The government of Renville County was organized on this day in 1910, although it was not the first or only Renville County created in North Dakota. The county North Dakotans know as Renville County today is actually the second county in the state to be named Renville. The original Renville County was created by the Dakota Territory Legislature in 1872. After several unsuccessful attempts to lure settlers into the county though, this first Renville County was dissolved by the state government in 1891 due to lack of population.

Eighteen years later, many residents of Ward County, specifically in the northern end, found themselves dissatisfied with their own county organization. With the county seat at Minot, several communities felt detached and remote from the decision and policy-making of the county. They viewed the immense Ward county as an “empire county” and wanted to partition it in order to bring their own home-rule closer. They also claimed a desire to end the practice of county officers travelling thousands of miles a year and claiming outrageous business expenses in the vast county. The northern residents of the county proposed dividing the county into two separate counties. The city of Mohall was especially adamant in campaigning for a separate county government.

Residents campaigned, donated funds to the project, and volunteered their time to the cause. They proposed that the new county be named Renville, a revival of the original county’s name. In the November 1908 general election, Ward County residents voted on the partition bill. Although the proposal was defeated during the election, the desires and enthusiasm of the county’s northern faction won the day and Renville County was formed after cooperative litigations.
Governor John Burke formally organized the county by appointing three county commissioners, including a farmer, an elevator operator, and a drugstore owner. Mohall, partly in response to its enthusiastic efforts during the partition campaign, was named the county seat.

Sources:
http://www.nd.gov/content.htm?parentCatID=83&id=County%20History
http://www.renvillecounty.org/

--Jayme L. Job

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