Dunn County, North Dakota

Dunn County
County
Dunn County Courthouse - Manning, North Dakota
Location within the U.S. state of North Dakota
North Dakota's location within the U.S.
Coordinates: 47°22′N102°37′W / 47.36°N 102.62°W / 47.36; -102.62
Country	United States
State	North Dakota
Founded	March 9, 1883 (created) January 18, 1908 (organized)
Seat	Manning
Largest city	Killdeer
Area
• Total	2,082 sq mi (5,390 km2)
• Land	2,008 sq mi (5,200 km2)
• Water	74 sq mi (190 km2)  3.5%
Population  (2020)
• Total	4,095
• Estimate  (2022)	4,015
• Density	2.0/sq mi (0.76/km2)
Time zones
(northern portion)	UTC−6 (Central)
• Summer (DST)	UTC−5 (CDT)
(southern portion)	UTC−7 (Mountain)
• Summer (DST)	UTC−6 (MDT)
Website	www.dunncountynd.org

Dunn County is a county in the U.S. state of North Dakota. As of the 2020 census, the population was 4,095. ^[1] Its county seat is Manning. ^[2]

History

On March 9, 1883, the Dakota Territory legislature authorized the creation of a new county, using territory partitioned from Howard County (which is now extinct). The county organization was not effected at that time, but the county was not attached to another county for judicial purposes.

The county boundaries were altered in 1883, and on November 3, 1896, the legislature ordered Dunn dissolved, with its territory assigned to Stark County. However, the state supreme court overturned the legislature's act on May 24, 1901; in effect re-creating Dunn County. The county was still not assigned to another county. This was resolved on March 10, 1903, when the county was assigned to Stark County for judicial purposes.

On March 13, 1903, the legislature again voted to dissolve Dunn County, but again (during the 1905 session) the state supreme court voided the act. Dunn County continued to be attached to Stark County. However, on January 18, 1908, the county organization was effected, and Dunn became a standalone county. In the process, Dunn gained a tract of previously unattached land from Stark County, enlarging its boundary. The configuration thus created has remained to the present. The county was named for John Piatt Dunn, ^[3] who opened the first drugstore in North Dakota, and who was a civic and commercial leader during the early history of Bismarck. ^{[4] [5]}

Geography

The Missouri River flows southeasterly along the northeastern boundary of Dunn County, and the Little Missouri River flows eastward across the center part of the county, to its confluence with the Missouri in the northeastern part of the county. The county terrain consists of semi-arid rolling hills, which are etched in the north and east by gullies and drainages to the river valleys. ^[6] The terrain slopes to the east and north; its highest point is a hill at the southwestern corner, at 2,625 ft (800 m) ASL. ^[7] The county has a total area of 2,082 square miles (5,390 km²), of which 2,008 square miles (5,200 km²) is land and 74 square miles (190 km²) (3.5%) is water. ^[8] It is the fifth-largest county in North Dakota by total area.

Dunn County is somewhat unusual among western North Dakota counties. Like other counties in the region, it has both prairie and badlands areas. Located in the northwest part of the county are the Killdeer Mountains, which are more accurately described as hills. These hills help create a mini-ecosystem on the southern edge of the Little Missouri badlands, which has a greater abundance of aspen forests and wildlife than is typically found in southwestern North Dakota. The Killdeer Mountains' highest point, and the highest point in Dunn County, is 3281 feet above sea level. ^[9]

The northwest corner of the county, northwest of the Killdeer Mountains, features many square miles of bur oak forest, mainly on the north-facing slopes of the hills. Bur oak and quaking aspen, though native to North Dakota, are sparse in western North Dakota, with Dunn County being a notable exception.

Major highways

• North Dakota Highway 8
• North Dakota Highway 22
• North Dakota Highway 200

Adjacent counties

• Mountrail County – north
• McLean County – northeast
• Mercer County – east
• Stark County – south
• Billings County – southwest
• McKenzie County – northwest

Protected areas

• Lake Ilo National Wildlife Refuge
• Little Missouri Public Use Area
• Kildeer Mountain State Game Preserve
• Badlands Trail Rides
• Little Mountain State Park

^[6]

Lakes

• Moffet Slough

^[6]

Demographics

Historical population

Census	Pop.	Note	%±
1890	159		—
1910	5,302		—
1920	8,828		66.5%
1930	9,566		8.4%
1940	8,376		−12.4%
1950	7,212		−13.9%
1960	6,350		−12.0%
1970	4,895		−22.9%
1980	4,627		−5.5%
1990	4,005		−13.4%
2000	3,600		−10.1%
2010	3,536		−1.8%
2020	4,095		15.8%
2022 (est.)	4,015	[10]	−2.0%
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 4,095 people.

2010 census

As of the census of 2010, there were 3,536 people, 1,401 households, and 977 families in the county. The population density was 1.8 inhabitants per square mile (0.69/km²). There were 2,132 housing units at an average density of 1.1 units per square mile (0.42/km²). The racial makeup of the county was 84.9% white, 12.7% American Indian, 0.3% Asian, 0.2% black or African American, 0.2% from other races, and 1.7% from two or more races. Those of Hispanic or Latino origin made up 1.1% of the population. In terms of ancestry, 57.6% were German, 20.3% were Norwegian, 8.5% were Czech, 6.0% were Russian, 5.7% were Irish, 5.3% were English, and 1.8% were American.

Of the 1,401 households, 28.1% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 57.7% were married couples living together, 6.6% had a female householder with no husband present, 30.3% were non-families, and 26.5% of all households were made up of individuals. The average household size was 2.43 and the average family size was 2.93. The median age was 44.4 years.

The median income for a household in the county was $48,707 and the median income for a family was $65,122. Males had a median income of $37,270 versus $23,599 for females. The per capita income for the county was $24,832. About 6.2% of families and 8.6% of the population were below the poverty line, including 7.5% of those under age 18 and 12.1% of those age 65 or over.

Population by decade

Sites of interest

• Killdeer Mountains
• Killdeer Mountain National Battlefield

Communities

Cities

• Dodge
• Dunn Center
• Halliday
• Killdeer

Census-designated place

• Manning (county seat)

Unincorporated communities

• Emerson
• Fayette
• Hirschville
• Marshall
• Medicine Hole
• New Hradec
• Twin Buttes
• Werner

^[6]

Politics

Dunn County has voted Republican in every election since 1976.

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

Year	Republican		Democratic		Third party(ies)
	No.	%	No.	%	No.	%
2024	1,877	83.72%	332	14.81%	33	1.47%
2020	1,951	83.45%	342	14.63%	45	1.92%
2016	1,771	78.96%	358	15.96%	114	5.08%
2012	1,506	74.04%	508	24.98%	20	0.98%
2008	1,080	65.69%	527	32.06%	37	2.25%
2004	1,178	66.40%	571	32.19%	25	1.41%
2000	1,124	65.05%	474	27.43%	130	7.52%
1996	830	47.62%	587	33.68%	326	18.70%
1992	784	37.24%	667	31.69%	654	31.07%
1988	1,263	57.99%	892	40.96%	23	1.06%
1984	1,583	68.12%	716	30.81%	25	1.08%
1980	1,706	71.50%	532	22.30%	148	6.20%
1976	1,041	48.26%	1,051	48.73%	65	3.01%
1972	1,438	65.45%	644	29.31%	115	5.23%
1968	1,207	56.17%	772	35.92%	170	7.91%
1964	1,079	44.37%	1,351	55.55%	2	0.08%
1960	1,462	52.53%	1,321	47.47%	0	0.00%
1956	1,567	59.63%	1,055	40.14%	6	0.23%
1952	2,237	76.50%	664	22.71%	23	0.79%
1948	1,244	51.34%	1,074	44.33%	105	4.33%
1944	1,374	59.79%	919	39.99%	5	0.22%
1940	2,132	60.29%	1,392	39.37%	12	0.34%
1936	732	21.65%	2,257	66.76%	392	11.59%
1932	569	18.92%	2,380	79.12%	59	1.96%
1928	1,360	46.50%	1,561	53.37%	4	0.14%
1924	980	42.78%	190	8.29%	1,121	48.93%
1920	2,102	80.60%	457	17.52%	49	1.88%
1916	566	34.43%	1,028	62.53%	50	3.04%
1912	285	32.39%	246	27.95%	349	39.66%
1908	373	68.82%	160	29.52%	9	1.66%

Education

School districts include: ^[16]

K-12:

• Beulah Public School District 27
• Dickinson Public School District 1
• Halliday Public School District 19
• Hebron Public School District 13
• Killdeer Public School District 16
• Mandaree Public School District 36
• Richardton-Taylor Public School District 34
• South Heart Public School District 9

Elementary:

• Twin Buttes Public School District 37

See also

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

References

1. "State & County QuickFacts". United States Census Bureau. Retrieved April 6, 2023.
2. "Find a County". National Association of Counties. Archived from the original on July 4, 2012. Retrieved June 7, 2011.
3. Gannett, Henry (1905). The Origin of Certain Place Names in the United States. Govt. Print. Off. p.  110.
4. "County History". Official Portal for North Dakota State Government. Archived from the original on February 2, 2015. Retrieved May 4, 2011.
5. "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 3, 2015.
6. "Dunn County · North Dakota". Dunn County · North Dakota. Retrieved April 27, 2024.
7. ""Find an Altitude/Dunn County ND" Google Maps (accessed 17 February 2019)". Archived from the original on May 21, 2019. Retrieved February 18, 2019.
8. "2010 Census Gazetteer Files". United States Census Bureau. August 22, 2012. Archived from the original on January 29, 2015. Retrieved January 28, 2015.
9. "North Dakota County High Points". Peakbagger. Retrieved July 25, 2020.
10. "Annual Estimates of the Resident Population for Counties: April 1, 2020 to July 1, 2022" . Retrieved April 6, 2023.
11. "U.S. Decennial Census". United States Census Bureau. Retrieved January 28, 2015.
12. "Historical Census Browser". University of Virginia Library. Retrieved January 28, 2015.
13. Forstall, Richard L., ed. (March 27, 1995). "Population of Counties by Decennial Census: 1900 to 1990". United States Census Bureau. Retrieved January 28, 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 28, 2015.
15. Leip, David. "Atlas of US Presidential Elections". uselectionatlas.org. Retrieved April 12, 2018.
16. "2020 CENSUS - SCHOOL DISTRICT REFERENCE MAP: Dunn County, ND" (PDF). United States Census Bureau. Archived (PDF) from the original on August 13, 2021. Retrieved July 24, 2022. - Text list

External links

• Killdeer Mountain Scenic Byway
• Little Missouri State Park
• Dunn County maps, Sheet 1 (northern) and Sheet 2 (southern), North Dakota DOT

47°22′N102°37′W / 47.36°N 102.62°W / 47.36; -102.62