McIntosh County, North Dakota

McIntosh County
County
McIntosh County Courthouse in Ashley
Location within the U.S. state of North Dakota
North Dakota's location within the U.S.
Coordinates: 46°07′N99°26′W / 46.12°N 99.44°W / 46.12; -99.44
Country	United States
State	North Dakota
Founded	March 9, 1883 (created) October 4, 1884 (organized)
Named for	Edward H. McIntosh
Seat	Ashley
Largest city	Wishek
Area
• Total	995 sq mi (2,580 km2)
• Land	975 sq mi (2,530 km2)
• Water	20 sq mi (50 km2)  2.0%
Population  (2020)
• Total	2,530
• Estimate  (2022)	2,475
• Density	2.5/sq mi (0.98/km2)
Time zone	UTC−6 (Central)
• Summer (DST)	UTC−5 (CDT)
Congressional district	At-large

McIntosh County is a county in the U.S. state of North Dakota. As of the 2020 census, the population was 2,530. ^[1] Its county seat is Ashley. ^[2] The county is notable for being the county with the highest percentage of German-Americans in the United States, with over 76% of the county's residents being of German descent as of 2010.

History

The Dakota Territory legislature created the county on March 9, 1883, with areas partitioned from Campbell, Logan, and McPherson counties, and with some previously unorganized areas. It was named for Edward H. McIntosh, a territorial legislator at the time. ^[3] The county seat was originally Hoskins, but changed in 1888 after everything in Hoskins but the school was moved three miles east to the new Soo Line Railroad townsite of Ashley. ^[4] The county government was not organized at that date, but the new county was not attached to another county for judicial or administrative purposes. Its government was organized on October 4, 1884. ^[5]

Outline map of McIntosh County, North Dakota, 1911

Geography

McIntosh County lies on the south line of North Dakota. Its south boundary line abuts the north boundary line of the state of South Dakota. The terrain consists of rolling hills dotted with lakes and ponds, and with occasional protuberances. ^[6] The terrain slopes to the south, with its highest point on the north line at 2,156 ft (657 m) ASL. ^[7] The county has a total area of 995 square miles (2,580 km²), of which 975 square miles (2,530 km²) is land and 20 square miles (52 km²) (2.0%) is water. ^[8]

Major highways

• North Dakota Highway 3
• North Dakota Highway 11
• North Dakota Highway 13

Adjacent counties

• Logan County - north
• LaMoure County - northeast
• Dickey County - east
• McPherson County, South Dakota - south
• Campbell County, South Dakota - southwest
• Emmons County - west

Protected areas ^[6]

• Camp Lake State Game Management Area
• Doyle Memorial State Recreation Area
• Green Lake State Game Management Area
• McIntosh County State Wildlife Management Area
• National Waterfowl Production Area

Lakes ^[6]

• Camp Lake
• Coldwater Lake
• Goose Lake
• Green Lake
• Kislingburg Lake
• Lake Hoskins
• May Lake
• Miller Lake
• Pudwill Lake
• Salt Lake
• Tschetter Lake

Demographics

Historical population

Census	Pop.	Note	%±
1890	3,248		—
1900	4,818		48.3%
1910	7,251		50.5%
1920	9,010		24.3%
1930	9,621		6.8%
1940	8,984		−6.6%
1950	7,590		−15.5%
1960	6,702		−11.7%
1970	5,545		−17.3%
1980	4,800		−13.4%
1990	4,021		−16.2%
2000	3,390		−15.7%
2010	2,809		−17.1%
2020	2,530		−9.9%
2022 (est.)	2,475	[9]	−2.2%
U.S. Decennial Census [10] 1790-1960 [11] 1900-1990 [12] 1990-2000 [13] 2010-2020 [1]

2020 census

As of the census of 2020, there were 2,530 people.

2010 census

Languages (2010) [14]	Percent
Spoke English at home	74.22%
Spoke German at home	24.70%
Spoke Spanish at home	0.94%
Spoke a Scandinavian language at home	0.11%
Spoke French at home	0.04%

As of the census of 2010, there were 2,809 people, 1,307 households, and 800 families in the county. The population density was 2.88 people per square mile (1.11 people/km²). There were 1,858 housing units at an average density of 1.91 units per square mile (0.74/km²). The racial makeup of the county was 98.1% white, 0.4% Asian, 0.4% American Indian, 0.2% black or African American, 0.2% from other races, and 0.6% from two or more races. Those of Hispanic or Latino origin made up 1.4% of the population. In terms of ancestry, 76.8% were German, 26.9% were Russian, 6.2% were Norwegian, and 5.2% were American.

Of the 1,307 households, 19.4% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 55.0% were married couples living together, 3.5% had a female householder with no husband present, 38.8% were non-families, and 36.2% of all households were made up of individuals. The average household size was 2.07 and the average family size was 2.66. The median age was 52.7 years.

The median income for a household in the county was $34,904 and the median income for a family was $46,198. Males had a median income of $35,200 versus $23,594 for females. The per capita income for the county was $22,608. About 9.2% of families and 13.9% of the population were below the poverty line, including 9.7% of those under age 18 and 20.2% of those age 65 or over.

Population by decade

Communities

Cities

• Ashley (county seat)
• Lehr (partly in Logan County)
• Venturia
• Wishek
• Zeeland

Township

• Roloff

Politics

McIntosh County is a powerfully Republican county. The only Democrats to carry McIntosh County have been Franklin D. Roosevelt in 1936 and 1932, plus Al Smith in 1928. In 1920, ^[15] 1940, ^[16] 1944. ^[17] and 1952 ^[18] elections the Republican presidential candidate received over ninety percent of the county's vote. Although shifting somewhat Democratic in more recent Presidential elections, John McCain received nearly sixty percent of the county's vote in the 2008 U.S. presidential election. ^[19] Donald Trump won seventy-seven percent of the vote in 2016, the best result in the county since Ronald Reagan. ^[20]

The county is represented in the US House of Representatives by Republican Kelly Armstrong. As part of District 28 it is represented in the North Dakota Senate by Robert S. Erbele (R) and in the North Dakota House of Representatives by Mike Brandenburg (R) and Jeffery Magrum (R). ^[21]

United States presidential election results for McIntosh County, North Dakota ^[22]

Year	Republican		Democratic		Third party(ies)
	No.	%	No.	%	No.	%
2024	1,132	81.44%	229	16.47%	29	2.09%
2020	1,153	79.24%	261	17.94%	41	2.82%
2016	1,100	76.07%	235	16.25%	111	7.68%
2012	1,035	67.65%	459	30.00%	36	2.35%
2008	916	59.79%	579	37.79%	37	2.42%
2004	1,254	72.82%	436	25.32%	32	1.86%
2000	1,178	71.96%	350	21.38%	109	6.66%
1996	1,005	56.43%	470	26.39%	306	17.18%
1992	1,134	55.21%	450	21.91%	470	22.88%
1988	1,726	73.54%	598	25.48%	23	0.98%
1984	2,047	81.46%	427	16.99%	39	1.55%
1980	2,471	86.01%	308	10.72%	94	3.27%
1976	1,785	64.30%	912	32.85%	79	2.85%
1972	2,440	81.61%	521	17.42%	29	0.97%
1968	2,258	82.65%	342	12.52%	132	4.83%
1964	1,891	66.56%	950	33.44%	0	0.00%
1960	2,694	81.10%	628	18.90%	0	0.00%
1956	2,689	84.22%	498	15.60%	6	0.19%
1952	3,043	90.89%	276	8.24%	29	0.87%
1948	2,203	79.36%	513	18.48%	60	2.16%
1944	2,682	91.98%	226	7.75%	8	0.27%
1940	3,494	91.66%	318	8.34%	0	0.00%
1936	1,469	40.48%	1,900	52.36%	260	7.16%
1932	465	13.12%	3,078	86.88%	0	0.00%
1928	1,196	44.79%	1,474	55.21%	0	0.00%
1924	637	34.45%	39	2.11%	1,173	63.44%
1920	1,782	94.34%	79	4.18%	28	1.48%
1916	950	77.36%	270	21.99%	8	0.65%
1912	202	20.98%	125	12.98%	636	66.04%
1908	927	86.47%	140	13.06%	5	0.47%
1904	736	92.46%	58	7.29%	2	0.25%
1900	658	84.04%	125	15.96%	0	0.00%

See also

• National Register of Historic Places listings in McIntosh County ND

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 May 31, 2011. Retrieved June 7, 2011.
3. "County History". Official Portal for North Dakota State Government. Archived from the original on February 2, 2015. Retrieved May 4, 2011.
4. Wick, Douglas A. "Hoskins (McIntosh County)". North Dakota Place Names. 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 19, 2019.
6. "McIntosh County · North Dakota". Google Maps. Retrieved April 27, 2024.
7. ""Find an Altitude/McIntosh County ND" Google Maps (accessed February 24, 2019)". Archived from the original on May 21, 2019. Retrieved February 24, 2019.
8. "2010 Census Gazetteer Files". United States Census Bureau. August 22, 2012. Archived from the original on January 29, 2015. Retrieved February 1, 2015.
9. "Annual Estimates of the Resident Population for Counties: April 1, 2020 to July 1, 2022" . Retrieved April 6, 2023.
10. "U.S. Decennial Census". United States Census Bureau. Retrieved February 1, 2015.
11. "Historical Census Browser". University of Virginia Library. Retrieved February 1, 2015.
12. Forstall, Richard L., ed. (April 20, 1995). "Population of Counties by Decennial Census: 1900 to 1990". United States Census Bureau. Retrieved February 1, 2015.
13. "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 February 1, 2015.
14. "Data Center Results".
15. David Leip’s Election Atlas statistics for 1920
16. David Leip’s Election Atlas statistics for 1940
17. David Leip’s Election Atlas statistics for 1944
18. David Leip’s Election Atlas statistics for 1952
19. The New York Times electoral map (Zoom in on North Dakota)
20. "North Dakota Election Results 2016: President Live Map by County, Real-Time Voting Updates". Election Hub. Retrieved April 12, 2018.
21. North Dakota Legislature site
22. Leip, David. "Atlas of US Presidential Elections". uselectionatlas.org. Retrieved April 12, 2018.

External links

• McIntosh County map, North Dakota DOT

46°07′N99°26′W / 46.12°N 99.44°W / 46.12; -99.44