Cavalier 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 ...

. It is south of the Canada–US border with

Manitoba , image_map = Manitoba in Canada 2.svg , map_alt = Map showing Manitoba's location in the centre of Southern Canada , Label_map = yes , coordinates = , capital = Winn ...

. As of the 2020 census, the population was 3,704. 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 Langdon. The city of

Cavalier The term Cavalier () was first used by Roundheads as a term of abuse for the wealthier royalist supporters of King Charles I and his son Charles II of England during the English Civil War, the Interregnum, and the Restoration (1642 – ) ...

is in nearby Pembina County.

History

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 ...

legislature created Cavalier County on January 4, 1873 with territory annexed from Pembina County, but did not organize the county government structure at that time. It was named for Charles Cavileer (or Cavalier) of Pembina, an early settler. The county organization was effected on July 8, 1884. Its boundaries were altered in 1883 and in 1887. After petitioning the Territorial Governor for permission to organize the county, Patrick McHugh, W. Hudson Matthews, and L.C. Noracong met on July 8, 1884. On July 26 the new county officials met for the second time and chose Noracong as Chairman of the Board with William H. Doyle and Matthews as Commissioners. The first Register of Deeds and County Clerk was McHugh. W.J. Mooney became the first Judge of Probate, Charles B. Nelson was the first Cavalier County Supt. of Schools, and Clarence Hawkes the first Sheriff. Cavalier took its current form in 1887 after the Territorial Legislature authorized an increase in size by taking a portion from Pembina County. The expansion added 15 new townships to the county. A site for a county seat was selected at the second meeting; it was named Langdon, for Robert Bruce Langdon of Minnesota, an official with the Great Northern Railroad. Langdon never visited the town, but reportedly donated a bell for the local school. The first court house was built in 1884 at a cost of $360.00. It was used briefly and then abandoned for warmer and more centrally located quarters in a downtown bank. A large brick court house was built in 1895 on the present site at a contract cost of $9,099.00. This building served county officials until the current court house was constructed in 1957–58.

Cavalier County Historical Society

Established after 1969 - The Holy Trinity Church at Dresden, ND became the cornerstone of the County museum. It now houses local historic artifacts and landmarks. The Holy Trinity Church at Dresden replaced two previous wooden structures that both burned. The present structure was erected in 1936, built out of fieldstone collected by the local parishioners. An architect from Minneapolis, Fabian Redmond, designed the building. A stonemason from Rugby ND, Edroy Patterson, directed volunteer workers. Assisting in the building of the church were Andrew Bachman-head carpenter, Alphonse Hiltner, Stanley Koehmstedt and William Geisen.

Geography

Cavalier County is located on the north edge of North Dakota. Its north boundary line abuts the south boundary line of

Canada Canada is a country in North America. Its ten provinces and three territories extend from the Atlantic Ocean to the Pacific Ocean and northward into the Arctic Ocean, covering over , making it the world's second-largest country by tot ...

. The

Pembina River Pembina River may refer to: *Pembina River (Alberta), a river in central Alberta, Canada *Pembina River (Manitoba – North Dakota) The Pembina River is a tributary of the Red River of the North, approximately long,U.S. Geological Survey. Nationa ...

enters from

Manitoba , image_map = Manitoba in Canada 2.svg , map_alt = Map showing Manitoba's location in the centre of Southern Canada , Label_map = yes , coordinates = , capital = Winn ...

and flows southeasterly through the eastern part of the county, exiting near the SE corner. The county terrain consists of rolling hills, dotted with lakes and ponds in the western part.''Cavalier County ND'' Google Maps (accessed February 16, 2019)
/ref> The terrain slopes to the east, with its highest point near the midpoint of the south boundary line at 1,644' (501m) ASL. The county has a total area of , of which is land and (1.4%) is water.

Major highways

North Dakota Highway 1 North Dakota Highway 1 (ND 1) is a major north–south highway in North Dakota. It runs from Manitoba Highway 31 in Maida to South Dakota Highway 37 south of Ludden. It is in length. Route description ND 1 enters North Dakota as a continu ...

North Dakota Highway 5 North Dakota Highway 5 (ND 5) is a east–west state highway in North Dakota. Its route is in the extreme north part of the state, near the Canada–United States border. The eastern terminus is located about four miles (6 km) east of ...

North Dakota Highway 20 North Dakota Highway 20 (ND 20) is a north–south highway in North Dakota. It runs from U.S. Route 52 (US 52) and US 281 in Jamestown to the Canada–United States border near Sarles. The highway continues into Manitoba a ...

North Dakota Highway 66 North Dakota Highway 66 (ND 66) is a east–west state highway in the U.S. state of North Dakota. ND 66's western terminus is at ND 3 south of Dunseith, and the eastern terminus is a continuation as Minnesota State Highway ...

Adjacent counties and rural municipalities

* Municipality of Louise, Manitoba (north) * Municipality of Pembina, Manitoba (north) * Rural Municipality of Stanley, Manitoba (north) * Pembina County (east) * Walsh County (southeast) * Ramsey County (south) * Towner County (west)

Lakes

* Rush Lake

Demographics

2000 census

As of the 2000 census, there were 4,831 people, 2,017 households, and 1,361 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 2,725 housing units at an average density of 2 per square mile (1/km²). The racial makeup of the county was 98.10%

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 ...

, 0.14%

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 ...

, 0.52% Native American, 0.10%

Asian Asian may refer to: * Items from or related to the continent of Asia: ** Asian people, people in or descending from Asia ** Asian culture, the culture of the people from Asia ** Asian cuisine, food based on the style of food of the people from Asi ...

, 0.10% 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 1.03% from two or more races. 0.64% 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 ...

Latino Latino or Latinos most often refers to: * Latino (demonym), a term used in the United States for people with cultural ties to Latin America * Hispanic and Latino Americans in the United States * The people or cultures of Latin America; ** Latin A ...

of any race. 44.5% were of

German German(s) may refer to: * Germany (of or related to) ** Germania (historical use) * Germans, citizens of Germany, people of German ancestry, or native speakers of the German language ** For citizens of Germany, see also German nationality law **Ge ...

, 23.1%

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 ...

and 6.4% French ancestry. There were 2,017 households, out of which 27.50% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 60.80% were married couples living together, 3.80% had a female householder with no husband present, and 32.50% were non-families. 30.80% of all households were made up of individuals, and 17.00% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.34 and the average family size was 2.93. The county population contained 24.60% under the age of 18, 3.70% from 18 to 24, 21.30% from 25 to 44, 27.50% from 45 to 64, and 22.90% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 45 years. For every 100 females there were 98.90 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 97.60 males. The median income for a household in the county was $31,868, and the median income for a family was $39,601. Males had a median income of $28,886 versus $19,647 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 $15,817. About 7.80% of families and 11.50% 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 16.60% of those under age 18 and 11.90% of those age 65 or over.

2010 census

As of the 2010 census, there were 3,993 people, 1,818 households, and 1,142 families in the county. The population density was . There were 2,309 housing units at an average density of . The racial makeup of the county was 97.7% white, 0.9% American Indian, 0.2% Asian, 0.1% black or African American, 0.2% from other races, and 0.8% from two or more races. Those of Hispanic or Latino origin made up 0.6% of the population. In terms of ancestry, 44.5% were

, 28.8% were

, 10.8% were

American American(s) may refer to: * American, something of, from, or related to the United States of America, commonly known as the "United States" or "America" ** Americans, citizens and nationals of the United States of America ** American ancestry, pe ...

, 5.8% were

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 ...

, 5.7% 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 ...

, and 5.4% were

English English usually refers to: * English language * English people English may also refer to: Peoples, culture, and language * ''English'', an adjective for something of, from, or related to England ** English national ide ...

. Of the 1,818 households, 21.8% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 55.7% were married couples living together, 4.0% had a female householder with no husband present, 37.2% were non-families, and 34.2% of all households were made up of individuals. The average household size was 2.15 and the average family size was 2.74. The median age was 50.3 years. The median income for a household in the county was $48,786 and the median income for a family was $57,066. Males had a median income of $41,885 versus $26,914 for females. The per capita income for the county was $26,468. About 6.1% of families and 8.2% of the population were below the

, including 12.8% of those under age 18 and 10.8% of those age 65 or over.

Communities

Cities

* Alsen * Calio *

Calvin Calvin may refer to: Names * Calvin (given name) ** Particularly Calvin Coolidge, 30th President of the United States * Calvin (surname) ** Particularly John Calvin, theologian Places In the United States * Calvin, Arkansas, a hamlet * Calvi ...

* Hannah * Langdon (county seat) * Loma * Milton *

Munich Munich ( ; german: München ; bar, Minga ) is the capital and most populous city of the German state of Bavaria. With a population of 1,558,395 inhabitants as of 31 July 2020, it is the third-largest city in Germany, after Berlin and Ha ...

* Nekoma * Osnabrock * Sarles (partly in Towner County) *

Wales Wales ( cy, Cymru ) is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It is bordered by England to the east, the Irish Sea to the north and west, the Celtic Sea to the south west and the Bristol Channel to the south. It had a population in ...

Unincorporated communities

Clyde Clyde may refer to: People * Clyde (given name) * Clyde (surname) Places For townships see also Clyde Township Australia * Clyde, New South Wales * Clyde, Victoria * Clyde River, New South Wales Canada * Clyde, Alberta * Clyde, Ontario, a tow ...

Dresden Dresden (, ; Upper Saxon: ''Dräsdn''; wen, label= Upper Sorbian, Drježdźany) is the capital city of the German state of Saxony and its second most populous city, after Leipzig. It is the 12th most populous city of Germany, the fourth ...

* Hove Mobile Park * Maida * Mount Carmel * Olga

Townships

* Alma * Banner * Billings * Bruce * Byron * Cypress * Dresden * Easby * East Alma * Elgin * Fremont * Glenila * Gordon * Grey * Harvey * Hay * Henderson * Hope * Huron * Langdon * Linden * Loam * Manilla * Minto * Montrose * Moscow * Mount Carmel * Nekoma * North Loma * North Olga * Osford * Osnabrock * Perry * Seivert * South Dresden * South Olga * Storlie * Trier * Waterloo * West Hope

Politics

Cavalier County voters have been reliably Republican for several decades. In only one national election since 1964 has the county selected the Democratic Party candidate (as of 2016).

References

{{Coord, 48.77, -98.46, display=title, type:adm2nd_region:US-ND_source:UScensus1990 1884 establishments in Dakota Territory