Located on the southeast shore of Mille Lacs, Isle, the largest town on the shores of the big lake exemplifies small town living at its best.

Onamia received its name from Lake Onamia, which in Ojibwe means "dancing ground." Because the dance symbolizes either petition or thanksgiving, it is, in a manner of speaking, the Ojibwe word for these dances. The site of the city of Onamia was the place early American Indians used for these dances.

Tucked along Mille Lacs Lake's south shore, Wahkon was the earliest settlement in the Mille Lacs Lake area, beginning its town history in 1885. It was platted on the eoutheast shore of Mille Lacs Lake by the Soo Railroad Company near the site of the old town of Lawrence, once an American Indian trading area.

The city of McGrath is located in southern Aitkin County on Highway 65. In 1895, the James C. McGrath Logging Company opened logging camps in the area. According to the late Fred Vivant, who was the town historian, first the loggers came to the Aitkin County wilderness, then the homesteaders, then the businesses.