Wawina, Minnesota

Wawina is an unincorporated community in Wawina Township, Itasca County, Minnesota, United States.

Wawina
Unincorporated community
Wawina is located in Minnesota
Wawina
Wawina
Location of the community of Wawina
within Wawina Township, Itasca County
Wawina is located in the United States
Wawina
Wawina
Wawina (the United States)
Coordinates: 47°03′11″N 93°07′09″W
CountryUnited States
StateMinnesota
CountyItasca
TownshipWawina Township
Elevation
1,266 ft (386 m)
Population
 • Total10
Time zoneUTC-6 (Central (CST))
 • Summer (DST)UTC-5 (CDT)
ZIP code
55736 or 55784
Area code218
GNIS feature ID653862[1]

The community is located between Grand Rapids and Floodwood at the junction of U.S. Highway 2 and Itasca County Road 25.

Nearby places include Floodwood, Swan River, Warba, Jacobson, and Goodland.

Wawina is located 13 miles northwest of Floodwood. Wawina is also located 23 miles southeast of Grand Rapids; and 53 miles northwest of Duluth. The boundary line between Itasca, Saint Louis, and Aitkin counties is nearby.

The community of Wawina is located within Wawina Township (population 77).

ZIP Codes 55736 (Floodwood) and 55784 (Swan River) meet at Wawina.

History

A post office called Wawina was established in 1912, and remained in operation until 1993.[2] Wawina is a name derived from the Ojibwe language waawiinaa meaning "I mention him often"[3] from wiinzh meaning "mention him/her".[4]

Culture

Wawina has the distinction of having America's smallest telephone company. Northern Telephone Company of Minnesota (Area Code 218–488) serves fewer than 40 subscribers.

It gained brief fame as the last place in the continental United States to use a trunking system (inter-office circuits) that was called "N2 Carrier", an analog system that utilized Multi-Frequency (MF) tones and the infamous 2600 Hz control tone for answer supervision and idle trunk condition. This system was much loved by phone phreaks as it was the same system which the now infamous John Draper made famous. The era ended in June 2006, when the privately owned exchange switched to a digital trunk. Phone hacking attempts from across the nation had placed a large burden on the extremely small telephone company serving Wawina Township.[5]

References
  1. "Wawina, Minnesota". Geographic Names Information System. United States Geological Survey, United States Department of the Interior.
  2. "Itasca County". Jim Forte Postal History. Retrieved July 12, 2015.
  3. Upham, Warren (1920). Minnesota Geographic Names: Their Origin and Historic Significance. Minnesota Historical Society. p. 257.
  4. "wiinzh (vta)". The Ojibwe People's Dictionary. University of Minnesota. Retrieved August 2, 2023.
  5. http://www.phworld.org/sounds/wawina
  • Rand McNally Road Atlas – 2007 edition – Minnesota entry
  • Official State of Minnesota Highway Map – 2011/2012 edition
  • Mn/DOT map of Itasca County – Sheet 1 – 2011 edition
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