Divide County, North Dakota

Divide County, North Dakota
Divide County is a county in the U.S. state of North Dakota. As of the 2020 census, the population was 2,195. Its county seat is Crosby.
History
On November 8, 1910, election, the voters of Williams County determined that the county should be divided into a northern and a southern county. The vote was affirmative; the southern portion retained the Williams name; the newly created county was named "Divide", with Crosby as the seat. The county government was effected on December 9 of that year, and the county's boundaries have remained unchanged since that time. Most histories attribute the county name to its "division" from Williams County, though the county's location on the Laurentian Divide, separating runoff waters between Hudson Bay and Gulf of Mexico, may have been involved.
Geography
Divide County lies at the northwest corner of North Dakota. Its northern boundary line abuts the south boundary line of Canada, opposite Saskatchewan, and its west boundary line abuts the east boundary line of the state of Montana. The terrain of Divide County consists of semi-arid rolling hills, dotted with lakes and ponds, partially devoted to agriculture. The terrain generally slopes to the east; the northern part also slopes to the north while the southern part slopes to the south. The county has a total area of , of which is land and (2.6%) is water.
Divide County is one of several western North Dakota counties with significant exposure to the Bakken Formation in the Williston Basin.
Major highways
U.S. Highway 85
North Dakota Highway 5
North Dakota Highway 40
North Dakota Highway 42
Adjacent counties and rural municipalities
Rural Municipality (RM) of Lake Alma No. 8, Saskatchewan (SK) - northwest
RM of Souris Valley No. 7, SK - north
RM of Cambria No. 6, SK - north
RM of Estevan No. 5, SK - northeast
Burke County - east
Williams County - south
Sheridan County, Montana - west
Lakes
Bright Water Lake
McCone Lake
Miller Lake
Musta Lake
North Lake
Rattler Lake
Round Lake (part)
Willow Lake
Demographics
2020 census
As of the census of 2020, there were 2,195 people.
2010 census
As of the census of 2010, there were 2,071 people, 977 households, and 584 families in the county. The population density was . There were 1,324 housing units at an average density of . The racial makeup of the county was 98.0% white, 0.5% American Indian, 0.3% Asian, 0.2% black or African American, 0.0% from other races, and 0.8% from two or more races. Those of Hispanic or Latino origin made up 1.4% of the population. In terms of ancestry, 57.7% were Norwegian, 30.3% were German, 8.5% were Irish, 5.2% were Swedish, and 2.9% were American.
Of the 977 households, 19.8% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 51.2% were married couples living together, 4.5% had a female householder with no husband present, 40.2% were non-families, and 36.6% of all households were made up of individuals. The average household size was 2.05 and the average family size was 2.66. The median age was 51.4 years.
The median income for a household in the county was $48,152 and the median income for a family was $65,000. Males had a median income of $42,341 versus $27,596 for females. The per capita income for the county was $28,462. About 9.4% of families and 14.0% of the population were below the poverty line, including 40.7% of those under age 18 and 5.7% of those age 65 or over.
Among the population claiming adherence to a particular religious organization, 80.6% claimed adherence to the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America (ELCA) in 2010. This rate is the highest such rate for the ELCA among all counties in the United States.
Population by decade
Places of interest
Two petroglyphs are displayed at Writing Rock State Historical Site in Writing Rock Township.
Communities
Cities
Ambrose
Crosby (county seat)
Fortuna
Noonan
Unincorporated communities
Alkabo
Colgan
Juno
Kermit
Paulson
Stady
Townships
Alexandria
Ambrose
Blooming Prairie
Blooming Valley
Border
Burg
Clinton
Coalfield
Daneville
De Witt
Elkhorn
Fertile Valley
Fillmore
Frazier
Frederick
Garnet
Gooseneck
Hawkeye
Hayland
Lincoln Valley
Long Creek
Mentor
Palmer
Plumer
Sioux Trail
Smoky Butte
Stoneview
Troy
Twin Butte
Upland
Westby
Writing Rock
Politics
Divide County has been a swing county, with a Republican tendency. Since 1960 the county has selected the Republican Party candidate in two-thirds of the national elections (as of 2020). It has selected the Republican party candidate in every presidential election since 2000.
See also
National Register of Historic Places listings in Divide County, North Dakota
Westby, Montana was founded in North Dakota in Divide County and then was moved to Montana.
References
External links
Stories and histories of Divide County (1964) from the Digital Horizons website
Divide County map, North Dakota DOT
1910 establishments in North Dakota
Populated places established in 1910