{"id":6732,"date":"2023-08-15T22:52:24","date_gmt":"2023-08-15T22:52:24","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/townsvillages.com\/us\/?p=6732"},"modified":"2026-08-16T19:08:28","modified_gmt":"2026-08-16T19:08:28","slug":"mcintosh-county-north-dakota","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/townsvillages.com\/us\/mcintosh-county-north-dakota\/","title":{"rendered":"McIntosh County, North Dakota"},"content":{"rendered":"<p>McIntosh County is a county in North Dakota, United States, on the state&#8217;s southern border with South Dakota. It had a population of 2,530 at the 2020 census and covers 994.6 square miles (2,575.9 km2) centred near 46\u00b006\u2032N 99\u00b025\u2032W.<\/p>\n<p>Ashley is the county seat, and its postal code is 58413. The county holds five incorporated cities, one unincorporated community, and three unorganized territories. McIntosh County sits in the Central time zone.<\/p>\n<h2>Towns &amp; Villages in McIntosh County<\/h2>\n<p>McIntosh County has five incorporated cities and one small unincorporated community. Wishek is the largest city; all the incorporated places are classed &ldquo;City&rdquo; under North Dakota law, and Danzig is unincorporated.<\/p>\n<div class=\"tv-table-scroll\">\n<table>\n<thead>\n<tr>\n<th>Place<\/th>\n<th>Type<\/th>\n<th>Pop.<\/th>\n<th>ZIP<\/th>\n<\/tr>\n<\/thead>\n<tbody>\n<tr>\n<td>Ashley<\/td>\n<td>City &middot; seat<\/td>\n<td>613<\/td>\n<td>58413<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<tr>\n<td>Wishek<\/td>\n<td>City<\/td>\n<td>&mdash;<\/td>\n<td>58495<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<tr>\n<td>Zeeland<\/td>\n<td>City<\/td>\n<td>&mdash;<\/td>\n<td>58581<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<tr>\n<td>Lehr<\/td>\n<td>City<\/td>\n<td>&mdash;<\/td>\n<td>58460<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<tr>\n<td>Venturia<\/td>\n<td>City<\/td>\n<td>&mdash;<\/td>\n<td>&mdash;<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<tr>\n<td>Danzig<\/td>\n<td>Unincorp.<\/td>\n<td>&mdash;<\/td>\n<td>&mdash;<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<\/tbody>\n<\/table>\n<\/div>\n<p>Lehr straddles the McIntosh&ndash;Logan county line, with part of the city in each county. Venturia and Danzig have no standard delivery ZIP of their own; mail there is typically routed through Ashley or Wishek.<\/p>\n<h2>ZIP Codes<\/h2>\n<ul>\n<li>58413 &mdash; Ashley<\/li>\n<li>58495 &mdash; Wishek<\/li>\n<li>58581 &mdash; Zeeland<\/li>\n<li>58460 &mdash; Lehr (also serves the Logan County side of the city)<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p>Venturia and the unincorporated community of Danzig are not assigned their own ZIP code and are served by the nearest post office listed above.<\/p>\n<h2>Geography<\/h2>\n<p>McIntosh County lies on the drift prairie of south-central North Dakota, a rolling landscape of glacial till dotted with small lakes and sloughs. Of its total area, 974.6 square miles are land and 20.0 square miles (2.0%) are water. The county has no major river; its wetlands feed small tributaries of the James River basin to the east.<\/p>\n<p>McIntosh County is bordered by <a href=\"https:\/\/townsvillages.com\/us\/logan-county-north-dakota\/\">Logan County<\/a> to the north, <a href=\"https:\/\/townsvillages.com\/us\/lamoure-county\/\">LaMoure County<\/a> to the northeast, <a href=\"https:\/\/townsvillages.com\/us\/dickey-county\/\">Dickey County<\/a> to the east, <a href=\"https:\/\/townsvillages.com\/us\/mcpherson-county-south-dakota\/\">McPherson County, South Dakota<\/a> and <a href=\"https:\/\/townsvillages.com\/us\/campbell-county-south-dakota\/\">Campbell County, South Dakota<\/a> to the south, and <a href=\"https:\/\/townsvillages.com\/us\/emmons-county\/\">Emmons County<\/a> to the west.<\/p>\n<h2>Demographics<\/h2>\n<p>McIntosh County had a population of 2,530 at the 2020 census, at a density of about 2.6 people per square mile &mdash; one of the more sparsely settled counties in the state. Wishek is the county&#8217;s largest city and Ashley, with 613 residents, is the county seat. The county&#8217;s median household income trails the North Dakota median of $76,525. McIntosh County is nationally known for its German heritage: as of the 2010 census, more than 76% of residents reported German ancestry, one of the highest shares of any county in the country, and German ancestry remained the leading group in the 2020 count.<\/p>\n<h2>Economy &amp; Local Life<\/h2>\n<p>Agriculture drives the county economy &mdash; wheat, sunflowers, and cattle ranching on the drift prairie, supported by grain elevators in Ashley, Wishek, and Zeeland. Wishek is home to Wishek Community Hospital and the county&#8217;s largest school district. Ashley, the county seat, hosts the McIntosh County courthouse and county offices. Farming and ranching remain the largest employers by far in a county with under three people per square mile, and most families here trace their land back several generations to the original German-Russian homesteaders. German-Russian heritage is a strong thread in local life, reflected in area Lutheran and Catholic churches and community festivals built around that ancestry.<\/p>\n<h2>History<\/h2>\n<p>McIntosh County was created by the Dakota Territorial legislature on March 9, 1883, and organized as a county on October 4, 1884. It is named for Edward H. McIntosh, a territorial legislator. Like much of south-central North Dakota, the county was settled heavily by German-speaking immigrants from Russia&#8217;s Black Sea region in the late 19th century, giving the area its lasting German-American character. The railroad reached the county in the early 1900s, and the towns of Ashley, Wishek, and Zeeland grew up along the line as shipping points for the surrounding wheat farms &mdash; a pattern common across the drift prairie counties of south-central North Dakota.<\/p>\n<h2>Getting There<\/h2>\n<p>No U.S. highway crosses McIntosh County; North Dakota Highways 3, 11, and 13 provide the main routes through the county, connecting its towns to the wider state highway network.<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>Bismarck &mdash; 90 miles northwest<\/li>\n<li>Jamestown &mdash; 55 miles northeast<\/li>\n<li>Aberdeen, South Dakota &mdash; 60 miles south<\/li>\n<li>Fargo &mdash; 190 miles east<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p>The nearest commercial airport is Bismarck Municipal Airport.<\/p>\n<h2>Frequently Asked Questions<\/h2>\n<p><strong>Where is McIntosh County, North Dakota?<\/strong><br \/>\nIt is in south-central North Dakota, on the South Dakota border.<\/p>\n<p><strong>What is the population of McIntosh County?<\/strong><br \/>\n2,530 at the 2020 census.<\/p>\n<p><strong>How big is McIntosh County?<\/strong><br \/>\n994.6 square miles (2,575.9 km2), of which 20.0 square miles are water.<\/p>\n<p><strong>What is the McIntosh County seat?<\/strong><br \/>\nAshley is the county seat.<\/p>\n<p><strong>How many towns are in McIntosh County?<\/strong><br \/>\nFive incorporated cities &mdash; Ashley, Wishek, Zeeland, Lehr, and Venturia &mdash; plus the unincorporated community of Danzig.<\/p>\n<p><strong>What ZIP codes are in McIntosh County?<\/strong><br \/>\n58413 (Ashley), 58495 (Wishek), 58581 (Zeeland), and 58460 (Lehr).<\/p>\n<p><strong>Why is McIntosh County known for German heritage?<\/strong><br \/>\nAs of 2010, over 76% of residents reported German ancestry, among the highest shares of any U.S. county, a legacy of German-Russian settlers who arrived in the late 1800s.<\/p>\n<p>More counties in this state: <a href=\"https:\/\/townsvillages.com\/us\/category\/north-dakota\/\">Towns and villages in North Dakota<\/a>.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>McIntosh County is a county in North Dakota, United States, on the state&#8217;s southern border with South Dakota. It had a population of 2,530 at the 2020 census and covers 994.6 square miles (2,575.9 km2) centred near 46\u00b006\u2032N 99\u00b025\u2032W. Ashley is the county seat, and its postal code is 58413. The county holds five incorporated [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_seopress_titles_title":"Towns & Villages in McIntosh County, North Dakota","_seopress_titles_desc":"McIntosh County, ND: population, Ashley the county seat, ZIP codes, towns, geography, history and FAQ for this German-heritage prairie county.","_seopress_robots_index":"","_seopress_robots_follow":"","_seopress_robots_imageindex":"","_seopress_robots_snippet":"","_seopress_robots_primary_cat":"","_seopress_robots_breadcrumbs":"","_seopress_robots_freeze_modified_date":"","_seopress_robots_custom_modified_date":"","_seopress_robots_canonical":"","_seopress_social_fb_title":"","_seopress_social_fb_desc":"","_seopress_social_fb_img":"","_seopress_social_fb_img_attachment_id":0,"_seopress_social_fb_img_width":0,"_seopress_social_fb_img_height":0,"_seopress_social_twitter_title":"","_seopress_social_twitter_desc":"","_seopress_social_twitter_img":"","_seopress_social_twitter_img_attachment_id":0,"_seopress_social_twitter_img_width":0,"_seopress_social_twitter_img_height":0,"_seopress_redirections_value":"","_seopress_redirections_enabled":"","_seopress_redirections_enabled_regex":"","_seopress_redirections_logged_status":"","_seopress_redirections_param":"","_seopress_redirections_type":0,"_seopress_analysis_target_kw":"","_genesis_hide_title":false,"_genesis_hide_breadcrumbs":false,"_genesis_hide_singular_image":false,"_genesis_hide_footer_widgets":false,"_genesis_custom_body_class":"","_genesis_custom_post_class":"","_genesis_layout":"","_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[41],"tags":[6],"class_list":["post-6732","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","category-north-dakota","tag-towns-and-cities","entry"],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/townsvillages.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/6732","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/townsvillages.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/townsvillages.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/townsvillages.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/townsvillages.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=6732"}],"version-history":[{"count":2,"href":"https:\/\/townsvillages.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/6732\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":10300,"href":"https:\/\/townsvillages.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/6732\/revisions\/10300"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/townsvillages.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=6732"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/townsvillages.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=6732"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/townsvillages.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=6732"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}