Bowman County is a

county A county is a geographic region of a country used for administrative or other purposes Chambers Dictionary, L. Brookes (ed.), 2005, Chambers Harrap Publishers Ltd, Edinburgh in certain modern nations. The term is derived from the Old French ...

in the

U.S. state In the United States, a state is a constituent political entity, of which there are 50. Bound together in a political union, each state holds governmental jurisdiction over a separate and defined geographic territory where it shares its sove ...

North Dakota North Dakota () is a U.S. state in the Upper Midwest, named after the indigenous Dakota Sioux. North Dakota is bordered by the Canadian provinces of Saskatchewan and Manitoba to the north and by the U.S. states of Minnesota to the east, So ...

. As of the 2020 census, the population was 2,993. Its

county seat A county seat is an administrative center, seat of government, or capital city of a county or civil parish. The term is in use in Canada, China, Hungary, Romania, Taiwan, and the United States. The equivalent term shire town is used in the US st ...

is Bowman.

History

The legislature of the

Dakota Territory The Territory of Dakota was an organized incorporated territory of the United States that existed from March 2, 1861, until November 2, 1889, when the final extent of the reduced territory was split and admitted to the Union as the states of N ...

designated Bowman (named for Edward M. Bowman, a member of the territorial House of Representatives during the 1883 session) as a separate county on March 8, 1883, although it was not organized at that time. In 1885, its boundaries were altered to cede territory to Billings and Villard Counties (Villard itself was eliminated in 1887). In 1891, and again in 1896, the South Dakota legislature eliminated the not-yet-organized Bowman County, due to scant settlement in the area, but these actions either were not put into effect (the 1891 vote) or were overturned in judicial appeal (the 1896 vote). A decision by the North Dakota supreme court on May 24, 1901, resurrected Bowman County. That decision also caused the county's area to slightly increase; its former boundary descriptions were replaced by descriptions based on the boundary lines of adjacent jurisdictions, which added a strip along its south border and another strip along its east border. Since the scantily-populated county was still unorganized, in March 1903 the legislature attached the area to Stark County for judicial purposes. This state of affairs continued until November 1904, when the legislature again dissolved the county and assigned its territory to Billings County. However, on June 10, 1907, ND Governor John Burke issued a proclamation which re-created Bowman County. This proclamation did not attach the area to any other area for judicial purposes, so on July 5, 1907, the new county's organization was set up, and Bowman was confirmed as the county seat. The US Navy ship USS ''Bowman County'' (LST-391), a tank landing ship in

World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposing ...

, was named for this county.

Geography

Bowman County lies at the southwestern corner of North Dakota; its south boundary line abuts the north boundary line of the state of

South Dakota South Dakota (; Sioux: , ) is a U.S. state in the North Central region of the United States. It is also part of the Great Plains. South Dakota is named after the Lakota and Dakota Sioux Native American tribes, who comprise a large porti ...

, and its west boundary line abuts the east boundary line of the state of

Montana Montana () is a state in the Mountain West division of the Western United States. It is bordered by Idaho to the west, North Dakota and South Dakota to the east, Wyoming to the south, and the Canadian provinces of Alberta, British Columb ...

. The Little Missouri River flows northward through the west part of the county; the North Fork of the Grand River flows easterly through the lower part of the county, filling Bowman-Haley Lake in the process. Spring Creek flows south-southeasterly through the central part of the county, discharging into Bowman-Haley Lake. Bowman County's terrain consists of semi-arid high hills running north–south through the west-central part of the county, with lower hills in the remaining territory. The area is partially used for agriculture.''Bowman County ND'' Google Maps (accessed February 15, 2019)
/ref> The western part slopes to the north and west; the eastern part slopes to the east and south. Its highest point is on the south boundary line, toward its southwestern corner, at 3,228' (984m) ASL. The county has a total area of , of which is land and (0.4%) is water.

Major highways

* U.S. Highway 12 *

U.S. Highway 85 U.S. Route 85 (US 85) is a north–south United States Highway that travels in the Mountain and Northern Plains states of the United States. The southern terminus of the highway is at the Mexican border in El Paso, Texas, connecting wi ...

* North Dakota Highway 67

Adjacent counties

* Slope County - north * Adams County - east * Harding County, South Dakota - south * Fallon County, Montana - west

Lakes

* Bowman-Haley Lake * Gascoyne Lake

Demographics

2000 census

As of the 2000 census, there were 3,242 people, 1,358 households, and 890 families in the county. The

population density Population density (in agriculture: Stock (disambiguation), standing stock or plant density) is a measurement of population per unit land area. It is mostly applied to humans, but sometimes to other living organisms too. It is a key geographical ...

was 3 people per square mile (1/km²). There were 1,596 housing units at an average density of 1 per square mile (1/km²). The racial makeup of the county was 98.98%

White White is the lightest color and is achromatic (having no hue). It is the color of objects such as snow, chalk, and milk, and is the opposite of black. White objects fully reflect and scatter all the visible wavelengths of light. White o ...

, 0.03%

Black Black is a color which results from the absence or complete absorption of visible light. It is an achromatic color, without hue, like white and grey. It is often used symbolically or figuratively to represent darkness. Black and white ...

African American African Americans (also referred to as Black Americans and Afro-Americans) are an ethnic group consisting of Americans with partial or total ancestry from sub-Saharan Africa. The term "African American" generally denotes descendants of ens ...

, 0.15% Native American, 0.03% Asian, 0.15% from

other races Other often refers to: * Other (philosophy), a concept in psychology and philosophy Other or The Other may also refer to: Film and television * ''The Other'' (1913 film), a German silent film directed by Max Mack * ''The Other'' (1930 film), a ...

, and 0.65% from two or more races. 0.68% of the population were

Hispanic The term ''Hispanic'' ( es, hispano) refers to people, cultures, or countries related to Spain, the Spanish language, or Hispanidad. The term commonly applies to countries with a cultural and historical link to Spain and to viceroyalties forme ...

or Latino of any race. 41.1% were of German, 28.1%

Norwegian Norwegian, Norwayan, or Norsk may refer to: *Something of, from, or related to Norway, a country in northwestern Europe * Norwegians, both a nation and an ethnic group native to Norway * Demographics of Norway *The Norwegian language, including ...

, 5.3%

Irish Irish may refer to: Common meanings * Someone or something of, from, or related to: ** Ireland, an island situated off the north-western coast of continental Europe ***Éire, Irish language name for the isle ** Northern Ireland, a constituent unit ...

and 5.0% Polish ancestry. There were 1,358 households, out of which 29.50% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 59.50% were married couples living together, 4.10% had a female householder with no husband present, and 34.40% were non-families. 31.50% of all households were made up of individuals, and 17.20% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.32 and the average family size was 2.95. The county population contained 24.10% under the age of 18, 5.30% from 18 to 24, 24.60% from 25 to 44, 24.20% from 45 to 64, and 21.80% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 43 years. For every 100 females there were 94.60 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 96.60 males. The median income for a household in the county was $31,906, and the median income for a family was $39,485. Males had a median income of $28,682 versus $17,992 for females. The

per capita income Per capita income (PCI) or total income measures the average income earned per person in a given area (city, region, country, etc.) in a specified year. It is calculated by dividing the area's total income by its total population. Per capita i ...

for the county was $17,662. About 5.90% of families and 8.20% of the population were below the

poverty line The poverty threshold, poverty limit, poverty line or breadline is the minimum level of income deemed adequate in a particular country. The poverty line is usually calculated by estimating the total cost of one year's worth of necessities for t ...

, including 9.90% of those under age 18 and 10.40% of those age 65 or over.

2010 census

As of the 2010 census, there were 3,151 people, 1,385 households, and 873 families in the county. The population density was . There were 1,683 housing units at an average density of . The racial makeup of the county was 97.9% white, 0.6% American Indian, 0.1% black or African American, 0.1% Asian, 0.9% from other races, and 0.5% from two or more races. Those of Hispanic or Latino origin made up 2.5% of the population. In terms of ancestry, 47.4% were German, 28.1% were

, 9.9% were

, 6.4% were

Swedish Swedish or ' may refer to: Anything from or related to Sweden, a country in Northern Europe. Or, specifically: * Swedish language, a North Germanic language spoken primarily in Sweden and Finland ** Swedish alphabet, the official alphabet used by ...

, 6.4% were English, 5.4% were American, and 5.2% were Polish. Of the 1,385 households, 25.6% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 54.9% were married couples living together, 4.4% had a female householder with no husband present, 37.0% were non-families, and 32.9% of all households were made up of individuals. The average household size was 2.22 and the average family size was 2.82. The median age was 46.9 years. The median income for a household in the county was $48,063 and the median income for a family was $63,897. Males had a median income of $41,542 versus $27,269 for females. The per capita income for the county was $27,354. About 3.9% of families and 6.7% of the population were below the

, including 2.6% of those under age 18 and 14.8% of those age 65 or over.

Communities

Cities

* Bowman (county seat) * Gascoyne *

Rhame Rhame (, ''RAYM'') is a city in Bowman County, North Dakota, United States. The population was 158 at the 2020 census. Rhame was founded in 1908. History Rhame was founded in 1908 as Petrel, North Dakota, when the Chicago, Milwaukee, St. Paul ...

Scranton Scranton is a city in the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, United States, and the county seat of Lackawanna County. With a population of 76,328 as of the 2020 U.S. census, Scranton is the largest city in Northeastern Pennsylvania, the Wyoming V ...

Unincorporated communities

* Griffin * Haley

Townships

Adelaide Adelaide ( ) is the capital city of South Australia, the state's largest city and the fifth-most populous city in Australia. "Adelaide" may refer to either Greater Adelaide (including the Adelaide Hills) or the Adelaide city centre. The dem ...

* Amor * Bowman * Boyesen *

Buena Vista Buena Vista, meaning "good view" in Spanish, may refer to: Places Canada *Bonavista, Newfoundland and Labrador, with the name being originally derived from “Buena Vista” *Buena Vista, Saskatchewan *Buena Vista, Saskatoon, a neighborhood in ...

* Fischbein * Gascoyne * Gem * Goldfield * Grainbelt * Grand River * Haley * Ladd * Langberg *

Marion Marion may refer to: People *Marion (given name) *Marion (surname) *Marion Silva Fernandes, Brazilian footballer known simply as "Marion" *Marion (singer), Filipino singer-songwriter and pianist Marion Aunor (born 1992) Places Antarctica * Mario ...

Minnehaha Minnehaha is a Native American woman documented in Henry Wadsworth Longfellow's 1855 epic poem ''The Song of Hiawatha''. She is the lover of the titular protagonist Hiawatha and comes to a tragic end. The name, often said to mean "laughing wat ...

* Nebo *

* Star * Stillwater * Sunny Slope * Talbot * Whiting

Unorganized Territories

Hart Hart often refers to: * Hart (deer) Hart may also refer to: Organizations * Hart Racing Engines, a former Formula One engine manufacturer * Hart Skis, US ski manufacturer * Hart Stores, a Canadian chain of department stores * Hart's Reptile Wo ...

* West Bowman

Politics

Bowman County voters have been reliably Republican for decades. In no national election since 1964 has the county selected the Democratic Party candidate (as of 2020).

References

External links

Bowman County map
''North Dakota DOT'' {{Coord, 46.11, -103.52, display=title, type:adm2nd_region:US-ND_source:UScensus1990 1907 establishments in North Dakota Populated places established in 1907