Ward County is a county in the U.S. state of North Dakota. As of the 2020 census, the population was 69,919,^[1] making it the fourth most populous county in North Dakota. Its county seat is Minot.^[2] Ward County is part of the Minot, ND Micropolitan Statistical Area.

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Ward County
County
Ward County Administration Building
Location within the U.S. state of North Dakota
North Dakota's location within the U.S.
Coordinates: 48°13′N 101°33′W
Country	United States
State	North Dakota
Founded	April 14, 1885 (created) November 23, 1885 (organized)
Named for	Mark Ward
Seat	Minot
Largest city	Minot
Area
• Total	2,056 sq mi (5,330 km2)
• Land	2,013 sq mi (5,210 km2)
• Water	43 sq mi (110 km2)  2.1%
Population  (2020)
• Total	69,919
• Estimate  (2023)	68,332
• Density	34/sq mi (13/km2)
Time zone	UTC−6 (Central)
• Summer (DST)	UTC−5 (CDT)
Congressional district	At-large
Website	www.co.ward.nd.us

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The Dakota Territory legislature created the county on April 14, 1885, with areas partitioned from Renville, Stevens, and Wynn counties (Stevens and Wynn counties are now extinct). The county government was not organized at that date; the organization was effected on November 23 of that year. The county was named for Mark Ward, chairman of the House of Representatives Committee on Counties during the session. Burlington was the county seat; this was changed to Minot in 1888.^[3]

The boundaries of Ward County were altered two times in 1887, and in 1892, 1909 and 1910. The present county boundaries have been in place since 1910.^[4]

Until 1908, Ward County included what is now Burke, Mountrail, and Renville counties; this landmass often being referred to as 'Imperial Ward' County and which was the largest county in the state at the time. In 1908, voters took up measures to partition the county. The results for that portion forming Mountrail County were accepted but the results for the portions that would become Burke and Renville counties were disputed in court, which resulted in favorable rulings in 1910.^[5] When the proposed county lines for Burke and Renville counties were drawn, neither group wanted to include Kenmare and risk that city's becoming the county seat, so Kenmare was left in Ward County at the end of a narrow strip of land, commonly referred to as the 'gooseneck'.^[6] One of the options reportedly considered around this time was to create a fifth county, Lake, with Kenmare as its seat.

The Des Lacs River flows southeasterly through the northeast part of the county before doubling to the northeast on its journey to Lake Winnipeg. The county terrain consists of low rolling hills, dotted with ponds and lakes in its southern part, and carved by drainage gullies. The area is largely devoted to agriculture.^[7] The terrain slopes to the east and north, with its highest point near the southwest corner, at 2,175 ft (663 m) ASL.^[8] The county has a total area of 2,056 square miles (5,330 km²), of which 2,013 square miles (5,210 km²) is land and 43 square miles (110 km²) (2.1%) is water.^[9] It is the fifth-largest county in North Dakota by land area.

Ward County voters are traditionally and increasingly Republican. In only one national election since 1944 (1964) has the county selected the Democratic Party candidate. In 2020, Donald Trump received 70.7% of the vote in this county, the highest for any candidate since Theodore Roosevelt, although his margin relative to his Democratic opponent declined from 2016, most likely due to the high number of third party votes from the 2016 election cycle in Ward County.

• National Register of Historic Places listings in Ward County, North Dakota