McIntosh County is a county in the U.S. state of North Dakota. As of the 2020 census, the population was 2,530.[1] Its county seat is Ashley.[2] The county is notable for being the county with the highest percentage of German-Americans in the United States, with over 76% of the county's residents being of German descent as of 2010.
History
The Dakota Territory legislature created the county on March 9, 1883, with areas partitioned from Campbell, Logan, and McPherson counties, and with some previously unorganized areas. It was named for Edward H. McIntosh, a territorial legislator at the time.[3] The county seat was originally Hoskins, but changed in 1888 after everything in Hoskins but the school was moved three miles east to the new Soo Line Railroad townsite of Ashley.[4] The county government was not organized at that date, but the new county was not attached to another county for judicial or administrative purposes. Its government was organized on October 4, 1884.[5]
Outline map of McIntosh County, North Dakota, 1911
Geography
McIntosh County lies on the south line of North Dakota. Its south boundary line abuts the north boundary line of the state of South Dakota. The terrain consists of rolling hills dotted with lakes and ponds, and with occasional protuberances.[6] The terrain slopes to the south, with its highest point on the north line at 2,156 ft (657 m) ASL.[7] The county has a total area of 995 square miles (2,580 km2), of which 975 square miles (2,530 km2) is land and 20 square miles (52 km2) (2.0%) is water.[8]
As of the census of 2010, there were 2,809 people, 1,307 households, and 800 families in the county. The population density was 2.88 people per square mile (1.11 people/km2). There were 1,858 housing units at an average density of 1.91 units per square mile (0.74/km2). The racial makeup of the county was 98.1% white, 0.4% Asian, 0.4% American Indian, 0.2% black or African American, 0.2% from other races, and 0.6% from two or more races. Those of Hispanic or Latino origin made up 1.4% of the population. In terms of ancestry, 76.8% were German, 26.9% were Russian, 6.2% were Norwegian, and 5.2% were American.
Of the 1,307 households, 19.4% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 55.0% were married couples living together, 3.5% had a female householder with no husband present, 38.8% were non-families, and 36.2% of all households were made up of individuals. The average household size was 2.07 and the average family size was 2.66. The median age was 52.7 years.
The median income for a household in the county was $34,904 and the median income for a family was $46,198. Males had a median income of $35,200 versus $23,594 for females. The per capita income for the county was $22,608. About 9.2% of families and 13.9% of the population were below the poverty line, including 9.7% of those under age 18 and 20.2% of those age 65 or over.
McIntosh County is a powerfully Republican county. The only Democrats to carry McIntosh County have been Franklin D. Roosevelt in 1936 and 1932, plus Al Smith in 1928. In 1920,[15] 1940,[16] 1944.[17] and 1952[18] elections the Republican presidential candidate received over ninety percent of the county's vote. Although shifting somewhat Democratic in more recent Presidential elections, John McCain received nearly sixty percent of the county's vote in the 2008 U.S. presidential election.[19]Donald Trump won seventy-seven percent of the vote in 2016, the best result in the county since Ronald Reagan.[20]
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