Mountrail County, North Dakota

Mountrail County, North Dakota
Location in the state of North Dakota
North Dakota's location in the U.S.
Founded	1873 1892 (eliminated) 1909 (reestablished)
Seat	Stanley
Largest city	New Town
Area  - Total  - Land  - Water	1,941 sq mi (5,027 km²) 1,824 sq mi (4,724 km²) 117 sq mi (303 km²), 6.04%
Population  - (2010)  - Density	7,673 3/sq mi (1/km²)

For the US Navy ship see USS Mountrail (APA-213)

Mountrail County is a county located in the U.S. state of North Dakota. As of the 2010 census, the population was 7,673.^[1] Its county seat is Stanley.^[2]

History

Mountrail County was first established in 1873 by the Dakota Territorial Legislature, but the boundaries were different than they are today, extending from the Missouri River north to the border with Canada.^[3][4] It remained a county when North Dakota became a state in 1889, but in 1892 North Dakota Legislature authorized neighboring Ward County to take over all of Mountrail's territory, and the county was eliminated.^[3] At the November 3, 1908, general election, a vote was held in Ward County on whether to recreate Mountrail with different boundaries.^[3][5] The vote was 4,207 to 4,024 in favor of the new county, but North Dakota's Attorney General sued the Secretary of State over the validity of the vote, and the formation was delayed until the Supreme Court affirmed the vote in January 1909.^[3][6]

Geography

According to the U.S. Census Bureau, the county has a total area of 1,941 square miles (5,030 km²), of which, 1,824 square miles (4,720 km²) of it is land and 117 square miles (300 km²) of it (6.04%) is water.

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

Adjacent counties

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

Major highways

• U.S. Highway 2
• North Dakota Highway 8
• North Dakota Highway 23
• North Dakota Highway 31
• North Dakota Highway 1804

National protected areas

• Lostwood National Wildlife Refuge (part)
• Shell Lake National Wildlife Refuge

Demographics

Historical populations
Census	Pop.		%±
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%
U.S. Decennial Census

As of the census^[7] of 2000, there were 6,631 people, 2,560 households, and 1,753 families residing in the county. The population density was 4 people per square mile (1/km²). There were 3,438 housing units at an average density of 2 per square mile (1/km²). The racial makeup of the county was 65.99% White, 0.09% Black or African American, 29.98% Native American, 0.21% Asian, 0.05% Pacific Islander, 0.26% from other races, and 3.42% from two or more races. 1.31% of the population were Hispanic or Latino of any race. 37.1% were of Norwegian and 15.4% German ancestry according to Census 2000.

There were 2,560 households out of which 31.80% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 51.80% were married couples living together, 11.80% had a female householder with no husband present, and 31.50% were non-families. 28.50% of all households were made up of individuals and 14.60% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.53 and the average family size was 3.09.

In the county the population was spread out with 28.10% under the age of 18, 6.80% from 18 to 24, 23.20% from 25 to 44, 24.20% from 45 to 64, and 17.70% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 40 years. For every 100 females there were 96.80 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 95.10 males.

The median income for a household in the county was $27,098, and the median income for a family was $31,864. Males had a median income of $24,750 versus $20,844 for females. The per capita income for the county was $13,422. About 14.00% of families and 19.30% of the population were below the poverty line, including 23.40% of those under age 18 and 18.30% of those age 65 or over.

Economy

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

Places

Cities

• New Town
• Palermo
• Parshall
• Plaza
• Ross
• Stanley
• White Earth

Note: all incorporated communities in North Dakota are called "cities" regardless of their size.

Unincorporated communities

• Belden
• Lostwood
• Lunds Valley
• Old Sanish
• Tagus

See also

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

References

1. ^ "2010 Census Redistricting Data (Public Law 94-171) Summary File". American FactFinder. United States Census Bureau. http://factfinder2.census.gov/faces/tableservices/jsf/pages/productview.xhtml?pid=DEC_10_PL_GCTPL2.ST05&prodType=table. Retrieved 3 May 2011. 
2. ^ "Find a County". National Association of Counties. http://www.naco.org/Counties/Pages/FindACounty.aspx. Retrieved 2011-06-07. 
3. ^ ^{a b c d} Long, John H. (2006). "Dakota Territory, South Dakota, and North Dakota: Individual County Chronologies". Dakota Territory Atlas of Historical County Boundaries. The Newberry Library. http://historical-county.newberry.org/website/North_Dakota/documents/DAKs_Individual_County_Chronologies.htm. Retrieved 2008-01-31. 
4. ^ "Dakota Territory Historical Counties: Interactive Map". Atlast of Historical County Boundaries. The Newberry Library. http://historical-county.newberry.org/website/Dakota_Territory/viewer.htm. Retrieved 2010-07-06. 
5. ^ "North Dakota Historical Counties: Interactive Map". Atlas of Historical County Boundaries. The Newberry Library. http://historical-county.newberry.org/website/North_Dakota/viewer.htm. Retrieved 2010-07-06. 
6. ^ STATE ex rel. McCue, Attorney General v. Blaisdell, Secretary of State, et al., 18 N.D. 31 (N.D. 1909).
7. ^ "American FactFinder". United States Census Bureau. http://factfinder.census.gov. Retrieved 2008-01-31. 

Coordinates: 48°12′N 102°22′W / 48.20°N 102.37°W / 48.20; -102.37