Stark

Formed February 10, 1879 (27^th county)

Stark County (33,647), Dickinson (25,671)                

The tan brick Art Deco courthouse was erected in 1937.  There was a more classic 1886 courthouse earlier.  Stark County was founded on February 10, 1879 as the 27^th county with Dickinson, the only county seat.  The county is named for railroad officer George Stark.  The county seat is named for railroad officer Wells S. Dickinson.  The courthouse is sited on 3^rd Street between Sims Avenue and 1^st Avenue East.  The courthouse is four blocks east of North Dakota State Highway 22.  William F. Kurke provided the building designs.  The building was enlarged in 2017.  Etchings of life in the county are on the courthouse front. 

Stark County government consists of a recorder, a sheriff, an attorney, and a treasurer (executive).  It has 5 Commissioners (legislative.)  Four District Court Judges serve Stark, Adams, Billings, Bowman, Dunn, Golden Valley, Hettinger, and Slope counties and a court clerk serves Stark County (judicial.)  The county is located in the southwestern part of the state.  Bismarck, North Dakota is east and Minot, North Dakota is northeast of the county.  The county center is 8.8 miles Southeast of Dickinson nearer Gladstone.  The county is surrounded clockwise by Dunn, Mercer, Morton, Grant, Hettinger, Slope, and Billings counties. 

The area of the county is 1338 square miles.  It is 21 out of 53 in the state.  It ranks 6 out of 53 in population in the state.  It has a density of 25.1 persons per square mile making it 5 out of 53 in the state.  Stark County has 84.0% of its population in its incorporated areas.  Interstate Highway 94 travels through the county from east to west from Morton County to Billings County.  United States Highway 85 enters from the northwest, Billings County, and exits to the southwest, Slope County.  The county is an overall rectangle.  Dickinson is located in the northwest quarter of the county.  Dickinson is the county seat and the largest city.  It is 76.3% of the county population.  This county is in the Dickinson Micropolitan Statistical Area.