# Golden Valley County, North Dakota

Golden Valley County is a county in the U.S. state of North Dakota. As of the 2020 census, the population was 1,736, making it the fourth-least populous county in North Dakota. The county seat is Beach.
The county should not be confused with the city of Golden Valley, which is located in Mercer County.

## History

In the general election held November 8, 1910, the voters of Billings County chose to separate the western portion of Billings and form a new county. This result was immediately challenged in court; on September 19, 1912, the ND Supreme Court upheld the election result; therefore the legislature completed the county's organization on November 13, 1912.
Golden Valley was called 'Rattlesnake Flats' by early settlers, due to the large number of the snakes found in the area. The region was dubbed Golden Valley in 1902 after a group of land surveyors noticed that the sunlight gave the surrounding grasses a distinct golden color.

### Election controversy

The vote in 1910 to create Golden Valley County was 837 for and 756 against. Shortly after the vote was certified, suit was filed against the Billings County Commission to overturn the result. The plaintiffs alleged that the certification of election was improper, and that certain pre-marked "unofficial" ballots printed by supporters of the new county were cast in place of official ballots, and should be voided. The trial court originally ruled in favor of the plaintiffs. The county appealed to the North Dakota Supreme Court, which upheld the county's certification of the election. The court also ruled the pre-marked ballots were invalid, but that the number of invalid votes was not sufficient to overturn the election results. The court's decision upholding the new county was made on September 19, 1912, and Golden Valley was formally organized on November 13, 1912.

## Geography

Golden Valley County lies on the west line of North Dakota. Its west boundary line abuts the east boundary line of the state of Montana. Beaver Creek flows east-northeastward through the upper portion of the county, and Little Missouri River flows northeastward through the southeastern corner of the county, with gullies flowing southeastward draining the lower county into the Little Mo River. The county terrain consists of semi-arid hills, dedicated to agriculture in the level areas. The terrain slopes to the east and north, with its highest point on hills at the southwestern corner at 3,251 ft (991 m) ASL. The county has a total area of 1,002 square miles (2,600 km$^2$), of which 1,001 square miles (2,590 km$^2$) is land and 1.6 square miles (4.1 km$^2$) (0.2%) is water.

### Major highways

* Interstate 94
* North Dakota Highway 16

### Adjacent counties

* McKenzie County (north)
* Billings County (east)
* Slope County (south)
* Fallon County, Montana (southwest)
* Wibaux County, Montana (west)

### National protected area

* Little Missouri National Grassland (part)

### Lakes

Source:
* Bosserman Lake
* Camels Hump Lake
* Odland Dam

## Demographics
### 2020 census

As of the census of 2020, there were 1,736 people.

### 2010 census

As of the census of 2010, there were 1,680 people, 774 households, and 429 families in the county. The population density was 1.7 inhabitants per square mile (0.66/km$^2$). There were 967 housing units at an average density of 1.0 units per square mile (0.39/km$^2$). The racial makeup of the county was 97.4% white, 0.6% American Indian, 0.6% black or African American, 0.1% Pacific islander, 0.1% Asian, 0.5% from other races, and 0.8% from two or more races. Those of Hispanic or Latino origin made up 2.1% of the population. In terms of ancestry, 69.0% were German, 14.7% were Norwegian, 10.7% were Polish, 7.9% were Irish, 7.5% were English, and 2.5% were American.
Of the 774 households, 22.7% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 48.4% were married couples living together, 4.3% had a female householder with no husband present, 44.6% were non-families, and 39.4% of all households were made up of individuals. The average household size was 2.10 and the average family size was 2.85. The median age was 45.9 years.
The median income for a household in the county was $33,333 and the median income for a family was $47,500. Males had a median income of $32,875 versus $26,750 for females. The per capita income for the county was $21,899. About 8.9% of families and 13.0% of the population were below the poverty line, including 17.7% of those under age 18 and 11.4% of those age 65 or over.

### Population by decade
## Communities
### Cities

* Beach (county seat)
* Golva
* Sentinel Butte

### Unincorporated communities

Source:
* Chama
* De Mores
* Ekre
* Rider
* Thelan
* Trotters

### Townships

* Beach
* Bullion
* Delhi
* Elk Creek
* Garner
* Henry
* Lone Tree
* Pearl
* Saddle Butte
* Sentinel

#### Former townships

* Elmwood

### Unorganized territories

* East Golden Valley
* Elmwood (formerly a township)
* North Golden Valley
* South Golden Valley

## Politics

Golden Valley County voters have been reliably Republican for decades. In no national election since 1936 has the county selected the Democratic Party candidate (as of 2024).
United States presidential election results for Golden Valley County, North Dakota :
| Year | Republican | Republican | Democratic | Democratic | Third party(ies) | Third party(ies) |
| Year | No. | % | No. | % | No. | % |
| 2024 | 847 | 85.47% | 122 | 12.31% | 22 | 2.22% |
| 2020 | 871 | 84.89% | 137 | 13.35% | 18 | 1.75% |
| 2016 | 796 | 83.18% | 99 | 10.34% | 62 | 6.48% |
| 2012 | 742 | 79.96% | 162 | 17.46% | 24 | 2.59% |
| 2008 | 642 | 73.37% | 210 | 24.00% | 23 | 2.63% |
| 2004 | 719 | 77.56% | 195 | 21.04% | 13 | 1.40% |
| 2000 | 611 | 75.25% | 156 | 19.21% | 45 | 5.54% |
| 1996 | 520 | 56.28% | 235 | 25.43% | 169 | 18.29% |
| 1992 | 503 | 45.15% | 255 | 22.89% | 356 | 31.96% |
| 1988 | 781 | 66.02% | 388 | 32.80% | 14 | 1.18% |
| 1984 | 964 | 73.09% | 325 | 24.64% | 30 | 2.27% |
| 1980 | 1,006 | 74.57% | 259 | 19.20% | 84 | 6.23% |
| 1976 | 633 | 52.40% | 479 | 39.65% | 96 | 7.95% |
| 1972 | 774 | 62.98% | 362 | 29.45% | 93 | 7.57% |
| 1968 | 735 | 61.30% | 348 | 29.02% | 116 | 9.67% |
| 1964 | 722 | 54.53% | 602 | 45.47% | 0 | 0.00% |
| 1960 | 825 | 55.04% | 672 | 44.83% | 2 | 0.13% |
| 1956 | 824 | 58.98% | 567 | 40.59% | 6 | 0.43% |
| 1952 | 1,186 | 75.93% | 376 | 24.07% | 0 | 0.00% |
| 1948 | 788 | 56.25% | 585 | 41.76% | 28 | 2.00% |
| 1944 | 709 | 61.23% | 443 | 38.26% | 6 | 0.52% |
| 1940 | 873 | 55.57% | 689 | 43.86% | 9 | 0.57% |
| 1936 | 581 | 35.02% | 991 | 59.73% | 87 | 5.24% |
| 1932 | 653 | 38.53% | 1,023 | 60.35% | 19 | 1.12% |
| 1928 | 937 | 62.51% | 552 | 36.82% | 10 | 0.67% |
| 1924 | 718 | 48.29% | 140 | 9.41% | 629 | 42.30% |
| 1920 | 1,177 | 77.08% | 286 | 18.73% | 64 | 4.19% |
| 1916 | 499 | 39.32% | 697 | 54.93% | 73 | 5.75% |

## Notable people

* Ernest Viggo Almquist, commercial artist
* Arthur C. Townley, founder of the North Dakota Nonpartisan League.