Mountrail 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 northwestern part of

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 ...

, United States. As of the 2020 census, the population was 9,809, and was estimated to be 9,474 in 2024. The

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 ...

Stanley Stanley may refer to: Arts and entertainment Film and television * ''Stanley'' (1972 film), an American horror film * ''Stanley'' (1984 film), an Australian comedy * ''Stanley'' (1999 film), an animated short * ''Stanley'' (1956 TV series) ...

and the largest city is

New Town New or NEW may refer to: Music * New, singer of K-pop group The Boyz (South Korean band), The Boyz * New (album), ''New'' (album), by Paul McCartney, 2013 ** New (Paul McCartney song), "New" (Paul McCartney song), 2013 * New (EP), ''New'' (EP), ...

. The county was originally created in 1873, then removed in 1892, annexed by Ward County. It was re-created and organized in 1909. The county is home to the headquarters of the

Three Affiliated Tribes The Mandan, Hidatsa, and Arikara Nation (MHA Nation), also known as the Three Affiliated Tribes (Mandan: ''Miiti Naamni''; Hidatsa: ''Awadi Aguraawi''; Arikara: ''ačitaanu' táWIt''), is a federally recognized Native American Nation resulting fr ...

of the Mandan, Hidatsa, and Arikara people, and a large part of the county belongs to the tribe's Fort Berthold reservation.

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 (as Mountraille County) on January 4, 1873, with area annexed from Buffalo County. The origin of its name came from Joseph Mountraille, a locally famed Metis voyageur and mail carrier from Pembina under Norman Kittson's employment. The county was not organized at that time, nor was it attached to another county for administrative or judicial purposes. The new county lost territory in 1885 when a portion was annexed off to create Garfield County (now extinct). This situation continued until February 21, 1891, when Mountrail County was attached to Ward County, for "judicial and other purposes". The following year (November 8, 1892), the North Dakota legislature voted to dissolve the county and have its territory absorbed by Ward County. An election held in Ward County on November 3, 1908, authorized the re-creation of Mountrail County, although with different boundaries than the previous county proposal. The countywide vote totals were 4207 to 4024, but the result was contested in court. On January 16, 1909, the state Supreme Court upheld the vote, so the county government was organized on January 29 of that year. Oil production from the Bakken formation in the early 21st century attracted workers and reversed decades of population decline in the county. From 2010 to 2015, especially, population markedly increased, creating its own strains.

Geography

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 ...

flows southeastward along the SW boundary line of Mountrail County, and Shell Creek drains the lower central part of the county into the Missouri, discharging at Shell Creek Bay. The terrain consists of rolling hills, largely devoted to agriculture. Its NE portion is dotted with ponds and lakes. The

Laurentian Divide The Laurentian Divide also called the Northern Divide and locally the '' height of land'', is a continental divide in central North America that separates the Hudson Bay watershed to the north from the Gulf of Mexico watershed to the south and ...

runs east–west through the central part of the county, with the northern areas sloping to the north and the southern areas sloping to the south. Its highest point is on the upper west boundary line, at ASL. According to the

United States Census Bureau The United States Census Bureau, officially the Bureau of the Census, is a principal agency of the Federal statistical system, U.S. federal statistical system, responsible for producing data about the American people and American economy, econ ...

, the county has a total area of , of which is land and (5.99%) is water. It is the 9th largest county in North Dakota by total area. Mountrail County is one of several western North Dakota counties with significant exposure to the Bakken Formation in the

Williston Basin The Williston Basin is a large intracratonic sedimentary basin in eastern Montana, western North Dakota, South Dakota, southern Saskatchewan, and south-western Manitoba that is known for its rich deposits of petroleum and potash. The basin is a ...

Major highways

* U.S. Highway 2 * North Dakota Highway 8 * North Dakota Highway 23 * North Dakota Highway 37 * North Dakota Highway 1804

Transit

Amtrak The National Railroad Passenger Corporation, Trade name, doing business as Amtrak (; ), is the national Passenger train, passenger railroad company of the United States. It operates intercity rail service in 46 of the 48 contiguous United Stat ...

Empire Builder The ''Empire Builder'' is a daily long-distance passenger train operated by Amtrak between Chicago and either Seattle or Portland via two sections west of Spokane. Introduced in 1929, it was the flagship passenger train of the Great North ...

'' ('' Stanley station'')

Adjacent counties

* Burke County - north * Ward County - east * McLean County - southeast * Dunn County - south *

McKenzie County McKenzie County is a county in the U.S. state of North Dakota. As of the 2020 census, the population was 14,704, and was estimated to be 14,782 in 2024, The county seat and largest city is Watford City. McKenzie County is also the largest cou ...

- southwest * Williams County - west

Protected areas

Source: * Crow Flies High Butte * Lostwood National Wildlife Refuge (part) * Palermo State Game Management Area * Reunion Point Public Use Area *

Shell Lake National Wildlife Refuge Shell Lake National Wildlife Refuge is a National Wildlife Refuge in the U.S. state of 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 border ...

* Van Hook State Game Management Area * Van Hook State Wildlife Management Area

Lakes

Source: * Cottonwood Lake * Lake Sakakawea * Powers Lake (part) * Rat Lake * Robinson Lake * Shell Lake * Van Hook Arm * White Lake

Demographics

As of the fourth quarter of 2024, the median home value in Mountrail County was $235,433. As of the 2023

American Community Survey The American Community Survey (ACS) is an annual demographics survey program conducted by the United States Census Bureau. It regularly gathers information previously contained only in the long form of the United States census, decennial census ...

, there are 3,839 estimated households in Mountrail County with an average of 2.46 persons per household. The county has a median household income of $81,292. Approximately 11.6% of the county's population lives at or 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 ...

. Mountrail County has an estimated 63.3% employment rate, with 22.4% of the population holding a bachelor's degree or higher and 88.6% holding a high school diploma. The top five reported ancestries (people were allowed to report up to two ancestries, thus the figures will generally add to more than 100%) were English (88.5%), Spanish (6.5.%), Indo-European (1.0%), Asian and Pacific Islander (0.4%), and Other (3.6%). The median age in the county was 35.1 years. Mountrail County, North Dakota – racial and ethnic composition

2024 estimate

As of the 2024 estimate, there were 9,474 people and 3,839 households residing in the county. There were 5,176 housing units at an average density of . The racial makeup of the county was 62.9% White ''(57.5% NH White)'', 2.0% African American, 30.4% Native American, 1.0% Asian, 0.1% Pacific Islander, _% from some other races and 3.7% from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino people of any race were 8.9% of the population.

2020 census

As of the 2020 census, there were 9,809 people, 3,715 households, and 2,407 families residing 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 5,108 housing units at an average density of . The racial makeup of the county was 58.17%

White White is the lightest color and is achromatic (having no chroma). It is the color of objects such as snow, chalk, and milk, and is the opposite of black. White objects fully (or almost fully) reflect and scatter all the visible wa ...

, 1.15%

African American African Americans, also known as Black Americans and formerly also called Afro-Americans, are an Race and ethnicity in the United States, American racial and ethnic group that consists of Americans who have total or partial ancestry from an ...

, 28.95% Native American, 1.07% Asian, 0.03%

Pacific Islander Pacific Islanders, Pasifika, Pasefika, Pacificans, or rarely Pacificers are the peoples of the list of islands in the Pacific Ocean, Pacific Islands. As an ethnic group, ethnic/race (human categorization), racial term, it is used to describe th ...

, 0.63% from some other races and 8.14% from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino people of any race were 7.83% of the population.

2010 census

As of the 2010 census, there were 7,673 people, 2,793 households, and 1,852 families residing in the county. The population density was . There were 4,117 housing units at an average density of . The racial makeup of the county was 65.55%

, 0.21%

, 30.60% Native American, 0.20% Asian, 0.01%

, 0.81% from some other races and 2.55% from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino people of any race were 3.73% of the population. In terms of ancestry, 36.6% were Norwegian, 24.4% were

German German(s) may refer to: * Germany, the country of the Germans and German things **Germania (Roman era) * Germans, citizens of Germany, people of German ancestry, or native speakers of the German language ** For citizenship in Germany, see also Ge ...

, 6.6% were Irish, and 0.8% were American. There were 2,793 households, 31.1% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 48.3% were

married couples Marriage, also called matrimony or wedlock, is a culturally and often legally recognised union between people called spouses. It establishes rights and obligations between them, as well as between them and their children (if any), and b ...

living together, 11.4% had a female householder with no husband present, 33.7% were non-families, and 28.3% of all households were made up of individuals. The average household size was 2.55 and the average family size was 3.11. The median age was 37.0 years. The median income for a household in the county was $53,912 and the median income for a family was $63,238. Males had a median income of $43,386 versus $29,432 for females. The

per capita income Per capita income (PCI) or average income measures the average income earned per person in a given area (city, region, country, etc.) in a specified year. In many countries, per capita income is determined using regular population surveys, such ...

for the county was $25,762. About 13.5% of families and 16.5% of the population were below the

, including 24.2% of those under age 18 and 14.2% 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:700 height:350 PlotArea = left:50 bottom:50 top:30 right:30 DateFormat = x.y Period = from:0 till:13544 TimeAxis = orientation:vertical AlignBars = late ScaleMajor = gridcolor:darkgrey increment:3386 start:0 ScaleMinor = gridcolor:lightgrey increment:1693 start:0 BackgroundColors = canvas:sfondo BarData= 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:2024 text:present PlotData= color:barra width:25 align:left bar:1910 from: 0 till:8491 bar:1920 from: 0 till:12140 bar:1930 from: 0 till:13544 bar:1940 from: 0 till:10482 bar:1950 from: 0 till:9418 bar:1960 from: 0 till:10077 bar:1970 from: 0 till:8437 bar:1980 from: 0 till:7679 bar:1990 from: 0 till:7021 bar:2000 from: 0 till:6631 bar:2010 from: 0 till:7673 bar:2020 from: 0 till:9809 bar:2024 from: 0 till:9474 color:darkblue PlotData= bar:1910 at:8491 fontsize:M text:8,491 shift:(-16,6) bar:1920 at:12140 fontsize:M text:12,140 shift:(-16,6) bar:1930 at:13544 fontsize:M text:13,544 shift:(-16,6) bar:1940 at:10482 fontsize:M text:10,482 shift:(-16,6) bar:1950 at:9418 fontsize:M text:9,418 shift:(-16,6) bar:1960 at:10077 fontsize:M text:10,077 shift:(-16,6) bar:1970 at:8437 fontsize:M text:8,437 shift:(-16,6) bar:1980 at:7679 fontsize:M text:7,679 shift:(-16,6) bar:1990 at:7021 fontsize:M text:7,021 shift:(-16,6) bar:2000 at:6631 fontsize:M text:6,631 shift:(-16,6) bar:2010 at:7673 fontsize:M text:7,673 shift:(-16,6) bar:2020 at:9809 fontsize:M text:9,809 shift:(-16,6) bar:2024 at:9474 fontsize:M text:9,474 shift:(-16,6) TextData= fontsize:S pos:(20,20) text:Data from U.S. Census Bureau

Communities

Cities

Palermo Palermo ( ; ; , locally also or ) is a city in southern Italy, the capital (political), capital of both the autonomous area, autonomous region of Sicily and the Metropolitan City of Palermo, the city's surrounding metropolitan province. The ...

* Parshall *

Plaza A town square (or public square, urban square, city square or simply square), also called a plaza or piazza, is an open public space commonly found in the heart of a traditional town or city, and which is used for community gatherings. Rela ...

* Ross *

(county seat) * White Earth

Unincorporated communities

Source: * Belden * Blaisdell *

Coulee Coulee, or coulée ( or ), is any of various different landforms, all of which are kinds of valleys or drainage zones. The word ''coulee'' comes from the Canadian French ''coulée'', from French ''couler'' 'to flow'. The term is often used ...

* Lostwood * Lunds Valley * Prairie Junction * Sanish *

Tagus The Tagus ( ; ; ) is the longest river in the Iberian Peninsula. The river rises in the Montes Universales between Cuenca and Teruel, in mid-eastern Spain, flows , generally westward, and empties into the Atlantic Ocean in Lisbon. Name T ...

* Van Hook * Wabek Wabek Consolidated School

Government

Aspects of county government are subdivided into

townships A township is a form of human settlement or administrative subdivision. Its exact definition varies among countries. Although the term is occasionally associated with an urban area, this tends to be an exception to the rule. In Australia, Canad ...

Townships

* Alger *

Austin Austin refers to: Common meanings * Austin, Texas, United States, a city * Austin (given name), a list of people and fictional characters * Austin (surname), a list of people and fictional characters * Austin Motor Company, a British car manufac ...

Banner A banner can be a flag or another piece of cloth bearing a symbol, logo, slogan or another message. A flag whose design is the same as the shield in a coat of arms (but usually in a square or rectangular shape) is called a banner of arms. Also, ...

* Bicker * Big Bend * Brookbank *

Burke Burke (; ) is a Normans in Ireland, Norman-Irish surname, deriving from the ancient Anglo-Norman and Hiberno-Norman noble dynasty, the House of Burgh. In Ireland, the descendants of William de Burgh (''circa'' 1160–1206) had the surname'' de B ...

* Clearwater * Cottonwood * Crane Creek *

Crowfoot Crowfoot (c. 1830 – 25 April 1890) or Isapo-Muxika (; syllabics: ) was a chief of the Siksika. His father, (Packs a Knife), and mother, (Attacked Towards Home), were Kainai. He was five years old when was killed during a raid on the Crow ...

* Debing * Egan *

Fertile Fertility in colloquial terms refers the ability to have offspring. In demographic contexts, fertility refers to the actual production of offspring, rather than the physical capability to reproduce, which is termed fecundity. The fertility rate is ...

* Howie *

Idaho Idaho ( ) is a landlocked U.S. state, state in the Pacific Northwest and Mountain states, Mountain West subregions of the Western United States. It borders Montana and Wyoming to the east, Nevada and Utah to the south, and Washington (state), ...

* James Hill * Kickapoo *

Knife River The Knife River is a tributary of the Missouri River, approximately 120 mi (193 km) long, in North Dakota in the United States. Knife is an English translation of the Native American name. It rises in west central North Dakota, in ...

Liberty Liberty is the state of being free within society from oppressive restrictions imposed by authority on one's way of life, behavior, or political views. The concept of liberty can vary depending on perspective and context. In the Constitutional ...

* Lostwood *

Lowland Upland and lowland are conditional descriptions of a plain based on elevation above sea level. In studies of the ecology of freshwater rivers, habitats are classified as upland or lowland. Definitions Upland and lowland are portions of a ...

Manitou Manitou () is the fundamental life force in the theologies of Algonquian peoples. It is said to be omnipresent and manifests everywhere: organisms, the environment, events, etc. ''Aashaa monetoo'' means "good spirit", while ''otshee monetoo ...

* McAlmond * McGahan *

Model A model is an informative representation of an object, person, or system. The term originally denoted the plans of a building in late 16th-century English, and derived via French and Italian ultimately from Latin , . Models can be divided in ...

* Mountrail * Myrtle *

Oakland Oakland is a city in the East Bay region of the San Francisco Bay Area in the U.S. state of California. It is the county seat and most populous city in Alameda County, with a population of 440,646 in 2020. A major West Coast port, Oakland is ...

* Osborn * Osloe *

* Parshall *

* Powers * Powers Lake *

Purcell Henry Purcell (, rare: ; September 1659 – 21 November 1695) was an English composer of Baroque music, most remembered for his more than 100 songs; a tragic opera, ''Dido and Aeneas''; and his incidental music to a version of Shakespeare's ...

* Rat Lake * Redmond * Ross *

Shell Shell may refer to: Architecture and design * Shell (structure), a thin structure ** Concrete shell, a thin shell of concrete, usually with no interior columns or exterior buttresses Science Biology * Seashell, a hard outer layer of a marine ani ...

Sidonia Sidonia or Sidonie is a feminine given name which may refer to: People * Sidonie of Bavaria (1488–1505), eldest daughter of Duke Albert IV of Bavaria-Munich, wife of the Elector Palatine Louis V * Sidonie of Poděbrady (1449–1510), daugh ...

* Sikes * Sorkness * Spring Coulee *

Stave Stave may refer to: Music * Stave (music), used in musical notation * Stanza * The Staves, an English folk rock trio People * Bruce M. Stave (1937–2017), American historian * Joel Stave (born 1992), American football quarterback Place ...

* Van Hook * Wayzetta * White Earth

Politics

Mountrail County was historically a swing county but now leans strongly Republican.

Bill Clinton William Jefferson Clinton (né Blythe III; born August 19, 1946) is an American politician and lawyer who was the 42nd president of the United States from 1993 to 2001. A member of the Democratic Party (United States), Democratic Party, ...

won both of his terms, and

Barack Obama Barack Hussein Obama II (born August 4, 1961) is an American politician who was the 44th president of the United States from 2009 to 2017. A member of the Democratic Party, he was the first African American president in American history. O ...

carried this county in the 2008 election. However, he wasn't able to carry this county in 2012, falling to Republican

Mitt Romney Willard Mitt Romney (born March 12, 1947) is an American businessman and retired politician. He served as a United States Senate, United States senator from Utah from 2019 to 2025 and as the 70th governor of Massachusetts from 2003 to 2007 ...

by over 16%.

Kamala Harris Kamala Devi Harris ( ; born October 20, 1964) is an American politician and attorney who served as the 49th vice president of the United States from 2021 to 2025 under President Joe Biden. She is the first female, first African American, and ...

received the smallest vote by a Democratic candidate (27.6%) since Progressive Party candidate

Robert La Follette Robert Marion La Follette Sr. (June 14, 1855June 18, 1925), nicknamed "Fighting Bob," was an American lawyer and politician. He represented Wisconsin in both chambers of Congress and served as the 20th governor of Wisconsin from 1901 to 1906. ...

received an overwhelming vote in 1924.

Education

School districts include:
Text list
/ref> * Kenmare Public School District 28 in Kenmare * Lewis and Clark Public School District 161 in Berthold * New Town Public School District 1 in New Town * Parshall Public School District 3 in Parshall * Powers Lake Public School District 27 in Powers Lake * Stanley Public School District 2 in Stanley * Tioga Public School District 15 in Tioga

References

External links

Mountrail County – official website
* Mountrail County maps
Sheet 1
(northern) an
Sheet 2
(southern), ''North Dakota DOT'' {{Authority control North Dakota counties on the Missouri River 1909 establishments in North Dakota Populated places established in 1909