kids encyclopedia robot

Cavalier County, North Dakota facts for kids

Kids Encyclopedia Facts
Quick facts for kids
Cavalier County
Cavalier County Courthouse
Cavalier County Courthouse
Map of North Dakota highlighting Cavalier County
Location within the U.S. state of North Dakota
Map of the United States highlighting North Dakota
North Dakota's location within the U.S.
Country  United States
State  North Dakota
Founded 1873 (created)
1884 (organized)
Seat Langdon
Largest city Langdon
Area
 • Total 1,510 sq mi (3,900 km2)
 • Land 1,489 sq mi (3,860 km2)
 • Water 21 sq mi (50 km2)  1.4%
Population
 (2020)
 • Total 3,704
 • Estimate 
(2021)
3,662
 • Density 2.453/sq mi (0.947/km2)
Time zone UTC−6 (Central)
 • Summer (DST) UTC−5 (CDT)
Congressional district At-large

Cavalier County is a county in the U.S. state of North Dakota. It is south of the Canada–US border with Manitoba. As of the 2020 census, the population was 3,704. Its county seat is Langdon. The city of Cavalier is in nearby Pembina County.

History

Cavalier County was created from the western part of Pembina County, North Dakota in 1873 and named by the Territorial Legislature for Charles Turner Cavileer (1818–1902), a well known fur trader, customs agent and postmaster. There is no explanation for the difference in the spelling of "Cavalier," though one placename historian suspects it was an attempt to Gallicize, or make the name appear French.

After petitioning the Territorial Governor for permission to organize the county, Patrick McHugh, W. Hudson Matthews, and L.C. Noracong met for the purpose on July 8, 1884. On July 26 the new county officials met for the second time and chose Noracong as Chairman of the Board with William H. Doyle and Matthews as Commissioners. The first Register of Deeds and County Clerk was McHugh. W.J. Mooney became the first Judge of Probate, Charles B. Nelson was the first Cavalier County Supt. of Schools, and Clarence Hawkes the first Sheriff. Cavalier took its current form in 1887 after the Territorial Legislature authorized an increase in size by taking a portion from Pembina County. The expansion added 15 new townships to the county.

The site of the new county seat was chosen at this meeting and named Langdon after Robert Bruce Langdon of Minnesota and official with the Great Northern Railroad. Langdon never visited the town, but reportedly donated a bell for the local school.

The first court house was built in the fall of 1884 at a cost of $360.00. It was used briefly and then abandoned for warmer and more centrally located quarters in a downtown bank. A large brick court house was built in 1895 on the present site at a contract cost of $9,099.00. This building served county officials until the current court house was constructed in 1957-58.

Cavalier County Historical Society

Established after 1969 - The Holy Trinity Church at Dresden, ND became the cornerstone of the County museum. It now houses local historic artifacts and landmarks.

The Holy Trinity Church at Dresden replaced two previous wooden structures that both burned. The present structure was erected in 1936, built out of fieldstone collected by the local parishioners. An architect from Minneapolis, Fabian Redmond, designed the building. A stonemason from Rugby ND, Edroy Patterson, directed volunteer workers.

Assisting in the building of the church were Andrew Bachman-head carpenter, Alphonse Hiltner, Stanley Koehmstedt and William Geisen.

Geography

According to the U.S. Census Bureau, the county has a total area of 1,510 square miles (3,900 km2), of which 1,489 square miles (3,860 km2) is land and 21 square miles (54 km2) (1.4%) is water.

Adjacent counties and rural municipalities

Major highways

  • North Dakota 1.svg North Dakota Highway 1
  • North Dakota 5.svg North Dakota Highway 5
  • North Dakota 20.svg North Dakota Highway 20
  • North Dakota 66.png North Dakota Highway 66

Demographics

Historical population
Census Pop.
1890 6,471
1900 12,580 94.4%
1910 15,659 24.5%
1920 15,555 −0.7%
1930 14,554 −6.4%
1940 13,923 −4.3%
1950 11,840 −15.0%
1960 10,064 −15.0%
1970 8,213 −18.4%
1980 7,636 −7.0%
1990 6,064 −20.6%
2000 4,831 −20.3%
2010 3,993 −17.3%
2020 3,704 −7.2%
2021 (est.) 3,662 −8.3%
U.S. Decennial Census
1790-1960 1900-1990
1990-2000 2010-2020

2010 census

As of the 2010 census, there were 3,993 people, 1,818 households, and 1,142 families in the county. The population density was 2.7 inhabitants per square mile (1.0/km2). There were 2,309 housing units at an average density of 1.6 per square mile (0.62/km2). The racial makeup of the county was 97.7% white, 0.9% American Indian, 0.2% Asian, 0.1% black or African American, 0.2% from other races, and 0.8% from two or more races. Those of Hispanic or Latino origin made up 0.6% of the population. In terms of ancestry, 44.5% were German, 28.8% were Norwegian, 10.8% were American, 5.8% were Irish, 5.7% were Swedish, and 5.4% were English.

Of the 1,818 households, 21.8% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 55.7% were married couples living together, 4.0% had a female householder with no husband present, 37.2% were non-families, and 34.2% of all households were made up of individuals. The average household size was 2.15 and the average family size was 2.74. The median age was 50.3 years.

The median income for a household in the county was $48,786 and the median income for a family was $57,066. Males had a median income of $41,885 versus $26,914 for females. The per capita income for the county was $26,468. About 6.1% of families and 8.2% of the population were below the poverty line, including 12.8% of those under age 18 and 10.8% of those age 65 or over.

Communities

Cities

Townships

  • Alma
  • Banner
  • Billings
  • Bruce
  • Byron
  • Cypress
  • Dresden
  • Easby
  • East Alma
  • Elgin
  • Fremont
  • Glenila
  • Gordon
  • Grey
  • Harvey
  • Hay
  • Henderson
  • Hope
  • Huron
  • Langdon
  • Linden
  • Loam
  • Manilla
  • Minto
  • Montrose
  • Moscow
  • Mount Carmel
  • Nekoma
  • North Loma
  • North Olga
  • Osford
  • Osnabrock
  • Perry
  • Seivert
  • South Dresden
  • South Olga
  • Storlie
  • Trier
  • Waterloo
  • West Hope

Unincorporated communities

See also

Kids robot.svg In Spanish: Condado de Cavalier para niños

kids search engine
Cavalier County, North Dakota Facts for Kids. Kiddle Encyclopedia.