Ward County, North Dakota

Ward County, North Dakota
Ward County is a county in the U.S. state of North Dakota. As of the 2020 census, the population was 69,919, making it the fourth-most populous county in North Dakota. Its county seat is Minot. Ward County is part of the Minot, ND Micropolitan Statistical Area.
History
The Dakota Territory legislature created the county on April 14, 1885, with areas partitioned from Renville, Stevens, and Wynn counties (Stevens and Wynn counties are now extinct). The county government was not organized at that date; the organization was effected on November 23 of that year. The county was named for Mark Ward, chairman of the House of Representatives Committee on Counties during the session. Burlington was the county seat; this was changed to Minot in 1888.
The boundaries of Ward County were altered two times in 1887, and in 1892, 1909 and 1910. The present county boundaries have been in place since 1910.
Until 1908, Ward County included what is now Burke, Mountrail, and Renville counties; this landmass often being referred to as 'Imperial Ward' County and which was the largest county in the state at the time. In 1908, voters took up measures to partition the county. The results for that portion forming Mountrail County were accepted but the results for the portions that would become Burke and Renville counties were disputed in court, which resulted in favorable rulings in 1910. When the proposed county lines for Burke and Renville counties were drawn, neither group wanted to include Kenmare and risk that city's becoming the county seat, so Kenmare was left in Ward County at the end of a narrow strip of land, commonly referred to as the 'gooseneck'. One of the options reportedly considered around this time was to create a fifth county, Lake, with Kenmare as its seat.
Geography
The Des Lacs River flows southeasterly through the northeast part of the county before doubling to the northeast on its journey to Lake Winnipeg. The county terrain consists of low rolling hills, dotted with ponds and lakes in its southern part, and carved by drainage gullies. The area is largely devoted to agriculture. The terrain slopes to the east and north, with its highest point near the southwest corner, at ASL. The county has a total area of , of which is land and (2.1%) is water. It is the fifth-largest county in North Dakota by land area.
Major highways
U.S. Highway 2
U.S. Highway 52
U.S. Highway 83
North Dakota Highway 5
North Dakota Highway 23
North Dakota Highway 28
North Dakota Highway 50
Transit
Amtrak Empire Builder (Minot station)
Minot City Transit
Adjacent counties
Renville County - north
McHenry County - east
McLean County - south
Mountrail County - west
Burke County - northwest
Protected areas
Des Lacs National Wildlife Refuge (part)
Hiddenwood National Wildlife Refuge (part)
National Wildfowl Production Areas
Upper Souris National Wildlife Refuge (part)
Lakes
Carpenter Lake
Douglas Lake (part)
Hiddenwood Lake (part)
Makoti Lake
Rice Lake
Rush Lake
Demographics
2020 census
As of the census of 2020, there were 69,919 people, 32,176 households, and 28,795 families in the county.
2010 census
As of the census of 2010, there were 61,675 people, 25,029 households, and 15,597 families in the county. The population density was . There were 26,744 housing units at an average density of . The racial makeup of the county was 90.3% white, 2.6% American Indian, 2.5% black or African American, 0.9% Asian, 0.1% Pacific islander, 0.7% from other races, and 2.7% from two or more races. Those of Hispanic or Latino origin made up 3.0% of the population. In terms of ancestry, 44.4% were German, 30.8% were Norwegian, 11.6% were Irish, 5.7% were English, and 2.3% were American.
Of the 25,029 households, 30.6% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 49.9% were married couples living together, 8.4% had a female householder with no husband present, 37.7% were non-families, and 30.0% of all households were made up of individuals. The average household size was 2.36 and the average family size was 2.95. The median age was 32.7 years.
The median income for a household in the county was $48,793 and the median income for a family was $60,361. Males had a median income of $37,569 versus $28,415 for females. The per capita income for the county was $25,326. About 6.7% of families and 9.4% of the population were below the poverty line, including 13.0% of those under age 18 and 10.3% of those age 65 or over.
Population by decade
Communities
Cities
Berthold
Burlington
Carpio
Des Lacs
Donnybrook
Douglas
Kenmare
Makoti
Minot (county seat)
Ryder
Sawyer
Surrey
Census-designated places
Foxholm
Logan
Minot AFB
Ruthville
Unincorporated communities
Aurelia - (ghost town)
Drady
Gassman - founded when the Gassman Creek Coulee trestle was being built, now referred to as "Trestle Valley"
Hartland - (ghost town)
Hesnault
Lonetree
Rice Lake - community at Rice Lake near Minot
South Prairie
Wolseth
Historical areas
Harrison - early community, now part of Minot
Ralston - railroad siding
Waldorf - early community, now part of Minot
Townships
Afton
Anna
Baden
Berthold
Brillian
Burlington
Burt
Cameron
Carbondale
Carpio
Denmark
Des Lacs
Elmdale
Eureka
Evergreen
Foxholm
Freedom
Gasman
Greely
Greenbush
Harrison
Hiddenwood
Hilton
Iota Flat
Kenmare
Kirkelie
Linton
Lund
Mandan
Margaret
Maryland
Mayland
McKinley
Nedrose
New Prairie
Newman
Orlien
Passport
Ree
Rice Lake
Rolling Green
Rushville
Ryder
St. Marys
Sauk Prairie
Sawyer
Shealy
Spencer
Spring Lake
Sundre
Surrey
Tatman
Tolgen
Torning
Vang
Waterford
Willis
Politics
Ward County voters are traditionally and increasingly Republican. In only one national election since 1944 (1964) has the county selected the Democratic Party candidate. In 2020, Donald Trump received 70.7% of the vote in this county, the highest for any candidate since Theodore Roosevelt, although his margin relative to his Democratic opponent declined from 2016, most likely due to the high number of third party votes from the 2016 election cycle in Ward County.
See also
National Register of Historic Places listings in Ward County, North Dakota
References
External links
Ward County official website
Ward County Historical Society website
Ward County maps, Sheet 1 (northwest), Sheet 2 (northeast), and Sheet 3 (southern), North Dakota DOT
1885 establishments in Dakota Territory
Populated places established in 1885