Renville County, North Dakota

Renville County
County
Renville County Courthouse. Photographed in 1940.
Location within the U.S. state of North Dakota
North Dakota's location within the U.S.
Coordinates: 48°43′N101°40′W / 48.71°N 101.66°W / 48.71; -101.66
Country	United States
State	North Dakota
Founded	January 4, 1873 (created) July 20, 1910 (organized)
Named for	Joseph Renville
Seat	Mohall
Largest city	Mohall
Area
• Total	893 sq mi (2,310 km2)
• Land	877 sq mi (2,270 km2)
• Water	16 sq mi (40 km2)  1.8%
Population  (2020)
• Total	2,282
• Estimate  (2022)	2,220
• Density	2.6/sq mi (0.99/km2)
Time zone	UTC−6 (Central)
• Summer (DST)	UTC−5 (CDT)
Congressional district	At-large
Website	www.renvillecountynd.org

Renville County is a county in the U.S. state of North Dakota. As of the 2020 census, the population was 2,282. ^[1] Its county seat is Mohall. ^[2]

Renville County is part of the Minot, ND Micropolitan Statistical Area. It is located south of the Canada–United States border with Saskatchewan.

History

The Dakota Territory legislature created the county on January 4, 1873. It was named for Joseph Renville, an influential fur trader, interpreter, translator, and important figure in dealings between white men and the Sioux. The county was not organized at that time, nor was it attached to another county for administrative or judicial purposes. The proposed county boundaries were altered in 1883, in 1885, and 1887, and on November 8, 1892, the county was dissolved and absorbed into Bottineau and Ward counties due to a lack of settlement.

The general election held November 3, 1908 included a question asking whether a portion of Ward County should be partitioned off and named Renville County (covering a different area than the original county). This question reportedly failed to pass, but it was promptly contested in court, resulting in a ruling by the state Supreme Court ruled on June 3, 1910, that the split should be carried out. ^[3] The state governor proclaimed the result in a July 12 proclamation, and the county government was organized on July 20 of that year, ^[4] with Mohall as the county seat. ^{[4] [5]}

Outline map of Renville County, North Dakota, 1914

Geography

Renville County lies on the north line of North Dakota; its north boundary line abuts the south boundary line of Canada. The Souris River flows southeasterly through the county on its way to Hudson Bay. The county terrain consists of rolling hills, largely devoted to agriculture. ^[6] The terrain slopes to the south and east; its highest point is its SW corner, at 2,005 ft (611 m) ASL. ^[7] The county has a total area of 893 square miles (2,310 km²), of which 877 square miles (2,270 km²) is land and 16 square miles (41 km²) (1.8%) is water. ^[8]

Major highways

• U.S. Highway 52
• U.S. Highway 83
• North Dakota Highway 5
• North Dakota Highway 28

Adjacent counties and rural municipalities

• Mount Pleasant No. 2, Saskatchewan - northwest
• Argyle No. 1, Saskatchewan - northeast
• Bottineau County - east
• McHenry County - southeast
• Ward County - south
• Burke County - west

Protected areas ^[6]

• Upper Souris National Wildlife Refuge (part)
• Upper Souris Wildlife Refuge

Lakes ^[6]

• Lake Darling (part)

Demographics

Historical population

Census	Pop.	Note	%±
1910	7,840		—
1920	7,776		−0.8%
1930	7,263		−6.6%
1940	5,533		−23.8%
1950	5,405		−2.3%
1960	4,698		−13.1%
1970	3,828		−18.5%
1980	3,608		−5.7%
1990	3,160		−12.4%
2000	2,610		−17.4%
2010	2,470		−5.4%
2020	2,282		−7.6%
2022 (est.)	2,220	[9]	−2.7%
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 2,282 people.

2010 census

As of the census of 2010, there were 2,470 people, 1,061 households, and 685 families in the county. The population density was 2.82 people per square mile (1.09 people/km²). There were 1,386 housing units at an average density of 1.58 units per square mile (0.61/km²). The racial makeup of the county was 97.9% white, 0.4% American Indian, 0.2% Asian, 0.1% black or African American, 0.2% from other races, and 1.2% from two or more races. Those of Hispanic or Latino origin made up 1.0% of the population. In terms of ancestry, 39.5% were German, 39.1% were Norwegian, 11.6% were Irish, 9.7% were English, 9.5% were Swedish, and 2.3% were American.

Of the 1,061 households, 25.8% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 56.7% were married couples living together, 5.1% had a female householder with no husband present, 35.4% were non-families, and 30.9% of all households were made up of individuals. The average household size was 2.28 and the average family size was 2.85. The median age was 45.4 years.

The median income for a household in the county was $49,583 and the median income for a family was $63,068. Males had a median income of $39,950 versus $25,469 for females. The per capita income for the county was $26,856. About 3.8% of families and 5.9% of the population were below the poverty line, including 5.9% of those under age 18 and 9.6% of those age 65 or over.

Population by decade

Communities

Cities

• Glenburn
• Grano
• Loraine
• Mohall (county seat)
• Sherwood
• Tolley

Unincorporated communities ^[6]

• Chola
• Greene ^{[14] [15]}
• Grover
• Norma
• Rockford
• White Ash

Townships

• Brandon
• Callahan
• Clay
• Colquhoun
• Eden Valley
• Ensign
• Fairbanks
• Grassland
• Grover
• Hamerly
• Hamlet
• Hurley
• Ivanhoe
• Lockwood
• McKinney
• Muskego
• Plain
• Prescott
• Prosperity
• Rockford
• Roosevelt
• Stafford
• Van Buren
• White Ash

Politics

Renville County voters have voted Republican in every national election since 1976 (as of 2024).

United States presidential election results for Renville County, North Dakota ^{[16] [17]}

Year	Republican		Democratic		Third party(ies)
	No.	%	No.	%	No.	%
2024	993	82.20%	179	14.82%	36	2.98%
2020	1,065	80.74%	220	16.68%	34	2.58%
2016	993	76.80%	201	15.55%	99	7.66%
2012	851	66.59%	398	31.14%	29	2.27%
2008	799	59.36%	505	37.52%	42	3.12%
2004	953	64.87%	497	33.83%	19	1.29%
2000	820	61.56%	443	33.26%	69	5.18%
1996	576	42.54%	562	41.51%	216	15.95%
1992	655	39.22%	580	34.73%	435	26.05%
1988	893	51.03%	837	47.83%	20	1.14%
1984	1,163	65.56%	592	33.37%	19	1.07%
1980	1,154	62.65%	570	30.94%	118	6.41%
1976	812	43.99%	1,008	54.60%	26	1.41%
1972	1,121	61.09%	702	38.26%	12	0.65%
1968	851	46.86%	880	48.46%	85	4.68%
1964	640	32.05%	1,356	67.90%	1	0.05%
1960	1,012	45.38%	1,217	54.57%	1	0.04%
1956	1,035	50.22%	1,025	49.73%	1	0.05%
1952	1,571	66.57%	767	32.50%	22	0.93%
1948	812	46.61%	838	48.11%	92	5.28%
1944	1,046	48.34%	1,095	50.60%	23	1.06%
1940	1,202	47.03%	1,298	50.78%	56	2.19%
1936	611	21.36%	1,766	61.73%	484	16.92%
1932	689	25.23%	1,969	72.10%	73	2.67%
1928	1,473	55.09%	1,174	43.90%	27	1.01%
1924	649	32.18%	120	5.95%	1,248	61.87%
1920	1,987	73.65%	581	21.53%	130	4.82%
1916	532	31.54%	1,012	59.99%	143	8.48%
1912	224	17.58%	420	32.97%	630	49.45%

See also

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

References

1. "State & County QuickFacts". United States Census Bureau. Retrieved April 6, 2023.
2. "Find a County". National Association of Counties. Retrieved June 7, 2011.
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 4, 2015.
5. "County History". Official Portal for North Dakota State Government. Archived from the original on February 2, 2015. Retrieved May 4, 2011.
6. "Renville County · North Dakota". Google Maps. Retrieved April 27, 2024.
7. ""Find an Altitude/Renville County ND" Google Maps (accessed February 25, 2019)". Archived from the original on May 21, 2019. Retrieved February 25, 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. "United States 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. Greene, shown on a 1977 USGS map (at present day 46th Ave NW and 86th Street NW), was a station stop on the Minneapolis, St. Paul and Sault Ste. Marie Railroad. Its former streets are still shown on Google Earth and Yahoo! Maps
15. "Greene, N. Dak". www.thomasgloger.com. Archived from the original on March 4, 2016. Retrieved April 13, 2018.
16. Leip, David. "Atlas of US Presidential Elections". uselectionatlas.org. Retrieved April 13, 2018.
17. The leading "other" candidate, Progressive Theodore Roosevelt, received 341 votes, while Socialist Eugene Debs received 224 votes, Prohibition candidate Eugene Chafin received 17 votes.

External links

• Renville County official website
• Renville County North Dakota History website
• Renville County maps, Sheet 1 (northern) and Sheet 2 (southern), North Dakota DOT

48°43′N101°40′W / 48.71°N 101.66°W / 48.71; -101.66