Bowman County, North Dakota

Bowman County
County
Dakota Western Bank in Bowman, North Dakota
Location within the U.S. state of North Dakota
North Dakota's location within the U.S.
Coordinates: 46°07′N103°31′W / 46.11°N 103.52°W / 46.11; -103.52
Country	United States
State	North Dakota
Founded	1883 (created) 1907 (organized)
Named for	Edward M. Bowman
Seat	Bowman
Largest city	Bowman
Area
• Total	1,167 sq mi (3,020 km2)
• Land	1,162 sq mi (3,010 km2)
• Water	5.2 sq mi (13 km2)  0.4%
Population  (2020)
• Total	2,993
• Estimate  (2022)	2,894
• Density	2.6/sq mi (0.99/km2)
Time zone	UTC−7 (Mountain)
• Summer (DST)	UTC−6 (MDT)
Congressional district	At-large
Website	bowmannd.com

Bowman County is a county in the U.S. state of North Dakota. As of the 2020 census, the population was 2,993. ^[1] Its county seat is Bowman. ^[2]

History

The legislature of the Dakota Territory designated Bowman (named for Edward M. Bowman, a member of the territorial House of Representatives during the 1883 session) as a separate county on March 8, 1883, although it was not organized at that time. In 1885, its boundaries were altered to cede territory to Billings and Villard Counties (Villard itself was eliminated in 1887). In 1891, and again in 1896, the South Dakota legislature eliminated the not-yet-organized Bowman County, due to scant settlement in the area, but these actions either were not put into effect (the 1891 vote) or were overturned in judicial appeal (the 1896 vote).

A decision by the North Dakota supreme court on May 24, 1901, resurrected Bowman County. That decision also caused the county's area to slightly increase; its former boundary descriptions were replaced by descriptions based on the boundary lines of adjacent jurisdictions, which added a strip along its south border and another strip along its east border.

Since the scantily-populated county was still unorganized, in March 1903 the legislature attached the area to Stark County for judicial purposes. This state of affairs continued until November 1904, when the legislature again dissolved the county and assigned its territory to Billings County. However, on June 10, 1907, ND Governor John Burke issued a proclamation which re-created Bowman County. This proclamation did not attach the area to any other area for judicial purposes, so on July 5, 1907, the new county's organization was set up, and Bowman was confirmed as the county seat. ^{[3] [4]}

The US Navy ship USS Bowman County (LST-391), a tank landing ship in World War II, was named for this county.

Geography

Bowman County lies at the southwestern corner of North Dakota; its south boundary line abuts the north boundary line of the state of South Dakota, and its west boundary line abuts the east boundary line of the state of Montana. The Little Missouri River flows northward through the west part of the county; the North Fork of the Grand River flows easterly through the lower part of the county, filling Bowman-Haley Lake in the process. Spring Creek flows south-southeasterly through the central part of the county, discharging into Bowman-Haley Lake.

Bowman County's terrain consists of semi-arid high hills running north–south through the west-central part of the county, with lower hills in the remaining territory. The area is partially used for agriculture. ^[5] The western part slopes to the north and west; the eastern part slopes to the east and south. Its highest point is on the south boundary line, toward its southwestern corner, at 3,228 ft (984 m) ASL. ^[6] The county has a total area of 1,167 square miles (3,020 km²), of which 1,162 square miles (3,010 km²) is land and 5.2 square miles (13 km²) (0.4%) is water. ^[7]

Major highways

• U.S. Highway 12
• U.S. Highway 85
• North Dakota Highway 67

Adjacent counties

• Slope County - north
• Adams County - east
• Harding County, South Dakota - south
• Fallon County, Montana - west

Lakes

• Bowman-Haley Lake
• Gascoyne Lake

^[5]

Demographics

Historical population

Census	Pop.	Note	%±
1910	4,668		—
1920	4,768		2.1%
1930	5,119		7.4%
1940	3,860		−24.6%
1950	4,001		3.7%
1960	4,154		3.8%
1970	3,901		−6.1%
1980	4,229		8.4%
1990	3,596		−15.0%
2000	3,242		−9.8%
2010	3,151		−2.8%
2020	2,993		−5.0%
2022 (est.)	2,894	[8]	−3.3%
U.S. Decennial Census [9] 1790-1960 [10] 1900-1990 [11] 1990-2000 [12] 2010-2020 [1]

2020 census

As of the census of 2020, there were 2,993 people.

2010 census

As of the census of 2010, there were 3,151 people, 1,385 households, and 873 families in the county. The population density was 2.7 inhabitants per square mile (1.0/km²). There were 1,683 housing units at an average density of 1.4 per square mile (0.54/km²). The racial makeup of the county was 97.9% white, 0.6% American Indian, 0.1% black or African American, 0.1% Asian, 0.9% from other races, and 0.5% from two or more races. Those of Hispanic or Latino origin made up 2.5% of the population. In terms of ancestry, 47.4% were German, 28.1% were Norwegian, 9.9% were Irish, 6.4% were Swedish, 6.4% were English, 5.4% were American, and 5.2% were Polish.

Of the 1,385 households, 25.6% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 54.9% were married couples living together, 4.4% had a female householder with no husband present, 37.0% were non-families, and 32.9% of all households were made up of individuals. The average household size was 2.22 and the average family size was 2.82. The median age was 46.9 years.

The median income for a household in the county was $48,063 and the median income for a family was $63,897. Males had a median income of $41,542 versus $27,269 for females. The per capita income for the county was $27,354. About 3.9% of families and 6.7% of the population were below the poverty line, including 2.6% of those under age 18 and 14.8% of those age 65 or over.

Population by decade

Communities

Detailed map of Bowman County

Cities

• Bowman (county seat)
• Gascoyne
• Rhame
• Scranton

Unincorporated communities

• Griffin
• Haley

^[5]

Townships

• Adelaide
• Amor
• Bowman
• Boyesen
• Buena Vista
• Fischbein
• Gascoyne
• Gem
• Goldfield
• Grainbelt
• Grand River
• Haley
• Ladd
• Langberg
• Marion
• Minnehaha
• Nebo
• Rhame
• Scranton
• Star
• Stillwater
• Sunny Slope
• Talbot
• Whiting

Unorganized Territories

• Hart
• West Bowman

Politics

Bowman County voters have been reliably Republican for decades. In no national election since 1964 has the county selected the Democratic Party candidate (as of 2024).

United States presidential election results for Bowman County, North Dakota ^{[13] [14]}

Year	Republican		Democratic		Third party(ies)
	No.	%	No.	%	No.	%
2024	1,384	85.54%	207	12.79%	27	1.67%
2020	1,395	84.19%	228	13.76%	34	2.05%
2016	1,446	80.92%	227	12.70%	114	6.38%
2012	1,280	73.69%	414	23.83%	43	2.48%
2008	1,107	67.50%	478	29.15%	55	3.35%
2004	1,280	74.59%	397	23.14%	39	2.27%
2000	1,080	73.42%	330	22.43%	61	4.15%
1996	710	48.20%	489	33.20%	274	18.60%
1992	712	37.34%	506	26.53%	689	36.13%
1988	1,111	59.51%	737	39.48%	19	1.02%
1984	1,559	72.55%	562	26.15%	28	1.30%
1980	1,507	70.49%	454	21.23%	177	8.28%
1976	1,033	51.70%	911	45.60%	54	2.70%
1972	1,111	61.69%	643	35.70%	47	2.61%
1968	927	56.46%	559	34.04%	156	9.50%
1964	756	41.38%	1,070	58.57%	1	0.05%
1960	1,038	54.98%	847	44.86%	3	0.16%
1956	1,007	58.34%	715	41.43%	4	0.23%
1952	1,375	71.21%	540	27.96%	16	0.83%
1948	723	49.83%	597	41.14%	131	9.03%
1944	785	55.67%	609	43.19%	16	1.13%
1940	927	50.63%	882	48.17%	22	1.20%
1936	534	26.57%	1,118	55.62%	358	17.81%
1932	616	28.31%	1,292	59.38%	268	12.32%
1928	1,031	54.99%	821	43.79%	23	1.23%
1924	776	45.17%	67	3.90%	875	50.93%
1920	1,192	69.79%	321	18.79%	195	11.42%
1916	374	32.49%	685	59.51%	92	7.99%
1912	302	29.18%	361	34.88%	372	35.94%
1908	451	66.13%	209	30.65%	22	3.23%

See also

• National Register of Historic Places listings in Bowman County, North Dakota
• Bowman-Haley Dam

References

1. "State & County QuickFacts". United States Census Bureau. Retrieved April 4, 2023.
2. "Find a County". National Association of Counties. Archived from the original on May 31, 2011. Retrieved June 7, 2011.
3. "Dakota Territory, South Dakota, and North Dakota: Individual County Chronologies". Dakota Territory Atlas of Historical County Boundaries. The Newberry Library. 2006. Archived from the original on April 2, 2018. Retrieved February 2, 2015.
4. "County History". Official Portal for North Dakota State Government. Archived from the original on February 2, 2015. Retrieved May 4, 2011.
5. Bowman County ND Google Maps (accessed February 15, 2019)
6. ""Find an Altitude/Bowman County ND" Google Maps (accessed February 15, 2019)". Archived from the original on May 21, 2019. Retrieved February 15, 2019.
7. "2010 Census Gazetteer Files". United States Census Bureau. August 22, 2012. Archived from the original on January 29, 2015. Retrieved January 27, 2015.
8. "Annual Estimates of the Resident Population for Counties: April 1, 2020 to July 1, 2022". Census.gov . Retrieved April 4, 2023.
9. "United States Decennial Census". United States Census Bureau. Retrieved January 27, 2015.
10. "Historical Census Browser". University of Virginia Library. Retrieved January 27, 2015.
11. Forstall, Richard L., ed. (March 27, 1995). "Population of Counties by Decennial Census: 1900 to 1990". United States Census Bureau. Retrieved January 27, 2015.
12. "Census 2000 PHC-T-4. Ranking Tables for Counties: 1990 and 2000" (PDF). United States Census Bureau. April 2, 2001. Archived (PDF) from the original on March 27, 2010. Retrieved January 27, 2015.
13. Leip, David. "Atlas of US Presidential Elections". uselectionatlas.org. Retrieved April 12, 2018.
14. The leading "other" candidate, Progressive Theodore Roosevelt, received 258 votes, while Socialist candidate Eugene Debs received 99 votes, Prohibition candidate Eugene Chafin received 15 votes.

External links

• Bowman County official website
• Bowman County map, North Dakota DOT

46°07′N103°31′W / 46.11°N 103.52°W / 46.11; -103.52