Grand Forks

Formed January 4, 1873 (8^th county)

Grand Forks County (73,169), Grand Forks (59,170)                

A Modern masonry County Administration facility was erected in 1999 to support the 1913 courthouse.  The courthouse is on 4^th Street at 1^st Avenue.  United States Highway 2 Business passes one blocks to the northwest of the location.  Buechner and Orth provided the Beaux Arts designs for the masonry courthouse.  The facility features faux columns.  Veteran memorials are on the grounds.  There was an 1880 version earlier in Grand Forks, the only county seat.  The county was founded on January 4, 1873 as the 8^th county.  The county and county seat are named for the combination of the Red River and the Red Lake River.  Grand Forks County is the birthplace of 1 North Dakota governor; Walter J. Maddock. 

Grand Forks County government consists of a recorder, a sheriff, an attorney, and a treasurer (executive).  It has 5 Commissioners (legislative.)  Five District Court Judges serve Grand Forks and Nelson counties and a court clerk serves Grand Forks County (judicial.)  The county is located on the northeast border with Minnesota.  Fargo, North Dakota is south and Minot, North Dakota is west of the county.  The county center is 18.8 miles West-Northwest of Grand Forks nearer Mekinock.  The county is surrounded clockwise by Walsh County and Minnesota and Traill, Steele, and Nelson counties. 

The area of the county is 1438 square miles.  It is 17 out of 53 in the state.  It ranks 3 out of 53 in population in the state.  It has a density of 50.9 persons per square mile making it 3 out of 53 in the state.  Grand Forks County has 87.1% of its population in its incorporated areas.  Interstate Highway 29 passes north to south in the county from Walsh County to Traill County.  United States Highway 2 crosses east to west from Minnesota to Nelson County.  United States Highway 81 enters from the north, Walsh County, and joins Interstate Highway 29 into Traill County.  The county looks like a fat plow.  The City of Grand Forks is on the eastern border of the county.  Grand Forks is the county seat and the largest city.  It is 80.9% of the county population.  This county is in the Grand Forks Metropolitan Statistical Area.

Reynolds