McHenry

Formed January 4, 1873 (12^th county)

McHenry County (5,332), Towner (479), Velva (1,096)   

A classier tan brick domed Beaux Arts courthouse serves McHenry County.  It was erected in 1908 and is located at Main Street, 5^th Avenue Southwest, 1^st Street Southeast, and 6^th Avenue Southwest.  North Dakota State Highway 14 is Main Street in the town.  The facility was designed by Buechner and Orth.  It features columns.  McHenry County was formed on January 4, 1873 as the 12^th county.  Villard (1884), Scritom (1885), and Towner (1888) all served as the county seat.  The county is named for settler James McHenry.  The county seat is named for Civil War Colonel Oscar M. Towner.  He is the same namesake for Towner County. 

McHenry County government consists of a recorder, a sheriff, an attorney, and a treasurer (executive).  It has 5 Commissioners (legislative.)  Seven District Court Judges serve McHenry, Benson, Bottineau, Cavalier, Pembina, Pierce, Ramsey, Renville, Rolette, Towner, and Walsh counties and a court clerk serves McHenry County (judicial.)  McHenry County is in northern North Dakota.  Minot, North Dakota is west and Bismarck, North Dakota is south of the county.  The county center is 18.5 miles Southwest of Towner nearer Denbigh.  The county is surrounded clockwise by Bottineau, Pierce, Sheridan, McLean, Ward, and Renville counties. 

The area of the county is 1874 square miles.  It is 8 out of 53 in the state.  It ranks 23 out of 53 in population in the state.  It has a density of 2.8 persons per square mile making it 33 out of 53 in the state.  McHenry County has 51.1% of its population in its incorporated areas.  United States Highway 2 crosses the county east to west from Pierce County to Ward County.  United States Highway 52 comes from Sheridan County, southeast, and goes to Ward County, west.  The county resembles a fire hydrant.  Towner is located in the northeast quarter of the county.  Velva is in the southwest quarter of the county.  Towner is the county seat and Velva is the largest city.  Towner is 9.0% of the county population while Velva is 20.6% of the county population.  This county is in the Minot Micropolitan Statistical Area.

Voltaire