Sheridan County, North Dakota

History

The Dakota Territory legislature created the county on January 4, 1873, naming it for Civil War General Philip Henry Sheridan. The county organization was not completed at that time, but the new county was not attached to another county for administrative or judicial purposes. In 1883 and again in 1887, the county boundaries were reduced, and on November 8, 1892, the county was dissolved, its remaining territory assigned to McLean. This lasted until the November 3, 1908 election, when McLean County voters chose to partition off the eastern portion of that unit into a new county, although the new boundaries were somewhat different from the former Sheridan. The new county government was effected on December 24 of that year.

Sheridan has been severely affected by out-migration; its population collapsed from 7,373 in 1930 to 1,321 by 2010. Its population decline of 38.4% from 1990 to 2016 was the highest among all North Dakota counties.

Geography

The terrain of Sheridan County consists of dry rolling hills, dotted with lakes and ponds. The area is largely devoted to agriculture. The terrain slopes to the north and east, with its highest point on the eastern part of its southern boundary at 2,034 ft ASL.

According to the United States Census Bureau, the county has a total area of 1005.508 sqmi, of which 972.226 sqmi is land and 33.282 sqmi (3.31%) is water. It is the 43rd largest county in North Dakota by total area.

Major highways

• [[Image:US 52.svg|20px]] U.S. Highway 52
• [[Image:ND-14_(2015).svg|20px]] North Dakota Highway 14
• [[Image:ND-53_(2015).svg|20px]] North Dakota Highway 53
• [[Image:ND-200_(2015).svg|20px]] North Dakota Highway 200

Adjacent counties

• McHenry County - north
• Pierce County - northeast
• Wells County - east
• Kidder County - southeast
• Burleigh County - south
• McLean County - west

National protected area

• Sheyenne Lake National Wildlife Refuge

Lakes

Source:

• Bentz Lake
• Cherry Lake
• Coal Mine Lake
• Ebel Lake
• Guyes Lake
• Heckers Lake
• Kandt Lake
• Krueger Lake
• Lake Richard (part)
• Lone Tree Lake
• Moesner Lake
• Pelican Lake (part)
• Postel Lake
• Salt Lake (part)
• Sand Lake
• Sheyenne Lake

Demographics

|align-fn=center 1790–1960 1900–1990 1990–2000 2010–2020

As of the fourth quarter of 2024, the median home value in Sheridan County was $114,114.

As of the 2023 American Community Survey, there are 676 estimated households in Sheridan County with an average of 1.96 persons per household. The county has a median household income of $67,361. Approximately 16.5% of the county's population lives at or below the poverty line. Sheridan County has an estimated 56.7% employment rate, with 20.3% of the population holding a bachelor's degree or higher and 90.8% holding a high school diploma.

The top five reported ancestries (people were allowed to report up to two ancestries, thus the figures will generally add to more than 100%) were English (97.7%), Spanish (0.0%), Indo-European (1.9%), Asian and Pacific Islander (0.0%), and Other (0.4%).

The median age in the county was 50.8 years.

Sheridan County, North Dakota – racial and ethnic composition Note: the US Census treats Hispanic/Latino as an ethnic category. This table excludes Latinos from the racial categories and assigns them to a separate category. Hispanics/Latinos may be of any race.

2024 estimate

As of the 2024 estimate, there were 1,268 people and 676 households residing in the county. There were 821 housing units at an average density of 0.84 /sqmi. The racial makeup of the county was 93.9% White (93.1% NH White), 0.3% African American, 2.1% Native American, 0.6% Asian, 0.1% Pacific Islander, _% from some other races and 2.9% from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino people of any race were 1.3% of the population.

2020 census

As of the 2020 census, there were 1,265 people, 585 households, and 369 families residing in the county. The population density was 1.30 PD/sqmi. There were 808 housing units at an average density of 0.83 /sqmi.

Of the residents, 19.7% were under the age of 18 and 28.2% were 65 years of age or older; the median age was 51.8 years. For every 100 females there were 111.5 males, and for every 100 females age 18 and over there were 114.3 males.

The racial makeup of the county was 94.2% White, 0.2% Black or African American, 0.9% American Indian and Alaska Native, 0.6% Asian, 0.4% from some other race, and 3.8% from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino residents of any race comprised 0.8% of the population.

There were 585 households in the county, of which 19.7% had children under the age of 18 living with them and 19.3% had a female householder with no spouse or partner present. About 34.2% of all households were made up of individuals and 17.4% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older.

There were 808 housing units, of which 27.6% were vacant. Among occupied housing units, 84.8% were owner-occupied and 15.2% were renter-occupied. The homeowner vacancy rate was 4.0% and the rental vacancy rate was 11.2%.

2010 census

As of the 2010 census, there were 1,321 people, 645 households, and 417 families residing in the county. The population density was 1.36 PD/sqmi. There were 894 housing units at an average density of 0.92 /sqmi. The racial makeup of the county was 96.74% White, 0.30% African American, 1.06% Native American, 0.15% Asian, 0.15% Pacific Islander, 0.38% from some other races and 1.21% from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino people of any race were 1.21% of the population.

In terms of ancestry, 70.1% were German, 14.2% were Norwegian, 6.3% were English, 6.0% were Russian, and 1.8% were American.

There were 645 households, 17.5% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 54.3% were married couples living together, 5.7% had a female householder with no husband present, 35.3% were non-families, and 33.0% of all households were made up of individuals. The average household size was 2.05 and the average family size was 2.55. The median age was 53.4 years.

The median income for a household in the county was $37,727 and the median income for a family was $43,906. Males had a median income of $30,833 versus $24,583 for females. The per capita income for the county was $24,286. About 15.0% of families and 18.9% of the population were below the poverty line, including 31.1% of those under age 18 and 19.7% of those age 65 or over.

Population by decade

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PlotData= color:barra width:25 align:left bar:1910 from: 0 till:8103 bar:1920 from: 0 till:7935 bar:1930 from: 0 till:7373 bar:1940 from: 0 till:6616 bar:1950 from: 0 till:5253 bar:1960 from: 0 till:4350 bar:1970 from: 0 till:3232 bar:1980 from: 0 till:2819 bar:1990 from: 0 till:2148 bar:2000 from: 0 till:1710 bar:2010 from: 0 till:1321 bar:2020 from: 0 till:1265 bar:2024 from: 0 till:1268 color:darkblue

PlotData= bar:1910 at:8103 fontsize:M text:8,103 shift:(-16,6) bar:1920 at:7935 fontsize:M text:7,935 shift:(-16,6) bar:1930 at:7373 fontsize:M text:7,373 shift:(-16,6) bar:1940 at:6616 fontsize:M text:6,616 shift:(-16,6) bar:1950 at:5253 fontsize:M text:5,253 shift:(-16,6) bar:1960 at:4350 fontsize:M text:4,350 shift:(-16,6) bar:1970 at:3232 fontsize:M text:3,232 shift:(-16,6) bar:1980 at:2819 fontsize:M text:2,819 shift:(-16,6) bar:1990 at:2148 fontsize:M text:2,148 shift:(-16,6) bar:2000 at:1710 fontsize:M text:1,710 shift:(-16,6) bar:2010 at:1321 fontsize:M text:1,321 shift:(-16,6) bar:2020 at:1265 fontsize:M text:1,265 shift:(-16,6) bar:2024 at:1268 fontsize:M text:1,268 shift:(-16,6)

TextData= fontsize:S pos:(20,20) text:Data from U.S. Census Bureau

Communities

Cities

• Goodrich
• Martin
• McClusky (county seat)

Census-designated place

• Denhoff

Unincorporated communities

Source:

• Lincoln Valley
• Pickardville

Townships

• Berlin
• Boone
• Denhoff
• Edgemont
• Fairview
• Goodrich
• Highland
• Lincoln Dale
• Martin
• Mauch
• McClusky
• Pickard
• Prophets
• Rosenfield

Defunct townships

• Holmes
• New Germantown

Politics

Education

School districts include:

• Drake Public School District 57
• Anamoose Public School District 14
• Goodrich Public School District 16
• Harvey Public School District 38
• McClusky Public School District 19
• Turtle Lake-Mercer Public School District 72

References

References

1. "Explore Census Data". [[United States Census Bureau]].
2. "Find a County". [[National Association of Counties]].
3. (2006). "Dakota Territory, South Dakota, and North Dakota: Individual County Chronologies". The [[Newberry Library]].
4. "County History". State of North Dakota.
5. Wilkerson, Isabel. (January 3, 1990). "With Rural Towns Vanishing, States Choose Which to Save". [[The New York Times]].
6. (April 11, 2017). "Population Decline; The Hardest Hit Counties In Each State Since 1990". Lost Americana.
7. "Sheridan County, North Dakota". [[Google Maps]].
8. ""Find an Altitude/Sheridan County ND" Google Maps (accessed February 23, 2019)".
9. "2024 County Gazetteer Files – North Dakota". [[United States Census Bureau]].
10. "U.S. Census Bureau QuickFacts: Sheridan County, North Dakota".
11. "County Population Totals and Components of Change: 2020-2024".
12. "U.S. Decennial Census". United States Census Bureau.
13. (2007). "Historical Census Browser". University of Virginia Library.
14. Forstall, Richard L.. (April 20, 1995). "Population of Counties by Decennial Census: 1900 to 1990". United States Census Bureau.
15. "Census 2000 PHC-T-4. Ranking Tables for Counties: 1990 and 2000". United States Census Bureau.
16. "County Median Home Price". [[National Association of Realtors]].
17. "U.S. Census Bureau QuickFacts: Sheridan County, North Dakota".
18. "Sheridan County, North Dakota — Population by Race". CensusScope.
19. (October 6, 2022). "1990 Census of Population: General Population Characteristics North Dakota".
20. "P004: Hispanic or Latino, and Not Hispanic or Latino by Race – 2000: DEC Summary File 1 – Sheridan County, North Dakota". [[United States Census Bureau]].
21. "P2: Hispanic or Latino, and Not Hispanic or Latino by Race – 2010: DEC Redistricting Data (PL 94-171) – Sheridan County, North Dakota". [[United States Census Bureau]].
22. "P2: Hispanic or Latino, and Not Hispanic or Latino by Race – 2020: DEC Redistricting Data (PL 94-171) – Sheridan County, North Dakota". [[United States Census Bureau]].
23. "County Population by Characteristics: 2020-2023". United States Census Bureau.
24. "US Census Bureau, Table P16: Household Type". United States Census Bureau.
25. (2021). "2020 Decennial Census Demographic Profile (DP1)". United States Census Bureau.
26. (2021). "2020 Decennial Census Redistricting Data (Public Law 94-171)". United States Census Bureau.
27. [https://www.census.gov/geo/reference/bndrychange/changenotedisplay.php U.S. Census boundary changes - North Dakota]
28. Leip, David. "Atlas of US Presidential Elections".
29. (January 15, 2021). "2020 Census - School District Reference Map: Sheridan County, ND". [[United States Census Bureau]].