Golden Valley County, North Dakota
| Golden Valley County, North Dakota | |
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Golden Valley County Courthouse in Beach
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 Location in the U.S. state of North Dakota |
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 North Dakota's location in the U.S. |
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| Founded | November 13, 1912 |
| Seat | Beach |
| Largest city | Beach |
| Area | |
| • Total | 1,002 sq mi (2,595 km2) |
| • Land | 1,001 sq mi (2,593 km2) |
| • Water | 1.6 sq mi (4 km2), 0.2% |
| Population (est.) | |
| • (2016) | 1,817 |
| • Density | 1.7/sq mi (1/km²) |
| Congressional district | At-large |
| Time zone | Mountain: UTC-7/-6 |
| Website | www |
Golden Valley County is a county located in the U.S. state of North Dakota. As of the 2010 census, the population was 1,680, making it the fourth-least populous county in North Dakota. The county seat is Beach. The county was organized on November 13, 1912.
The county should not be confused with the city of Golden Valley, which is located in Mercer County.
Golden Valley was originally part of Billings County. Voters elected to separate from Billings County in 1910, but litigation prevented formal organization of the county until 1912. The territory in the surrounding area was colloquially referred to as, Rattlesnake Flats, due to the large number of the snakes found in the area. The region was dubbed Golden Valley in 1902 after a group of land surveyors noticed that the sunlight gave the surrounding grasses a distinct golden color.
The vote in 1910 to create Golden Valley County was 837 for and 756 against. Shortly after the vote was certified, suit was filed against the Billings County Commission to overturn the result. The plaintiffs alleged that the certification of election was improper, and that certain pre-marked "unofficial" ballots printed by supporters of the new county were cast in place of official ballots, and should be voided. The trial court originally ruled in favor of the plaintiffs. The county appealed to the North Dakota Supreme Court, which upheld the county's certification of the election. The court also ruled the pre-marked ballots were invalid, but that the number of invalid votes was not sufficient to overturn the election results. The court's decision upholding the new county was made on September 19, 1912, and Golden Valley was formally organized on November 13, 1912.
According to the U.S. Census Bureau, the county has a total area of 1,002 square miles (2,600 km2), of which 1,001 square miles (2,590 km2) is land and 1.6 square miles (4.1 km2) (0.2%) is water.
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