Burke County, North Dakota

Burke County
County
Union Bank of Portal
Location within the U.S. state of North Dakota
North Dakota's location within the U.S.
Coordinates: 48°47′N102°31′W / 48.79°N 102.52°W / 48.79; -102.52
Country	United States
State	North Dakota
Founded	1910
Named for	John Burke
Seat	Bowbells
Largest city	Powers Lake
Area
• Total	1,129 sq mi (2,920 km2)
• Land	1,104 sq mi (2,860 km2)
• Water	25 sq mi (60 km2)  2.2%
Population  (2020)
• Total	2,201
• Estimate  (2022)	2,155
• Density	1.9/sq mi (0.75/km2)
Time zone	UTC−6 (Central)
• Summer (DST)	UTC−5 (CDT)
Congressional district	At-large
Website	www.burkecountynd.com

Burke County is a county on the north edge of the U.S. state of North Dakota, adjacent to the south line of Canada. As of the 2020 census, the population was 2,201. ^[1] The county seat is Bowbells. The county is named after John Burke, the tenth Governor of North Dakota. ^[2]

History

A vote was held on November 3, 1908, in which county voters authorized the partition of Burke County from what was then known as 'Imperial Ward County' (which consisted of what is now Burke, Mountrail, Renville, and Ward counties). Its name recognized the state governor at the time, John Burke. However, the vote was challenged in court, and appealed to the state supreme court. That court ruled on June 3, 1910, to uphold the election results, ^[3] so on July 12, Governor Burke issued a proclamation creating Burke County. Its organization was effected on July 15, with Bowbells as its county seat. ^{[4] [5]} The county is managed by a three-member Board of Commissioners. As of 2018 the board chair is Debbie Kuryn. ^[6]

Geography

Burke County lies on the north line of North Dakota. Its north boundary line abuts the south boundary line of Canada. The Des Lacs River flows south-southeasterly through the east part of the county, and the White Earth River flows northeasterly through the lower part. The county terrain consists of semi-arid low hills in the northeast part of the county, with higher carved and eroded ridges on the southwestern portion of the county. The area is partly used for agriculture. ^[7] The terrain slopes to the north; its highest point is on the lower west boundary line, at 2,461 ft (750 m) ASL. ^[8] The county has a total area of 1,129 square miles (2,920 km²), of which 1,104 square miles (2,860 km²) is land and 25 square miles (65 km²) (2.2%) is water. ^[9]

Major highways

• U.S. Highway 52
• North Dakota Highway 5
• North Dakota Highway 8
• North Dakota Highway 40
• North Dakota Highway 50

Adjacent counties and rural municipalities

• Estevan No. 5, Saskatchewan – north
• Coalfields No. 4, Saskatchewan – north
• Enniskillen No. 3, Saskatchewan – north
• Renville County – east
• Ward County – southeast
• Mountrail County – south
• Williams County – southwest
• Divide County – west

Protected areas

• Des Lacs National Wildlife Refuge (part)
• Lostwood National Wildlife Refuge (part)

^[7]

Lakes

• Beaver Lake
• Enget Lake
• Iverson Slough
• Powers Lake (part)
• Shallow Lake
• Swensons Slouth
• Teal Slough
• Thompson Slough
• Upper Thompson Lake

^[7]

Demographics

Historical population

Census	Pop.	Note	%±
1910	9,064		—
1920	9,511		4.9%
1930	9,998		5.1%
1940	7,653		−23.5%
1950	6,621		−13.5%
1960	5,886		−11.1%
1970	4,739		−19.5%
1980	3,822		−19.4%
1990	3,002		−21.5%
2000	2,242		−25.3%
2010	1,968		−12.2%
2020	2,201		11.8%
2022 (est.)	2,155	[10]	−2.1%
U.S. Decennial Census [11] 1790-1960 [12] 1900-1990 [13] 1990-2000 [14] 2010-2020 [1]

2020 census

As of the census of 2020, there were 2,201 people.

2010 census

As of the census of 2010, there were 1,968 people, 913 households, and 567 families in the county. The population density was 1.8 inhabitants per square mile (0.69 inhabitants/km²). There were 1,340 housing units at an average density of 1.2 units per square mile (0.46 units/km²). The racial makeup of the county was 97.8% white, 0.8% American Indian, 0.7% Asian, 0.2% black or African American, 0.0% from other races, and 0.6% from two or more races. Those of Hispanic or Latino origin made up 1.9% of the population. In terms of ancestry, 45.2% were of Norwegian, 34.9% German, 13% Swedish, and 10% Danish ancestry.

Of the 913 households, 22.6% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 52.4% were married couples living together, 5.4% had a female householder with no husband present, 37.9% were non-families, and 33.6% of all households were made up of individuals. The average household size was 2.15 and the average family size was 2.74. The median age was 48.1 years.

The median income for a household in the county was $50,800 and the median income for a family was $62,283. Males had a median income of $49,958 versus $27,206 for females. The per capita income for the county was $32,347. About 3.3% of families and 5.8% of the population were below the poverty line, including 9.4% of those under age 18 and 6.1% of those age 65 or over.

Population by decade

Economy

The main industries in Burke County are farming and oil extraction. Burke County is one of several western North Dakota counties with significant exposure to the Bakken Formation in the Williston Basin.

Communities

Cities

• Bowbells (county seat)
• Columbus
• Flaxton
• Lignite
• Portal
• Powers Lake

Census-designated place

• Larson

Unincorporated communities

• Atcoal
• Battleview
• Coteau
• Kincaid
• Northgate
• Perella
• Rival
• Stampede
• Woburn

^[7]

Townships

• Battleview
• Bowbells
• Carter
• Clayton
• Cleary
• Colville
• Dale
• Dimond
• Fay
• Foothills
• Forthun
• Garness
• Harmonious
• Kandiyohi
• Keller
• Lakeview
• Leaf Mountain
• Lucy
• Minnesota
• North Star
• Portal
• Richland
• Roseland
• Short Creek
• Soo
• Thorson
• Vale
• Vanville
• Ward

Politics

Burke County voters have been reliably Republican for several decades. In no national election since 1964 has the county selected the Democratic Party candidate (as of 2024). In 1912, it was one of only four counties nationwide to vote for Socialist nominee Eugene Debs.

United States presidential election results for Burke County, North Dakota ^[15]

Year	Republican		Democratic		Third party(ies)
	No.	%	No.	%	No.	%
2024	909	86.08%	130	12.31%	17	1.61%
2020	994	86.06%	137	11.86%	24	2.08%
2016	895	85.08%	119	11.31%	38	3.61%
2012	769	75.17%	230	22.48%	24	2.35%
2008	640	67.87%	286	30.33%	17	1.80%
2004	808	69.36%	336	28.84%	21	1.80%
2000	698	67.18%	296	28.49%	45	4.33%
1996	483	44.35%	416	38.20%	190	17.45%
1992	551	36.15%	458	30.05%	515	33.79%
1988	971	57.46%	693	41.01%	26	1.54%
1984	1,298	69.45%	543	29.05%	28	1.50%
1980	1,442	73.27%	418	21.24%	108	5.49%
1976	1,087	52.03%	899	43.03%	103	4.93%
1972	1,446	66.36%	651	29.88%	82	3.76%
1968	1,239	56.83%	808	37.06%	133	6.10%
1964	974	40.02%	1,454	59.74%	6	0.25%
1960	1,609	59.88%	1,076	40.04%	2	0.07%
1956	1,415	59.98%	936	39.68%	8	0.34%
1952	1,986	69.90%	811	28.55%	44	1.55%
1948	1,212	50.95%	972	40.86%	195	8.20%
1944	1,540	54.47%	1,226	43.37%	61	2.16%
1940	1,951	57.53%	1,342	39.58%	98	2.89%
1936	684	18.33%	1,821	48.81%	1,226	32.86%
1932	906	25.21%	2,473	68.81%	215	5.98%
1928	2,002	58.38%	1,336	38.96%	91	2.65%
1924	996	39.62%	135	5.37%	1,383	55.01%
1920	1,911	70.94%	456	16.93%	327	12.14%
1916	518	31.37%	922	55.84%	211	12.78%
1912	264	23.57%	308	27.50%	548	48.93%

See also

• National Register of Historic Places listings in Burke County, North Dakota

References

1. "State & County QuickFacts". United States Census Bureau. Retrieved April 6, 2023.
2. "Burke County". ND-Direct. Retrieved February 2, 2023.
3. Fitzmaurice v. Willis, 127N.W.95 (N.D.1910).
4. "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 1, 2015.
5. "County History". North Dakota.gov. The State of North Dakota. Archived from the original on February 2, 2015. Retrieved February 1, 2015.
6. "Burke County, ND". Burke County North Dakota. Retrieved February 2, 2023.
7. Burke County ND Google Maps (accessed February 15, 2019)
8. ""Find an Altitude/Burke County ND" Google Maps (accessed February 15, 2019)". Archived from the original on May 21, 2019. Retrieved February 16, 2019.
9. "2010 Census Gazetteer Files". United States Census Bureau. August 22, 2012. Archived from the original on January 29, 2015. Retrieved January 27, 2015.
10. "Annual Estimates of the Resident Population for Counties: April 1, 2020 to July 1, 2022". Census.gov . Retrieved April 6, 2023.
11. "U.S. Decennial Census". United States Census Bureau. Retrieved January 27, 2015.
12. "Historical Census Browser". University of Virginia Library. Retrieved January 27, 2015.
13. Forstall, Richard L., ed. (March 27, 1995). "Population of Counties by Decennial Census: 1900 to 1990". United States Census Bureau. Retrieved January 27, 2015.
14. "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.
15. Leip, David. "Atlas of US Presidential Elections". uselectionatlas.org. Retrieved April 12, 2018.

48°47′N102°31′W / 48.79°N 102.52°W / 48.79; -102.52