Hettinger County, North Dakota

Efforts to dissolve Hettinger County

In 1891, the North Dakota Legislature approved legislation to dissolve Hettinger County and add its territory to Stark County,^[3][4] but the law was vetoed by Governor Eli C. D. Shortridge.^[5][6]

Annexation was attempted a second time in 1895, when the legislature passed legislation expanding the boundaries of Stark, Billings and Mercer Counties, subject to approval by the counties' voters.^[7] The vote was approved, annexation went into effect November 3, 1896, and Hettinger County was eliminated.^[5] However, Wilson L. Richards, a cattle rancher in one of the annexed counties, sued to overturn the annexation because he and other landowners were now subject to taxation by Stark County. The case went to the North Dakota Supreme Court, which ruled the law unconstitutional on May 18, 1899.^[6][8][9] The annexation remained in effect, however, due to a replacement law approved by the legislature March 9, 1899 in anticipation of the court's decision.^[5][10] The second annexation law was overturned by the Supreme Court in 1901 because the annexation was not referred to the voters of the affected counties as required by the North Dakota Constitution.^[11][12]

The Legislature passed a third annexation law in 1903, this time submitting it to the voters in Stark County and the unorganized counties of Dunn and Hettinger for approval.^[13] The annexation was approved by 502 votes in Stark County and 65 votes in Hettinger County, but it failed by 1 vote in Dunn County.^[14] Stark County claimed the annexation vote valid, since the legislation required a majority of the aggregate votes cast. However, the North Dakota Constitution required a majority vote in each affected county subject to annexation, so the state of North Dakota sued Stark County on the grounds that the enabling legislation was unconstitutional and that the "no" vote in Dunn County meant the annexation failed. The North Dakota Supreme Court ruled the 1903 law unconstitutional in 1905, which ended further attempts at annexation.^[14]

Major highways

• North Dakota Highway 8
• North Dakota Highway 21
• North Dakota Highway 22

Adjacent counties

Lakes

Source:^[15]

• Dry Lake
• Jung Lake
• Larson Lake

Housing

As of the fourth quarter of 2024, the median home value in Hettinger County was $117,505.^[23]

2020 census

As of the 2020 census, the county had a population of 2,489.^[24]

Of the residents, 21.9% were under the age of 18 and 25.6% were 65 years of age or older; the median age was 47.4 years. For every 100 females there were 98.5 males, and for every 100 females age 18 and over there were 95.5 males.^[25]

The racial makeup of the county was 93.5% White, 0.2% Black or African American, 1.8% American Indian and Alaska Native, 0.3% Asian, 0.4% from some other race, and 3.5% from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino residents of any race comprised 1.4% of the population.^[24]

There were 1,064 households in the county, of which 24.2% had children under the age of 18 living with them and 19.2% had a female householder with no spouse or partner present. About 33.2% of all households were made up of individuals and 18.6% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older.^[25]

There were 1,399 housing units, of which 23.9% were vacant. Among occupied housing units, 80.5% were owner-occupied and 19.5% were renter-occupied. The homeowner vacancy rate was 1.9% and the rental vacancy rate was 20.6%.^[25]

2010 census

As of the census of 2010, there were 2,477 people, 1,056 households, and 682 families in the county. The population density was 2.2 inhabitants per square mile (0.85/km²). There were 1,414 housing units at an average density of 1.2 units per square mile (0.46/km²). The racial makeup of the county was 96.2% white, 2.1% American Indian, 0.2% black or African American, 0.1% Pacific islander, 0.0% from other races, and 1.3% from two or more races. Those of Hispanic or Latino origin made up 0.5% of the population. In terms of ancestry, 71.1% were German, 15.8% were Norwegian, 6.1% were Russian, 5.9% were Czech, 5.4% were Irish, 5.3% were Hungarian, and 3.2% were American.

Of the 1,056 households, 22.4% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 57.6% were married couples living together, 4.5% had a female householder with no husband present, 35.4% were non-families, and 33.1% of all households were made up of individuals. The average household size was 2.19 and the average family size was 2.75. The median age was 49.4 years.

The median income for a household in the county was $38,393 and the median income for a family was $49,605. Males had a median income of $33,155 versus $26,549 for females. The per capita income for the county was $24,928. About 8.2% of families and 11.0% of the population were below the poverty line, including 9.3% of those under age 18 and 13.1% of those age 65 or over.

Population by decade

Cities

• Mott (county seat)
• New England
• Regent

Unincorporated community

• Bentley
• Burt^[15]

Townships

Defunct townships

Source:^[26]

• Alden
• Indian Creek Township