.