During the election on November 8, 1910, 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,[3] though the county's location on the Laurentian Divide, separating runoff waters between Hudson Bay and Gulf of Mexico, may have been involved.[4]
In 1911, Divide County was the site of one of the deadliest tornadoes in North Dakota's recorded history, causing four known deaths.[5]
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.[6] The terrain generally slopes to the east; the northern part also slopes to the north while the southern part slopes to the south.[7] The county has a total area of 1,294 square miles (3,350 km2), of which 1,261 square miles (3,270 km2) is land and 33 square miles (85 km2) (2.6%) is water.[8]
Divide County is one of several western North Dakota counties with significant exposure to the Bakken Formation in the Williston Basin.
U.S. Decennial Census[10] 1790-1960[11] 1900-1990[12] 1990-2000[13] 2010-2020[1]
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 1.6 inhabitants per square mile (0.62/km2). There were 1,324 housing units at an average density of 1.1 units per square mile (0.42/km2). 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.[14]
Divide County, though formerly a swing county, now leans heavily Republican. It has selected the Republican party candidate in every presidential election since 2000.
United States presidential election results for Divide County, North Dakota[15]
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