Mountrail County, North Dakota

"Mountrail" redirects here. For the US Navy ship, see USS Mountrail (APA-213).

Mountrail County
County
Mountrail County Courthouse in Stanley
Location within the U.S. state of North Dakota
North Dakota's location within the U.S.
Coordinates: 48°12′N102°22′W / 48.2°N 102.37°W / 48.2; -102.37
Country	United States
State	North Dakota
Founded	January 4, 1873 1892 (eliminated) January 29, 1909 (reestablished)
Seat	Stanley
Largest city	New Town
Area
• Total	1,942 sq mi (5,030 km2)
• Land	1,825 sq mi (4,730 km2)
• Water	116 sq mi (300 km2)  6.0%
Population  (2020)
• Total	9,809
• Estimate  (2023)	9,383
• Density	5.1/sq mi (2.0/km2)
Time zone	UTC−6 (Central)
• Summer (DST)	UTC−5 (CDT)
Congressional district	At-large
Website	www.co.mountrail.nd.us

Mountrail County is a county in the northwestern part of North Dakota, United States. As of the 2020 census, the population was 9,809. ^[1] Its county seat is Stanley. ^[2] The county was originally created in 1873, then removed in 1892, annexed by Ward County. It was re-created and organized in 1909. ^{[3] [4]} The county is home to the headquarters of the Three Affiliated Tribes of the Mandan, Hidatsa, and Arikara people, and a large part of the county belongs to the tribe's Fort Berthold reservation. ^{[5] [6]}

History

The Dakota Territory legislature created the county (as Mountraille County) on January 4, 1873, with area annexed from Buffalo County. The origin of its name came from Joseph Mountraille, a locally famed Metis voyageur and mail carrier from Pembina under Norman Kittson's employment. ^{[7] [8]} The county was not organized at that time, nor was it attached to another county for administrative or judicial purposes. The new county lost territory in 1885 when a portion was annexed off to create Garfield County (now extinct). This situation continued until February 21, 1891, when Mountrail County was attached to Ward County, for "judicial and other purposes". The following year (November 8, 1892), the North Dakota legislature voted to dissolve the county and have its territory absorbed by Ward County.

An election held in Ward County on November 3, 1908, authorized the re-creation of Mountrail County, although with different boundaries than the previous county proposal. The countywide vote totals were 4207 to 4024, but the result was contested in court. On January 16, 1909, the state Supreme Court upheld the vote, ^[9] so the county government was organized on January 29 of that year. ^{[4] [10] [11]}

Oil production from the Bakken formation in the early 21st century attracted workers and reversed decades of population decline in the county. From 2010 to 2015, especially, population markedly increased, creating its own strains.

Outline map of Mountrail County, North Dakota, 1917

Geography

The Missouri River flows southeastward along the SW boundary line of Mountrail County, and Shell Creek drains the lower central part of the county into the Missouri, discharging at Shell Creek Bay. The terrain consists of rolling hills, largely devoted to agriculture. Its NE portion is dotted with ponds and lakes. ^[12] The Laurentian Divide runs east–west through the central part of the county, with the northern areas sloping to the north and the southern areas sloping to the south. Its highest point is on the upper west boundary line, at 2,480 ft (760 m) ASL. ^[13] The county has a total area of 1,942 square miles (5,030 km²), of which 1,825 square miles (4,730 km²) is land and 116 square miles (300 km²) (6.0%) is water. ^[14]

Mountrail County is one of several western North Dakota counties with significant exposure to the Bakken Formation in the Williston Basin.

Major highways

• U.S. Highway 2
• North Dakota Highway 8
• North Dakota Highway 23
• North Dakota Highway 37
• North Dakota Highway 1804

Transit

• Amtrak Empire Builder ( Stanley station )

Adjacent counties

• Burke County - north
• Ward County - east
• McLean County - southeast
• Dunn County - south
• McKenzie County - southwest
• Williams County - west

Protected areas ^[12]

• Crow Flies High Butte
• Lostwood National Wildlife Refuge (part)
• Palermo State Game Management Area
• Reunion Point Public Use Area
• Shell Lake National Wildlife Refuge
• Van Hook State Game Management Area
• Van Hook State Wildlife Management Area

Lakes ^[12]

• Cottonwood Lake
• Lake Sakakawea
• Powers Lake (part)
• Rat Lake
• Robinson Lake
• Shell Lake
• Van Hook Arm
• White Lake

Demographics

Historical population

Census	Pop.	Note	%±
1910	8,491		—
1920	12,140		43.0%
1930	13,544		11.6%
1940	10,482		−22.6%
1950	9,418		−10.2%
1960	10,077		7.0%
1970	8,437		−16.3%
1980	7,679		−9.0%
1990	7,021		−8.6%
2000	6,631		−5.6%
2010	7,673		15.7%
2020	9,809		27.8%
2023 (est.)	9,383	[15]	−4.3%
U.S. Decennial Census [16] 1790-1960 [17] 1900-1990 [18] 1990-2000 [19] 2010-2020 [1]

2020 census

As of the 2020 census, there were 9,809 people, 3,715 households, and 2,407 families in the county. ^[20] The population density was 5.4 inhabitants per square mile (2.1/km²) There were 5,108 housing units.

2010 census

As of the 2010 census, there were 7,673 people, 2,793 households, and 1,852 families in the county. The population density was 4.20 people per square mile (1.62 people/km²). There were 4,119 housing units at an average density of 2.26 units per square mile (0.87/km²). The racial makeup of the county was 65.6% White, 30.6% Native American, 0.2% Black or African American, 0.2% Asian, 0.8% from other races, and 2.6% from two or more races. Those of Hispanic or Latino origin made up 3.7% of the population. In terms of ancestry, 36.6% were Norwegian, 24.4% were German, 6.6% were Irish, and 0.8% were American.

Of the 2,793 households, 31.1% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 48.3% were married couples living together, 11.4% had a female householder with no husband present, 33.7% were non-families, and 28.3% of all households were made up of individuals. The average household size was 2.55 and the average family size was 3.11. The median age was 37.0 years.

The median income for a household in the county was $53,912 and the median income for a family was $63,238. Males had a median income of $43,386 versus $29,432 for females. The per capita income for the county was $25,762. About 13.5% of families and 16.5% of the population were below the poverty line, including 24.2% of those under age 18 and 14.2% of those age 65 or over.

Population by decade

Communities

Cities

• New Town
• Palermo
• Parshall
• Plaza
• Ross
• Stanley (county seat)
• White Earth

Unincorporated communities ^[12]

• Belden
• Blaisdell
• Coulee
• Lostwood
• Lunds Valley
• Prairie Junction
• Sanish
• Tagus
• Van Hook
• Wabek Wabek Consolidated School

Government

Aspects of county government are subdivided into townships.

Townships

• Alger
• Austin
• Banner
• Bicker
• Big Bend
• Brookbank
• Burke
• Clearwater
• Cottonwood
• Crane Creek
• Crowfoot
• Debing
• Egan
• Fertile
• Howie
• Idaho
• James Hill
• Kickapoo
• Knife River
• Liberty
• Lostwood
• Lowland
• Manitou
• McAlmond
• McGahan
• Model
• Mountrail
• Myrtle
• Oakland
• Osborn
• Osloe
• Palermo
• Parshall
• Plaza
• Powers
• Powers Lake
• Purcell
• Rat Lake
• Redmond
• Ross
• Shell
• Sidonia
• Sikes
• Sorkness
• Spring Coulee
• Stave
• Van Hook
• Wayzetta
• White Earth

Politics

Mountrail County was historically a swing county, but now leans strongly Republican. Bill Clinton won both of his terms, and Barack Obama carried this county in the 2008 election. However, he wasn't able to carry this county in 2012, falling to Republican Mitt Romney by over 16%. Kamala Harris received the smallest vote by a Democratic candidate (27.6%) since Progressive Party candidate Robert La Follette received an overwhelming vote in 1924.

United States presidential election results for Mountrail County, North Dakota ^{[21] [22]}

Year	Republican		Democratic		Third party(ies)
	No.	%	No.	%	No.	%
2024	2,877	70.64%	1,125	27.62%	71	1.74%
2020	2,824	67.80%	1,256	30.16%	85	2.04%
2016	2,582	62.88%	1,220	29.71%	304	7.40%
2012	1,962	56.75%	1,403	40.58%	92	2.66%
2008	1,406	47.86%	1,477	50.27%	55	1.87%
2004	1,527	50.40%	1,465	48.35%	38	1.25%
2000	1,466	50.62%	1,256	43.37%	174	6.01%
1996	965	36.90%	1,277	48.83%	373	14.26%
1992	1,017	30.92%	1,393	42.35%	879	26.73%
1988	1,443	41.73%	1,977	57.17%	38	1.10%
1984	1,959	55.11%	1,565	44.02%	31	0.87%
1980	2,165	60.36%	1,183	32.98%	239	6.66%
1976	1,430	38.57%	2,189	59.03%	89	2.40%
1972	2,038	58.30%	1,391	39.79%	67	1.92%
1968	1,494	44.33%	1,662	49.32%	214	6.35%
1964	1,131	30.71%	2,548	69.18%	4	0.11%
1960	1,894	45.50%	2,264	54.38%	5	0.12%
1956	1,699	47.23%	1,891	52.57%	7	0.19%
1952	2,516	62.93%	1,437	35.94%	45	1.13%
1948	1,395	42.22%	1,521	46.04%	388	11.74%
1944	1,666	45.11%	1,981	53.64%	46	1.25%
1940	1,981	44.67%	2,392	53.93%	62	1.40%
1936	700	14.68%	2,775	58.19%	1,294	27.13%
1932	986	22.17%	3,284	73.83%	178	4.00%
1928	2,354	52.30%	2,003	44.50%	144	3.20%
1924	1,354	36.19%	130	3.48%	2,257	60.33%
1920	2,960	72.73%	687	16.88%	423	10.39%
1916	740	32.64%	1,262	55.67%	265	11.69%
1912	407	28.05%	307	21.16%	737	50.79%

See also

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

References

1. "State & County QuickFacts". United States Census Bureau. Retrieved May 9, 2024.
2. "Find a County". National Association of Counties. Retrieved June 7, 2011.
3. "County History". North Dakota.gov. The State of North Dakota. Archived from the original on February 2, 2015. Retrieved February 1, 2015.
4. Long, John H. (2006). "Dakota Territory, South Dakota, and North Dakota: Individual County Chronologies". Dakota Territory Atlas of Historical County Boundaries. The Newberry Library. Archived from the original on November 11, 2007. Retrieved February 25, 2019.
5. "Our Tribe". MHA Nation. Retrieved June 28, 2024.
6. "Mountrail County ND". www.nd-direct.com. Retrieved June 28, 2024.
7. "County History - North Dakota State Government - ND Portal". nd.gov. State of North Dakota. Retrieved May 11, 2023.
8. Lounsberry, Clement A. (Clement Augustus) (1919). Early history of North Dakota: essential outlines of American history. Washington, D. C.: Liberty Press. p. 237. Retrieved May 11, 2023.
9. State ex rel. McCue v. Blaisdell, 119N.W.360 (N.D.1909).
10. "Dakota Territory Historical Counties: Interactive Map". Atlas of Historical County Boundaries. The Newberry Library. Archived from the original on August 11, 2006. Retrieved July 6, 2010.
11. "North Dakota Historical Counties: Interactive Map". Atlas of Historical County Boundaries. The Newberry Library. Archived from the original on August 11, 2006. Retrieved July 6, 2010.
12. "Mountrail County · North Dakota". Google Maps. Retrieved April 27, 2024.
13. ""Find an Altitude/Mountrail County ND" Google Maps (accessed February 25, 2019)". Archived from the original on May 21, 2019. Retrieved February 25, 2019.
14. "2010 Census Gazetteer Files". United States Census Bureau. August 22, 2012. Archived from the original on January 29, 2015. Retrieved February 1, 2015.
15. "Annual Estimates of the Resident Population for Counties: April 1, 2020 to July 1, 2022" . Retrieved April 1, 2023.
16. "U.S. Decennial Census". United States Census Bureau. Retrieved February 1, 2015.
17. "Historical Census Browser". University of Virginia Library. Retrieved February 1, 2015.
18. Forstall, Richard L., ed. (April 20, 1995). "Population of Counties by Decennial Census: 1900 to 1990". United States Census Bureau. Retrieved February 1, 2015.
19. "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.
20. "US Census Bureau, Table P16: Household Type". United States Census Bureau. Retrieved May 9, 2024.
21. Leip, David. "Atlas of US Presidential Elections". uselectionatlas.org. Retrieved December 23, 2020.
22. The leading "other" candidate, Socialist Eugene Debs received 372 votes, Progressive Theodore Roosevelt, received 347 votes, while Prohibition candidate Eugene Chafin received 18 votes.

External links

• Mountrail County maps, Sheet 1 (northern) and Sheet 2 (southern), North Dakota DOT

48°12′N102°22′W / 48.20°N 102.37°W / 48.20; -102.37