The Dakota Territory legislature created the county on March 8, 1883, with areas partitioned from Cavalier and Rolette counties. It was named for Oscar M. Towner (1842–1897), a businessman and member of the 15th territorial legislature. The county organization was not completed at that time, and the county was attached to Pembina County for judicial and administrative purposes. That lasted until January 24, 1884, when the county organization was effected, and its attachment to Pembina was dissolved. However, on January 26, 1889, the county was attached to Ramsey County for judicial and administrative purposes. This arrangement only lasted a few months. The boundaries of Towner County, as first formed, have not been altered to the present (as of 2019).[3][4]
Towner County lies on the north line of North Dakota, and thus on the north line of the continental United States. Its north boundary line abuts the south boundary line of Canada. Its terrain consists of rolling hills dotted with lakes and ponds. The area is devoted to agriculture.[5] The Laurentian Divide runs across Towner County - the northern terrain slopes to the north while the southern terrain slopes to the south, and the county as a whole slightly slopes to the east.[6] The county has a total area of 1,041 square miles (2,700 km2), of which 1,025 square miles (2,650 km2) is land and 17 square miles (44 km2) (1.6%) is water.[7]
U.S. Decennial Census[9] 1790-1960[10] 1900-1990[11] 1990-2000[12] 2010-2020[1]
2020 census
As of the census of 2020, there were 2,162 people.
2010 census
As of the census of 2010, there were 2,246 people, 1,048 households, and 639 families in the county. The population density was 2.19 people per square mile (0.85 people/km2). There were 1,449 housing units at an average density of 1.41 units per square mile (0.54/km2). The racial makeup of the county was 96.7% white, 2.2% American Indian, 0.1% black or African American, 0.3% from other races, and 0.7% from two or more races. Those of Hispanic or Latino origin made up 0.4% of the population. In terms of ancestry, 46.5% were German, 41.5% were Norwegian, 10.4% were Irish, 7.4% were English, 5.5% were Swedish, and 3.2% were American.
Of the 1,048 households, 22.2% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 51.5% were married couples living together, 6.0% had a female householder with no husband present, 39.0% were non-families, and 36.4% of all households were made up of individuals. The average household size was 2.10 and the average family size was 2.71. The median age was 50.3 years.
The median income for a household in the county was $43,684 and the median income for a family was $54,609. Males had a median income of $36,350 versus $26,164 for females. The per capita income for the county was $24,203. About 8.5% of families and 10.3% of the population were below the poverty line, including 17.1% of those under age 18 and 9.7% of those age 65 or over.
Bisbee-Egeland School District - Formed in 1980 with the merger of the Bisbee and Egeland districts,[16] known as West Central School District 12 and East Central School District 12, respectively.[17] Merged into North Star Schools in 2008.[16]
