Traill

Formed January 12, 1875 (23^rd county)

Traill County (8,000), Hillsboro (1,651), Mayville (1,851)

A classy domed Beaux Arts 1906 courthouse has received an addition in 1955.  It is located on a square at 1^st Street, Caledonia Avenue, 2^nd Street, and 1^st Avenue.  First Street is North Dakota State Highway 200 in the town.  Buechner & Orth are the building designers.  The structure features a tower with a President Lincoln statue and veteran memorials on the grounds.  The county was formed on January 12, 1875 as the 23^rd county.  Caledonia was the first county seat until 1889 when Hillsboro assumed the role.  Traill County is named for Walter John Strickland Traill, employee of the Hudson Bay Company.  The county seat is named for railroad president, James J. Hill. 

Traill County government consists of a recorder, a sheriff, an attorney, and a treasurer (executive).  It has 5 Commissioners (legislative.)  Seven District Court Judges serve Traill, Cass, and Steele counties and a court clerk serves Traill County (judicial.)  Traill County is situated on the eastern border with Minnesota.  Fargo, North Dakota is south and Grand Forks, North Dakota is north of the county.  The county center is 6.6 miles Northwest of Hillsboro.  The county is surrounded clockwise by Grand Forks County and Minnesota and Cass and Steele counties. 

The area of the county is 862 square miles.  It is 47 out of 53 in the state.  It ranks 18 out of 53 in population in the state.  It has a density of 9.3 persons per square mile making it 12 out of 53 in the state.  Traill County has 68.5% of its population in its incorporated areas.  Interstate Highway 29 passes through the county from north to south from Grand Forks County to Cass County.  United States Highway 81 is joined with Interstate Highway 29 from Grand Forks to Cass counties.  The county is an overall rectangular shape.  Hillsboro is in the southeast quarter of the county.  Mayville is located in the western third of the county.  Hillsboro is the county seat and Mayville is the largest city.  Hillsboro is 20.6% of the county population while Mayville is 23.1% of the county population.