McLean County ( ) is a

county A county () is a geographic region of a country used for administrative or other purposesL. Brookes (ed.) '' Chambers Dictionary''. Edinburgh: Chambers Harrap Publishers Ltd, 2005. in some nations. The term is derived from the Old French denoti ...

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 so ...

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

. As of the 2020 census, the population was 9,771. Its

county seat A county seat is an administrative center, seat of government, or capital city of a county or parish (administrative division), civil parish. The term is in use in five countries: Canada, China, Hungary, Romania, and the United States. An equiva ...

is Washburn.

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 ...

legislature created the county on March 8, 1883, with areas partitioned from Burleigh, Sheridan, and (now-extinct) Stevens counties. The county was named for John A. McLean, the first mayor of Bismarck. The county organization was completed on November 1 of that year. Its boundaries were altered in 1885, in 1892, and in 1908. It has retained its current configuration since November 3, 1908, when a portion of its previous territory was partitioned to recreate Sheridan County (Sheridan had been dissolved on November 8, 1892, with its territory annexed to McLean).

Geography

The county's western boundary is delineated by Lake Sakakawea, created in 1956 by construction of Garrison Dam at the county's southwestern edge. The southwestern boundary of the county is delineated by the

Missouri River The Missouri River is a river in the Central United States, Central and Mountain states, Mountain West regions of the United States. The nation's longest, it rises in the eastern Centennial Mountains of the Bitterroot Range of the Rocky Moun ...

as it continues its southeastward flow from the lake. The county terrain consists of rolling hills, dotted with lakes and ponds in its eastern portion. The area is largely devoted to agriculture. The terrain slopes to the south and east, with its highest point on the north boundary line near its NW corner, at ASL. The county has a total area of , of which is land and (9.3%) is water. It is the third-largest county in North Dakota by land area and second-largest by total area.

Major highways

* U.S. Highway 83 * North Dakota Highway 28 * North Dakota Highway 37 * North Dakota Highway 41 * North Dakota Highway 48 * North Dakota Highway 53 * North Dakota Highway 200 * North Dakota Highway 200A * North Dakota Highway 1804

Adjacent counties

* Ward County - north * McHenry County - northeast * Sheridan County - east * Burleigh County - southeast * Oliver County - south * Mercer County - southwest * Dunn County - west * Mountrail County - northwest

Protected areas

Source: * Audubon National Wildlife Refuge * Camp Lake National Wildlife Refuge * De Trobriand State Game Management Area * Douglas Creek Public Use Area * Hiddenwood National Wildlife Refuge * Lake Nettie National Wildlife Refuge * Lake Otis National Wildlife Refuge * Lake Susie National Wildlife Refuge * Lost Lake National Wildlife Refuge * McLean National Wildlife Refuge * Riverdale State Game Management Area * Totten Trail Park * Wilton Mine State Game Management Area (part)

Lakes

Source: * Blackwater Lake * Blue Lake * Brumwell Slough * Camp Lake * Cherry Lake (part) * Cottonwood Lake * Crooked Lake * Lake Audubon * Lake Brekken * Lake Holmes * Lake Margaret * Lake Nettie * Lake Ordway * Lake Williams * Lost Lake * Minehan Slough * Nelson Lake * Otis Lake * Painted Woods Lake * Pelican Lake * Peterson Lake * Postel Lake (part) * Strawberry Lake * Turtle Lake * Wildwood Lake * Yanktonal Lake

Demographics

2020 census

As of the 2020 census, there were 9,771 people, 4,129 households, and 2,712 families in the county. The

population density Population density (in agriculture: Standing 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 geog ...

was There were 5,728 housing units.

2010 census

As of the 2010 census, there were 8,962 people, 3,897 households, and 2,600 families residing in the county. The population density was . There were 5,590 housing units at an average density of . The racial makeup of the county was 91.0% white, 7.0% American Indian, 0.1% black or African American, 0.1% Asian, 0.2% from other races, and 1.5% from two or more races. Those of Hispanic or Latino origin made up 1.2% of the population. In terms of ancestry, 54.4% were German, 24.6% were Norwegian, 6.5% were Irish, 5.6% were Swedish, 5.1% were English, and 3.6% were American. Of the 3,897 households, 23.0% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 57.8% were married couples living together, 5.1% had a female householder with no husband present, 33.3% were non-families, and 29.0% of all households were made up of individuals. The average household size was 2.25 and the average family size was 2.75. The median age was 49.1 years. The median income for a household in the county was $52,922 and the median income for a family was $62,686. Males had a median income of $48,906 versus $29,431 for females. The per capita income for the county was $27,029. About 6.5% of families and 9.3% 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 ...

, including 12.5% of those under age 18 and 13.3% of those age 65 or over.

Population by decade

Colors= id:lightgrey value:gray(0.9) id:darkgrey value:gray(0.8) id:sfondo value:rgb(1,1,1) id:barra value:rgb(0.55,0.0,0.0) ImageSize = width:650 height:325 PlotArea = left:50 bottom:50 top:30 right:30 DateFormat = x.y Period = from:0 till:18824 TimeAxis = orientation:vertical AlignBars = late ScaleMajor = gridcolor:darkgrey increment:9412 start:0 ScaleMinor = gridcolor:lightgrey increment:4706 start:0 BackgroundColors = canvas:sfondo BarData= bar:1890 text:1890 bar:1900 text:1900 bar:1910 text:1910 bar:1920 text:1920 bar:1930 text:1930 bar:1940 text:1940 bar:1950 text:1950 bar:1960 text:1960 bar:1970 text:1970 bar:1980 text:1980 bar:1990 text:1990 bar:2000 text:2000 bar:2010 text:2010 bar:2020 text:2020 bar:2023 text:present PlotData= color:barra width:25 align:left bar:1890 from: 0 till:860 bar:1900 from: 0 till:4791 bar:1910 from: 0 till:14496 bar:1920 from: 0 till:17266 bar:1930 from: 0 till:17991 bar:1940 from: 0 till:16082 bar:1950 from: 0 till:18824 bar:1960 from: 0 till:14030 bar:1970 from: 0 till:11251 bar:1980 from: 0 till:12383 bar:1990 from: 0 till:10457 bar:2000 from: 0 till:9311 bar:2010 from: 0 till:8962 bar:2020 from: 0 till:9771 bar:2023 from: 0 till:9832 color:darkblue PlotData= bar:1890 at:860 fontsize:S text:860 shift: (-13,5) bar:1900 at:4791 fontsize:S text:4791 shift:(-13,5) bar:1910 at:14496 fontsize:S text:14496 shift:(-13,5) bar:1920 at:17266 fontsize:S text:17266 shift:(-13,5) bar:1930 at:17991 fontsize:S text:17991 shift:(-13,5) bar:1940 at:16082 fontsize:S text:16082 shift:(-13,5) bar:1950 at:18824 fontsize:S text:18824 shift:(-13,5) bar:1960 at:14030 fontsize:S text:14030 shift:(-13,5) bar:1970 at:11251 fontsize:S text:11251 shift:(-13,5) bar:1980 at:12383 fontsize:S text:12383 shift:(-13,5) bar:1990 at:10457 fontsize:S text:10457 shift:(-13,5) bar:2000 at:9311 fontsize:S text:9311 shift:(-13,5) bar:2010 at:8962 fontsize:S text:8962 shift:(-13,5) bar:2020 at:9771 fontsize:S text:9771 shift:(-13,5) bar:2023 at:9832 fontsize:S text:9832 shift:(-13,5) TextData= fontsize:S pos:(20,20) text:Data from U.S. Census Bureau

Communities

Cities

* Benedict *

Butte In geomorphology, a butte ( ) is an isolated hill with steep, often vertical sides and a small, relatively flat top; buttes are smaller landforms than mesas, plateaus, and table (landform), tablelands. The word ''butte'' comes from the French l ...

* Coleharbor *

Garrison A garrison is any body of troops stationed in a particular location, originally to guard it. The term now often applies to certain facilities that constitute a military base or fortified military headquarters. A garrison is usually in a city ...

Max Max or MAX may refer to: Animals * Max (American dog) (1983–2013), at one time purported to be the world's oldest living dog * Max (British dog), the first pet dog to win the PDSA Order of Merit (animal equivalent of the OBE) * Max (gorilla) ...

* Mercer * Riverdale * Ruso * Turtle Lake *

Underwood Underwood may refer to: People *Underwood (surname), people with the surname Places Australia *Underwood, Queensland, a suburb of Logan City, Australia *Underwood, Tasmania, a locality United Kingdom *Underwood, Devon, a List of United Kingdom ...

* Washburn (county seat) * Wilton (partly in Burleigh County)

Census-designated place

* White Shield

Unincorporated communities

Source: * Falkirk * Merida * Raub * Roseglen

Townships

* Amundsville * Andrews * Aurena * Blackwater * Blue Hill * Butte * Byersville * Cremerville * Deepwater * Dogden * Douglas * Gate * Greatstone * Horseshoe Valley * Lake Williams * Longfellow * Loquemont * Malcolm * McGinnis * Medicine Hill * Mercer * Otis * Roseglen * Rosemont * Saint Mary * Snow * Turtle Lake * Victoria * Wise

Communities flooded by Garrison Dam

* Beaver Creek * Charging Eagle * Elbowoods * Independence * Lucky Mound * Nishu * Red Butte (

Mandan The Mandan () are a Native American tribe of the Great Plains who have lived for centuries primarily in what is now North Dakota. They are enrolled in the Three Affiliated Tribes of the Fort Berthold Reservation. About half of the Mandan still ...

community) * Shell Creek

Politics

McLean County voters have voted Republican for decades. In only one national election since 1964 has the county selected the Democratic Party candidate (as of 2024).

Education

Associated Press The Associated Press (AP) is an American not-for-profit organization, not-for-profit news agency headquartered in New York City. Founded in 1846, it operates as a cooperative, unincorporated association, and produces news reports that are dist ...

described the district as "divided equally" between the counties. In 1993 members of the Riverdale School District school board voted to abolish their school district, with the Underwood and Hazen districts to obtain pieces of it.

References

External links

* McLean County maps
Sheet 1
(western)
Sheet 2
(northeast), an
Sheet 3
(southeast), ''North Dakota DOT'' {{Coord, 47.61, -101.32, display=title, type:adm2nd_region:US-ND_source:UScensus1990 North Dakota counties on the Missouri River 1883 establishments in Dakota Territory Populated places established in 1883