Pine City, MN

Pine City Map

Pine City is a city in Pine County, Minnesota, United States. The population was 3,123 at the 2010 census. Pine City is the county seat of, and the largest city in, Pine County. The Initiative Foundation named Pine City "Outstanding Community" of 2009 and the NAMM Foundation identified it as one of the "Best Communities for Music Education in America" for 2010.

Its name is a loose English translation of "Chengwatana" (White-Pine Town), originally an Ojibwe village located just east of Pine City, along the Snake River. The Ojibwe name for the city is Ne-zhingwaakokaag (on a land-point full of white pines). A portion of the Mille Lacs Indian Reservation is located within Pine City.

The Dakota Indians were the first in the area. With the Ojibwa expansion, the area became a mixture of the two. By early 19th century, the area became predominantly Ojibwa. They trapped and hunted on the land and traded furs at the nearby trading posts. With the Treaty of St. Peters of 1837, dubbed the "White Pine Treaty", lumbering began in the area. Lumbering, though, was limited by access to the available waterways.

Nearby cities include Braham, Hinckley, Grantsburg, Stanchfield, Mora.