Rolette County, North Dakota

Rolette County, North Dakota
Location in the state of North Dakota
North Dakota's location in the U.S.
Founded	1873
Seat	Rolla
Largest city	Belcourt
Area  - Total  - Land  - Water	939 sq mi (2,432 km²) 902 sq mi (2,336 km²) 37 sq mi (96 km²), 3.93%
Population  - (2010)  - Density	13,937 16/sq mi (6/km²)
Website	www.rolettecounty.com

Rolette County is a county located in the U.S. state of North Dakota. As of 2010, the population was 13,937. Its county seat is Rolla. The International Peace Garden is located in the northwest corner of the county along the border with Canada.

The county was created by the 1872-73 territorial legislature and named for Joseph Rolette, Jr., a fur trader and politician from Pembina. The county government was first organized on October 14, 1884. Before becoming Rolla, the county seat was Dunseith from 1884 to 1885 and St. John from 1885 to 1889.

Geography

According to the U.S. Census Bureau, the county has a total area of 939 square miles (2,430 km²), of which, 902 square miles (2,340 km²) of it is land and 37 square miles (96 km²) of it (3.93%) is water.

Major highways

• U.S. Highway 281
• North Dakota Route 3
• North Dakota Route 30
• North Dakota Route 66
• North Dakota Route 43
• North Dakota Route 89
• North Dakota Route 5

Townships

• Baxter
• Belcourt
• Holmes
• Kohlmeier
• Maryville
• San Haven
• Shell Valley
• South Valley

Adjacent counties and rural municipalities

• Morton, Manitoba (north)
• Turtle Mountain, Manitoba (north)
• Towner County (east)
• Pierce County (south)
• Bottineau County (west)

National protected areas

• Lords Lake National Wildlife Refuge (part)
• Rabb Lake National Wildlife Refuge
• School Section Lake National Wildlife Refuge
• Willow Lake National Wildlife Refuge

Demographics

Historical populations
Census	Pop.		%±
1890	2,427		—
1900	7,995		229.4%
1910	9,558		19.5%
1920	10,061		5.3%
1930	10,760		6.9%
1940	12,583		16.9%
1950	11,102		−11.8%
1960	10,641		−4.2%
1970	11,549		8.5%
1980	12,177		5.4%
1990	12,772		4.9%
2000	13,674		7.1%
2010	13,937		1.9%
U.S. Decennial Census

As of the census of 2000, there were 13,674 people, 4,556 households, and 3,366 families residing in the county. The population density was 15 people per square mile (6/km²). There were 5,027 housing units at an average density of 6 per square mile (2/km²). The racial makeup of the county was 25.12% White, 0.07% Black or African American, 73.01% Native American, 0.07% Asian, 0.12% from other races, and 1.61% from two or more races. 0.80% of the population were Hispanic or Latino of any race. 9.3% were of Norwegian and 7.4% German ancestry according to Census 2000. 94.6% spoke English, 1.3% Ojibwa, 1.0% French Cree and 1.0% Cree as their first language.

There were 4,556 households out of which 43.80% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 44.00% were married couples living together, 22.70% had a female householder with no husband present, and 26.10% were non-families. 22.60% of all households were made up of individuals and 9.50% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.97 and the average family size was 3.45.

In the county the population was spread out with 36.50% under the age of 18, 9.50% from 18 to 24, 25.80% from 25 to 44, 18.50% from 45 to 64, and 9.70% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 29 years. For every 100 females there were 97.20 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 91.90 males.

The median income for a household in the county was $26,232, and the median income for a family was $29,744. Males had a median income of $24,288 versus $20,383 for females. The per capita income for the county was $10,873. About 28.00% of families and 31.00% of the population were below the poverty line, including 39.20% of those under age 18 and 19.60% of those age 65 or over.

Places

Cities

• Dunseith
• Mylo
• Rolette
• Rolla
• St. John

Note: all incorporated communities in North Dakota are called "cities" regardless of their size.

Census-designated places

• Belcourt, the largest community in the county, is operated by the Turtle Mountain Band of Chippewa Indians rather than organized under state law
• East Dunseith
• Shell Valley

Other community

• Agate
• Carpenter

Presidential elections

Like many counties with Native American majority populations it is historically Democratic, but more consistently so than other such counties in North Dakota. Since 1928 the only Republican to carry the county was Dwight D. Eisenhower in 1952. It was the only county in the state to support George McGovern in 1972 and is additionally the only North Dakota county to have supported Jimmy Carter in 1980. In the last four elections the Democratic candidate has consistently received over 60% of the vote.

See also

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