MCHENRY COUNTY HISTORY BACKGROUND


During the Dakota Territory Legislature processes in 1872-1873, large portions of Dakota Territory on both sides of the Missouri River were divided into twenty-seven counties. McHenry County was included. The history of McHenry County as well as all North Dakota Counties is picturized here.
The county was named for James Edward McHenry, a member of the Territorial Legislature. He was never known to actually have resided in McHenry County at any time.
In the year that North Dakota was established, the Legislature changed some of the county lines and McHenry County gained some land from the northern part of Stevens County. In 1887 McHenry County lost portions to Church, Pierce, and Ward Counties but gained portions from Bottineau and Wynn Counties. In 1892 the County became as it is today by gaining some portions of Church County.
It was over ten years before a formal meeting was held by County commissioners on 15 October 1884 at Villard and was clouded somewhat by apparently self-appointed Commissioners O. M. Towner, Ed Hackett, and Marion Pace. Other than a newspaper article, with no sources, there is no public record, available today, appointing them. After being sworn in by someone, they proceeded to organize the county and appoint temporary officers until determined by an election. There is no record of the vote or of anyone else participating in the discussion.
The next recorded meeting was on 8 November 1884. It was immediately closed with no Board majority and reconvened on 10 November 1884 with Commissioners Hackett and Towner present. At that meeting it is recorded that Parley Teare was Assessor and W. D. McClintock was Judge of Probate. The final meeting of this self-appointed Board was on 13 November 1884.
In 1884 most of the county residents called for an election and there was one scheduled for 4 November but it was canceled because the County Commissioners refused to provide a legal notice to the County voters. The Territorial Governor then became involved and the Legislative Assembly of the Dakota Territory passed an act for a McHenry County election on the second Tuesday in May 1885 for the election of county officers and temporary location of a county seat and established four election precincts. As a result of the election the following were elected; Commissioners: A. L. Hanscom, Ole Gilbertson, and J. M. Pendroy; Auditor: Olaf Berg; Treasurer: Marion Pace; Register of Deeds: George I. Inkster; Sheriff: Benjamain Reed; Judge of Probate: A. J. Oslie; Justice of the Peace: H. B. Johnson; Superintendent of Schools: George A. Cameron; Assessor: John A. Larson; Surveyor: J. T. Bailey, and Constable: Dan Westine. The Temporary County Seat was established as Scriptown.
The first meeting of the elected County Commissioners was held at Scriptown on 12 June 1885. J. M. Pendroy was selected Chairman of the Board. On 20 September 1886 the Commissioners established a general election for a permanent county seat location. The election resulted in Towner being the permanent location and the Commissioners established that the effective date would be 18 December 1886.

Sources:
1. State Historical Society of North Dakota
2. McHenry County: Its History and Its People, 1885-1985
3. McHenry County Historical and Personal---Sketches of the Mouse River Valley
4. North Dakota County Formation History