The Dakota Territory legislature created Cavalier County on January 4, 1873, with territory annexed from Pembina County, but did not organize the county government structure at that time. It was named for Charles Cavileer (or Cavalier)[3] of Pembina, an early settler.[4]
The county organization was effected on July 8, 1884. Its boundaries were altered in 1883 and in 1887.[5][6]
After petitioning the Territorial Governor for permission to organize the county, Patrick McHugh, W. Hudson Matthews, and L.C. Noracong met on July 8, 1884. On July 26 the new county officials met for the second time and chose Noracong as chairman of the board with William H. Doyle and Matthews as Commissioners. The first Register of Deeds and County Clerk was McHugh. W.J. Mooney became the first Judge of Probate, Charles B. Nelson was the first Cavalier County Supt. of Schools, and Clarence Hawkes the first sheriff.[citation needed] Cavalier took its current form in 1887 after the Territorial Legislature authorized an increase in size by taking a portion from Pembina County. The expansion added 15 new townships to the county.[5]
A site for a county seat was selected at the second meeting; it was named Langdon, for Robert Bruce Langdon of Minnesota, an official with the Great Northern Railroad. Langdon never visited the town, but reportedly donated a bell for the local school.[7]
The first court house was built in 1884 at a cost of $360.00. It was used briefly and then abandoned for warmer and more centrally located quarters in a downtown bank. A large brick court house was built in 1895 on the present site at a contract cost of $9,099.00. This building served county officials until the current court house was constructed in 1957–58.[8]
Cavalier County Historical Society
Established after 1969 - The Holy Trinity Church at Dresden, ND became the cornerstone of the County museum. It now houses local historic artifacts and landmarks.
The Holy Trinity Church at Dresden replaced two previous wooden structures that both burned. The present structure was erected in 1936, built out of fieldstone collected by the local parishioners. An architect from Minneapolis, Fabian Redmond, designed the building. A stonemason from Rugby ND, Edroy Patterson, directed volunteer workers.
Assisting in the building of the church were Andrew Bachman-head carpenter, Alphonse Hiltner, Stanley Koehmstedt and William Geisen.
Geography
Cavalier County is located on the north edge of North Dakota. Its north boundary line abuts the south boundary line of Canada. The Pembina River enters from Manitoba and flows southeasterly through the eastern part of the county, exiting near the SE corner. The county terrain consists of rolling hills, dotted with lakes and ponds in the western part.[9] The terrain slopes to the east, with its highest point near the midpoint of the south boundary line at 1,644 ft (501 m) ASL.[10] The county has a total area of 1,510 square miles (3,900 km2), of which 1,489 square miles (3,860 km2) is land and 21 square miles (54 km2) (1.4%) is water.[11]
As of the census of 2010, there were 3,993 people, 1,818 households, and 1,142 families in the county. The population density was 2.7 inhabitants per square mile (1.0/km2). There were 2,309 housing units at an average density of 1.6 per square mile (0.62/km2). The racial makeup of the county was 97.7% white, 0.9% American Indian, 0.2% Asian, 0.1% black or African American, 0.2% from other races, and 0.8% from two or more races. Those of Hispanic or Latino origin made up 0.6% of the population. In terms of ancestry, 44.5% were German, 28.8% were Norwegian, 10.8% were American, 5.8% were Irish, 5.7% were Swedish, and 5.4% were English.
Of the 1,818 households, 21.8% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 55.7% were married couples living together, 4.0% had a female householder with no husband present, 37.2% were non-families, and 34.2% of all households were made up of individuals. The average household size was 2.15 and the average family size was 2.74. The median age was 50.3 years.
The median income for a household in the county was $48,786 and the median income for a family was $57,066. Males had a median income of $41,885 versus $26,914 for females. The per capita income for the county was $26,468. About 6.1% of families and 8.2% of the population were below the poverty line, including 12.8% of those under age 18 and 10.8% of those age 65 or over.
Cavalier County voters have been reliably Republican for several decades. In only one national election since 1964 has the county selected the Democratic Party candidate (as of 2024).
United States presidential election results for Cavalier County, North Dakota[17]
^Cavaleer or Cavalier was a fur trader, customs agent and postmaster. [North Dakota Secretary of State (1989). North Dakota Centennial Blue Book. Bismarck: North Dakota Legislative Assembly. p. 484.] There is no explanation for the difference in the spelling; one placename historian suspects it was an attempt to Gallicize, or make the name appear French.[Williams, Mary Ann (Barnes) (1966). Origins of North Dakota Place Names. Bismarck: Bismarck Tribune, 1966. p. 221. OCLC431626.]
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