The Dakota Territory legislature created Ransom County on January 4, 1873. It was so named due to its military fort, which had been named Fort Ransom for Civil War veteran Major General Thomas E.G. Ransom. The fort had operated between 1867 and 1872. The county was not organized at that time, nor was it attached to another county for administrative or judicial purposes. Its proposed boundaries were altered two times during 1881. On April 4, 1881, the county government was effected. The county's area was again reduced in 1883 when Sargent County was created. Ransom County has retained its present configuration since that time.[3][4]
Outline map of Ransom County, North Dakota, 1910
Geography
The Sheyenne River meanders through Ransom County. The county terrain consists of rolling hills, dotted with lakes and ponds in its western part. The area is largely devoted to agriculture.[5] The terrain slopes to the east and south; its highest point is on the north boundary line near its northwestern corner, at 1,421 ft (433 m) ASL.[6] The county has a total area of 864 square miles (2,240 km2), of which 862 square miles (2,230 km2) is land and 1.4 square miles (3.6 km2) (0.2%) is water.[7]
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 5,704 people.
2010 census
As of the census of 2010, there were 5,457 people, 2,310 households, and 1,466 families in the county. The population density was 6.33 people per square mile (2.44 people/km2). There were 2,656 housing units at an average density of 3.08 units per square mile (1.19/km2). The racial makeup of the county was 97.8% white, 0.4% Asian, 0.4% American Indian, 0.3% black or African American, 0.1% Pacific islander, 0.1% from other races, and 0.9% from two or more races. Those of Hispanic or Latino origin made up 1.2% of the population. In terms of ancestry, 54.2% were German, 36.6% were Norwegian, 9.0% were Irish, 6.9% were Swedish, 5.1% were English, and 1.6% were American.
Of the 2,310 households, 27.8% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 54.8% were married couples living together, 5.4% had a female householder with no husband present, 36.5% were non-families, and 32.9% of all households were made up of individuals. The average household size was 2.28 and the average family size was 2.89. The median age was 45.2 years.
The median income for a household in the county was $46,044 and the median income for a family was $59,973. Males had a median income of $42,380 versus $28,209 for females. The per capita income for the county was $21,995. About 7.5% of families and 9.4% of the population were below the poverty line, including 13.2% of those under age 18 and 11.6% of those age 65 or over.
Ransom County is a swing county in presidential elections, having voted for both parties an equal number of times between 1976 and 2020. It voted for the Democrat in the 2000 and 2012 gubernatorial elections, and for the Republican in 2004, 2008, and 2016. It is also a bellwether county at the presidential level, having voted for the winner in every presidential election between the 1964 and 1984 and again from 1992 to 2016. The county broke its bellwether streak in 1988 and 2020, voting for the Democratic nominee Michael Dukakis in 1988 and Republican nominee Donald Trump in 2020, who both would lose the general election.
Ransom County is one of the most Democratic counties in North Dakota. In the 2018 election for U.S. Senate, it gave Heidi Heitkamp her 4th-highest total (60.6%), behind only Sioux, Rolette, and Benson counties.
United States presidential election results for Ransom County, North Dakota[14]
In 1905 it had 22 school districts, with 16 not having a bond. Circa 1905 the county had 2,431 students in its three high schools, five grade schools, and 75 schoolhouses.[15]
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