Hettinger County ( ) is a county in the U.S. state of North Dakota. As of the 2020 census, the population was 2,489. The county seat is Mott and the largest city is New England.

The city of Hettinger, North Dakota is the seat of neighbouring Adams County, which lies directly to the south and was part of Hettinger County until 1907.

History

The Dakota Territory legislature created the county on March 9, 1883, with territory partitioned from Stark County. Its government was not organized at that time. The county name was chosen by territorial legislator Erastus A. Williams, to honor his father-in-law, Mathias K. Hettinger (1810–1890), who had been a banker and public figure in Freeport, Illinois. Mott, on the Cannonball River, was selected as the county seat.

The county boundaries were reduced in 1885 and 1887. The county was dissolved on November 3, 1896, but was re-created on May 24, 1901, by an action of the state supreme court. This re-creation slightly altered the county's boundaries, due to the redefinition of its boundary lines: a sliver of non-county area between 46°N latitude and the south boundary line of North Dakota was added; a sliver on the west boundary was lost when the definition of the line shifted from 103°W longitude to the survey line dividing Ranges 98 and 99 (to allow the county lines to be defined by federally-surveyed lines).

Since the county's government was still unorganized, it was attached to Stark County for administrative and judicial purposes on March 10, 1903.

On April 17, 1907, the southern half of the county was partitioned off to form Adams County. On April 19 the Hettinger County governmental organization was effected and the county was administratively detached from Stark County.

Efforts to dissolve Hettinger County

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

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. The vote was approved, annexation went into effect November 3, 1896, and Hettinger County was eliminated. 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. 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.

thumb|Map of Hettinger County, N.D., 1917

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. 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. 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. The terrain slopes to the east and south; its highest point is a hill at the northwestern corner, at ASL. The county has a total area of , of which is land and (0.1%) is water.

Major highways

  • 25px North Dakota Highway 8
  • 25px North Dakota Highway 21
  • 25px North Dakota Highway 22

Adjacent counties

  • Stark County (north)
  • Grant County (east)
  • Adams County (south)
  • Slope County (west)

Lakes

Source:

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|footnote=U.S. Decennial Census<br>1790–1960 1900–1990<br>1990–2000 2010–2020

2020 census

As of the 2020 census, the county had a population of 2,489.

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.

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.

  • Alden
  • Indian Creek Township

Politics

Hettinger County voters have traditionally voted Republican. In only one national election since 1936 has the county selected the Democratic Party candidate.

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See also

  • National Register of Historic Places listings in Hettinger County, North Dakota

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File:Bentley, North Dakota church.jpg|Church building in Bentley

File:Neuberg_Congregational_Church.JPG|Neuburg Congregational Church

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References

  • Hettinger County official website
  • 50th anniversary, Hettinger County, North Dakota :a tribute to our pioneers : 50 years of progress (1957) from the Digital Horizons website
  • Hettinger County map, North Dakota DOT