Williams County, North Dakota

Williams County, North Dakota

Location in the state of North Dakota

North Dakota's location in the U.S.
Founded December 8, 1891
Seat Williston
Largest city Williston
Area
 - Total
 - Land
 - Water

2,148 sq mi (5,563 km²)
2,070 sq mi (5,361 km²)
78 sq mi (202 km²), 3.61%
Population
 - (2010)
 - Density

22,398
10/sq mi (4/km²)
Website www.williamsnd.com

Williams County is a county located in the U.S. state of North Dakota. As of the 2010 census, the population was 22,398.[1] Its county seat is Williston.[2]

The Williston Micropolitan Statistical Area includes all of Williams County.

Contents

History

There have been two Williams counties in the history of North Dakota. The first, created in 1873, was located south of the Missouri River near where Dunn and Mercer counties are today. The second Williams County was established by the 1891 state legislature and consists of the contemporary Williams and Divide counties. The name comes from Erastus Appelman Williams, an early politician from Bismarck who served in both the territorial and state legislatures. The county government was first organized on December 8, 1891; Williston has always been the county seat.[3]

Geography

According to the U.S. Census Bureau, the county has a total area of 2,148 square miles (5,560 km2), of which, 2,070 square miles (5,400 km2) of it is land and 78 square miles (200 km2) of it (3.61%) is water.

Lake Sakakawea, a reservoir on the Missouri River, is situated on the southern boundary of the county. Little Muddy Creek is entirely within Williams County. The confluence of the Yellowstone River with the Missouri is west of Williston.

The Fort Union Trading Post National Historic Site is located in Williams County along the Missouri River on the Montana border.

Townships

  • Alamo
  • Athens
  • Barr Butte
  • Big Meadow
  • Big Stone
  • Blacktail
  • Blue Ridge
  • Bonetraill
  • Brooklyn
  • Buford
  • Bull Butte
  • Champion
  • Climax
  • Cow Creek
  • Dry Fork
  • Dublin
  • East Fork
  • Egypt
  • Ellisville
  • Equality
  • Farmvale
  • Golden Valley
  • Good Luck
  • Grenora
  • Hanks
  • Hardscrabble
  • Hazel
  • Hebron
  • Judson
  • Lindahl
  • Lund's Landing
  • Marshall
  • McGregor
  • Missouri Ridge
  • Mont
  • New Home
  • Oliver
  • Orthell
  • Pleasant Valley
  • Rainbow
  • Rock Island
  • Round Prairie
  • Sauk Valley
  • Scorio
  • South Meadow
  • Springbrook
  • Stony Creek
  • Strandahl
  • Tioga
  • Trenton
  • Truax
  • Twelve Mile
  • Tyrone
  • View
  • West Bank
  • Wheelock
  • Williston
  • Winner
  • Zahl

Defunct Townships

Adjacent counties

Major highways

National protected areas

Demographics

Historical populations
Census Pop.
1880 14
1890 109 678.6%
1900 1,530 1,303.7%
1910 14,234 830.3%
1920 17,980 26.3%
1930 19,553 8.7%
1940 16,315 −16.6%
1950 16,442 0.8%
1960 22,051 34.1%
1970 19,301 −12.5%
1980 22,237 15.2%
1990 21,129 −5.0%
2000 19,761 −6.5%
2010 22,398 13.3%
U.S. Decennial Census

As of the census[5] of 2000, there were 19,761 people, 8,095 households, and 5,261 families residing in the county. The population density was 10 people per square mile (4/km²). There were 9,680 housing units at an average density of 5 per square mile (2/km²). The racial makeup of the county was 92.95% White, 0.12% Black or African American, 4.40% Native American, 0.18% Asian, 0.01% Pacific Islander, 0.14% from other races, and 2.21% from two or more races. 0.94% of the population were Hispanic or Latino of any race. 48.3% were of Norwegian and 22.0% German ancestry according to Census 2000.

There were 8,095 households out of which 31.2% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 53.3% were married couples living together, 8.8% had a female householder with no husband present, and 35.0% were non-families. 30.9% of all households were made up of individuals and 13.1% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.38 and the average family size was 2.99.

In the county the population was spread out with 26.2% under the age of 18, 7.80% from 18 to 24, 25.5% from 25 to 44, 24.0% from 45 to 64, and 16.5% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 40 years. For every 100 females there were 96.2 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 93.6 males.

The median income for a household in the county was $31,491, and the median income for a family was $39,065. Males had a median income of $29,884 versus $19,329 for females. The per capita income for the county was $16,763. About 9.6% of families and 11.9% of the population were below the poverty line, including 16.5% of those under age 18 and 8.1% of those age 65 or over.

Economy

Farming and oil. Williams County is one of several western North Dakota counties with significant exposure to the Bakken Formation in the Williston Basin.

Places

Cities

Note: all incorporated communities in North Dakota are called "cities" regardless of their size.

Unincorporated communities

See also

References