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County · code 38061

Mountrail CountyNorth Dakota

Mountrail County is located in North Dakota and has Stanley as its county seat. The county was founded in 1873 and covers 1,825 square miles.

  • Founded1873
  • County seatStanley
  • Land area1,825 sq mi + 116 sq mi water
  • Population9,809 2020 Census
  • Parcels mapped17,148 checked 16 October 2026
Open the free map Click any parcel in Mountrail County: acreage, parcel id, address and who publishes the map. No sign-in.

Updated

BurkeWardDunnWilliamsMcKenzieMcLean Stanley Census outline · seat marked

Where it is

Mountrail on the map of North Dakota

North Dakota has 53 counties and county equivalents, each with its own records office. Shapes with a page are links.

Adams CountyBarnes CountyBenson CountyBillings CountyBottineau CountyBowman CountyBurke CountyBurleigh CountyCass CountyCavalier CountyDickey CountyDivide CountyDunn CountyEddy CountyEmmons CountyFoster CountyGolden Valley CountyGrand Forks CountyGrant CountyGriggs CountyHettinger CountyKidder CountyLaMoure CountyLogan CountyMcHenry CountyMcIntosh CountyMcKenzie CountyMcLean CountyMercer CountyMorton CountyNelson CountyOliver CountyPembina CountyPierce CountyRamsey CountyRansom CountyRenville CountyRichland CountyRolette CountySargent CountySheridan CountySioux CountySlope CountyStark CountySteele CountyStutsman CountyTowner CountyTraill CountyWalsh CountyWard CountyWells CountyWilliams CountyMountrail County Mountrail
Counties of North Dakota · Mountrail highlighted

History

Founded in 1873

An old deed may name a county that no longer exists, or a boundary that has since moved.

Mountrail County became a county in North Dakota on November 2, 1889. After losing all territory to Ward County in 1892, Mountrail was re-created from Ward in 1909 with different boundaries following a public vote.

Boundary changes from the Newberry Library, Atlas of Historical County Boundaries.

  1. 1885
    Lost territory Mountrail lost to creation of Garfield (extinct).
    to Garfield
    · Dak. Terr. Laws 1885, 16th sess., ch. 21/p. 253
  2. 1889
    Became part of North Dakota Mountrail became a county in the state of North Dakota. · U.S. Stat., vol. 25, ch. 180[1889]/pp. 676-684 and vol. 26, no. 5/pp. 1548-1549; Swindler, 7:526-527; Van Zandt, 134
  3. 1891
    Changed Mountrail attached to Ward "for judicial and other purposes."
    Ward
    · N. Dak. Laws 1891, 2d sess., ch. 77/p. 219
  4. 1892
    Lost territory Mountrail lost all territory to Ward; Mountrail eliminated, ending its attachment to Ward.
    to Ward
    · N. Dak. Laws 1891, 2d sess., ch. 50, secs. 1-5, 10-11/pp. 129-132; Hall, 224-229
  5. 1909
    Mountrail County created Mountrail re-created from Ward with somewhat different boundaries from the original Mountrail eliminated 8 November 1892. Vote authorizing the re-creation of Mountrail passed 4207 to 4024 in the general election held 3 November 1908. Litigation delayed this enactment until 16 January 1909 when the North Dakota Supreme Court upheld the vote. Mountrail not fully organized, not attached.
    from Ward
    · "State of North Dakota v. Alfred Blaisdell, et al." in N. Dak. Rpts., 18:31-44; Hall, 241-242
  6. 1909
    Changed Mountrail fully organized. · North Dakota Blue Book, 450

Land and parcels

What the maps cover in Mountrail

Who publishes each layer, how good it is, and when we last checked.

Official
from the office that keeps the record
Good enough
a reliable statewide or national copy
Fallback
a guide only; check the official record
Missing
nothing public found yet

People and land

Mountrail by the Census

Population
9,809 2020 Census count
Housing units
5,018 2020 Census count
Land area
1,825 square miles
Water area
116 square miles
People per sq mi
5 population ÷ land area

Source: US Census Bureau, 2020 Census; US Census Bureau, 2020 Gazetteer Files. Not endorsed or certified by the Census Bureau.

Rules and offices

Who to ask before you build, dig or sell

Official county pages only. We link to them; we do not copy them, because they change.

Inside a city or town, permits usually come from that city rather than the county.

Permits

Zoning and code

County government

See your own lot on these maps

Open Mountrail County on Parcel Chart's free map and click your parcel. Save it with a free account; the full record of your place (site map, projects, documents) is Pro, in early access.

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Questions

Common questions about Mountrail County

When was Mountrail County founded?
Mountrail County was founded in 1873.
What is the county seat of Mountrail County?
The county seat of Mountrail County is Stanley.
Is there an online parcel map for Mountrail County?
Yes. Mountrail County publishes a parcel map of 17,148 parcels, rated good enough here. You can click any parcel on it in Parcel Chart's free map, no sign-in needed.
Has Mountrail County's boundary or name changed?
Mountrail County was created in 1909. Since then the Atlas of Historical County Boundaries records 5 later changes, chiefly involving Ward County and Garfield County.
Who issues building permits in Mountrail County?
The county's page on building permits: Building Permit Application. Inside a city or town, ask that city first.
Is my lot in a flood zone?
We do not have flood maps for Mountrail County yet. Look up the address on FEMA's Flood Map Service Center, which shows the effective flood map for any lot.

Nearby

Counties next door