 The county name came from the Ojibwe term "ginebig", meaning "snake," after the Snake River — "Kanabecosippi" ("Ginebigo-ziibi" in the modern spelling) — which flows through the county.The area of Kanabec County was attached to Chisago County for administrative and judicial purposes.What county business was handled locally was performed by part-time County Auditor and County Treasurer, in a single room in a stopping place operated by lumber-trader George Staples at Millet Rapids.