Nelson County is a

county A county is a geographic region of a country used for administrative or other purposesChambers 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 Native Americans in the United States, indigenous Dakota people, Dakota Sioux. North Dakota is bordered by the Canadian provinces of Saskatchewan and Manitoba to the north a ...

. As of the 2020 census, the population was 3,015. 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 ...

Lakota Lakota may refer to: * Lakota people, a confederation of seven related Native American tribes *Lakota language, the language of the Lakota peoples Place names In the United States: * Lakota, Iowa * Lakota, North Dakota, seat of Nelson County * La ...

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 No ...

legislature created Nelson County on March 2, 1883, with areas annexed from Foster,

Grand Forks Grand Forks is the third-largest city in the state of North Dakota (after Fargo and Bismarck) and the county seat of Grand Forks County. According to the 2020 census, the city's population was 59,166. Grand Forks, along with its twin city o ...

and

Ramsey Ramsey may refer to: Geography British Isles * Ramsey, Cambridgeshire, a small market town in England * Ramsey, Essex, a village near Harwich, England ** Ramsey and Parkeston, a civil parish formerly called just "Ramsey" * Ramsey, Isle of Man, t ...

counties, and with some previously unorganized area. It was not organized at that time, but was attached to Grand Forks County for administrative and judicial purposes. Its proposed boundary was enlarged on March 9, 1883, and on June 9, 1883, the county organization was effected and the administrative attachment to Grand Forks County was terminated.

Geography

The county terrain consists of rolling hills dotted with lakes and ponds. The area is largely devoted to agriculture.''Nelson County ND'' Google Maps (accessed February 25, 2019)
/ref> The terrain slopes to the south and east, with its highest point near the midpoint of its north boundary line, at 1,545' (471m) ASL. The county has a total area of , of which is land and (2.7%) is water.

Major highways

U.S. Highway 2 U.S. Route 2 or U.S. Highway 2 (US 2) is an east–west U.S. Highway spanning across the northern continental United States. US 2 consists of two segments connected by various roadways in southern Canada. Unlike some routes, whi ...

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 15 North Dakota Highway 15 (ND 15) is a east–west state highway in central North Dakota. The western terminus is at U.S. Route 52 (US 52) in Fessenden and the eastern terminus is at Interstate 29 (I-29) and US 81 near Thompson. ...

North Dakota Highway 32 North Dakota Highway 32 (ND 32) is a north–south highway located that traverses portions of nine counties in eastern North Dakota. The highway is one of several north–south routes in the state that connects the Canadian border to the state's ...

Nelson County Road 35

Adjacent counties

* Walsh County - northeast * Grand Forks County - east * Steele County - southeast *

Griggs County Griggs County is a county in the U.S. state of North Dakota. As of the 2020 census, the population was 2,306. Its county seat is Cooperstown. History The county was created by the Dakota Territory legislature on February 18, 1881, with territ ...

- south * Eddy County - southwest * Benson County - west * Ramsey County - northwest

National protected areas

Johnson Lake National Wildlife Refuge Johnson Lake National Wildlife Refuge is located in the U.S. state of North Dakota. The Refuge was established by Executive Order 8122, signed on May 10, 1939 by President Franklin D. Roosevelt to be set aside as "a refuge and breeding grounds fo ...

(part) * Lambs Lake National Wildlife Refuge * Rose Lake National Wildlife Refuge * Stump Lake National Wildlife Refuge

Lakes

* Bitter Lake * Church Lake * Hillesland Lake * Johnson Lake * Lake Laretta * Mannie Lake * Omild Slough * Ottofy Lake * Rose Lake * Rugh Lake * Stump Lake * Swan Lake

Demographics

2000 census

As of the 2000 census, there were 3,715 people, 1,628 households, and 1,004 families in the county. The

population density Population density (in agriculture: 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 term.Matt RosenberPopul ...

was 3.78/sqmi (1.46/km²). There were 2,014 housing units at an average density of 2.05/sqmi (0.79/km²). The racial makeup of the county was 98.57%

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 on ...

, 0.08%

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 ...

, 0.35% Native American, 0.30%

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 ...

, 0.11% 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 0.59% from two or more races. 0.16% of the population were

Hispanic The term ''Hispanic'' ( es, hispano) refers to people, Spanish culture, 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 Vic ...

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. 53.4% were of

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 21.8%

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 ...

ancestry. There were 1,628 households, out of which 24.20% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 53.80% were married couples living together, 5.20% had a female householder with no husband present, and 38.30% were non-families. 36.30% of all households were made up of individuals, and 21.90% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.18 and the average family size was 2.84. The county population contained 22.10% under the age of 18, 4.00% from 18 to 24, 20.30% from 25 to 44, 26.20% from 45 to 64, and 27.40% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 47 years. For every 100 females there were 95.80 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 93.60 males. The median income for a household in the county was $28,892, and the median income for a family was $37,406. Males had a median income of $27,163 versus $18,857 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 $16,320. About 7.20% of families and 10.30% 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 11.00% of those under age 18 and 10.30% of those age 65 or over.

2010 census

As of the 2010 census, there were 3,126 people, 1,474 households, and 905 families in the county. The population density was 3.18/sqmi (1.23/km²). There were 1,927 housing units at an average density of 1.96/sqmi (0.76/km²). The racial makeup of the county was 97.2% white, 1.0% American Indian, 0.3% black or African American, 0.1% Asian, 0.0% from other races, and 1.5% from two or more races. Those of Hispanic or Latino origin made up 1.1% of the population. In terms of ancestry, 52.3% were

, 34.1% were

, 8.2% 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 ...

, and 3.9% 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 ...

. Of the 1,474 households, 21.4% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 52.1% were married couples living together, 5.4% had a female householder with no husband present, 38.6% were non-families, and 36.0% of all households were made up of individuals. The average household size was 2.07 and the average family size was 2.66. The median age was 51.5 years. The median income for a household in the county was $39,071 and the median income for a family was $51,731. Males had a median income of $33,629 versus $28,672 for females. The per capita income for the county was $22,838. About 4.0% of families and 9.9% of the population were below the

, including 14.0% of those under age 18 and 13.6% of those age 65 or over.

Communities

Cities

* Aneta *

(county seat) * McVille * Michigan City * Pekin * Petersburg * Tolna

Census-designated place

* Dahlen

Unincorporated communities

Kloten Kloten is a municipality in the district of Bülach in the canton of Zürich in Switzerland, and belongs to the Glatt Valley (german: Glatttal). History Kloten is first mentioned in 1155 as ''Chlotun''. Geography Kloten is located in the ...

* Mapes * Pelto * Whitman

Townships

* Adler * Bergen * Central * Clara * Dahlen * Dayton * Dodds * Enterprise * Field * Forde * Hamlin * Illinois * Lakota * Lee * Leval * Melvin * Michigan * Nash * Nesheim * Ora * Osago * Petersburg * Rubin * Rugh * Sarnia * Wamduska * Williams

Politics

Nelson County voters have slightly favored Republicans for the past several decades. Since 1964 the county selected the Republican Party candidate in 64% of national elections.

References

External links

Nelson County map
''North Dakota DOT'' {{Coord, 47.92, -98.19, display=title, type:adm2nd_region:US-ND_source:UScensus1990 1883 establishments in Dakota Territory Populated places established in 1883