Солтүстік Дакота штатының Мерсер округі

County in North Dakota, United States

Mercer County is a county in the U. S. state of North Dakota. As of the 2020 census, the population was 8,350. Its county seat is Stanton.

The Dakota Territory legislature enacted an January 8, 1873 law to create a county named Mercer, whose boundaries would be identical to Pratt (a now extinct county). This county did not come into existence, as the 1873 act was nullified on January 14, 1875, by the legislature. On that date the legislature created another Mercer County, from previously unorganized territory. The county was named for William Henry Harrison Mercer, (1844–1901), a rancher who settled north of Bismarck in 1869. The unorganized county was not attached to another county for judicial or administrative purposes; this condition continued until November 6, 1883, when the county government was organized. The county boundaries were altered in 1879, 1881, 1885, 1892, and 1901. Its boundaries have remained unchanged since 1901.

The northern boundary of Mercer County is delineated by Lake Sakakawea, created in 1956 on the Missouri River. The county's eastern boundary is delineated by the river as it flows southeastward from the dam that created the lake. The county terrain consists of rolling hills, largely devoted to agriculture. The terrain slopes to the north and east; its highest point is near the midpoint of its southern boundary, at 2,451 feet (747 m) ASL. The county has a total area of 1112 square miles (2,880 km2), of which 1043 square miles (2,701 km2) is land and 70 square miles (181 km2) (6.3%) is water. The southwestern corner counties of North Dakota (Adams, Billings, Bowman, Golden Valley, Grant, Hettinger, Slope, Stark) observe Mountain Time. The counties of McKenzie, Dunn, and Sioux counties are split, with their northern portions observing Central Time and the southern portions observing Mountain Time. Prior to November 7, 2010, the western portion of Mercer County was in Mountain Time. But it was all moved into the Central Time on that date.