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North Dakota County
Bottineau County, North Dakota
Lake Metigoshe and the Turtle Mountain forests - from Lake Metigoshe State Park (the forested lake park in the Turtle Mountains - the only forested upland landscape in otherwise flat north-central North Dakota - provides swimming, boating, camping, and fishing in a setting that feels more like Minnesota's Boundary Waters than the Great Plains, making it one of North Dakota's most beloved and distinctive state parks) and Tommy the Turtle (the 35-foot concrete turtle mascot in Bottineau - one of North Dakota's most recognized roadside art figures - welcoming visitors to the Turtle Mountain region with a landmark that has greeted travelers since 1978).
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Office: Bottineau County Emergency Management – 314 5th St W, Bottineau, ND 58318 | (701) 228-5916 or (701) 756-6288; Emergency Manager Kristy Titus, [email protected]; conducts CERT training, works with FEMA, and coordinates with surrounding counties and the ND Department of Emergency Services.
Sheriff: Bottineau County Sheriff’s Office – 314 W. 5th St, Bottineau, ND 58318 | (701) 228-2740.
Notes: For an active emergency, call 911.
Roads & Utilities
ROADS & TRANSPORTATION
Roads: ND-5 runs east-west through Bottineau, the county seat, in far north-central North Dakota near the Canadian border.
Notes: Bottineau County, created 1873 and organized 1884, is named for Pierre Bottineau, a Métis pioneer, hunter, and trapper who became a successful land speculator.
Business & Permits
BUILDING & PERMITS
Office: Bottineau County Auditor – 314 5th St W, Bottineau, ND 58318 | (701) 228-2225 | Fax: (701) 228-5181.
Notes: Bottineau is genuinely, delightfully home to Tommy the Turtle – a 30-foot-tall fiberglass turtle built in 1978, straddling the “World’s Largest Snowmobile” (34 feet long), located in Tommy Turtle Park as a whimsical roadside landmark marking the gateway to the Turtle Mountains. The town also serves as the southern gateway to the real International Peace Garden, a 2,339-acre botanical garden straddling the U.S.-Canada border near the Turtle Mountains, featuring over 150,000 flower varieties, the Peace Chapel, Peace Towers, and Floral Clock. Bottineau Winter Park offers downhill skiing and is home to Annie’s House, North Dakota’s first adaptive ski facility for disabled children and wounded veterans, honoring Ann Nicole Nelson, the only North Dakotan to die in the September 11 attacks.
Veterans Services
VETERANS SERVICES
Office: Bottineau County Veterans Service Office – 104 N Main St, Bottineau, ND 58318 | (701) 228-3904 | Fax: (701) 228-3904; VSO Heather Thompson, [email protected].
Federal: Fargo VA Medical Center (long distance, eastern ND).
Libraries
LIBRARIES
Bottineau: Bottineau County Public Library – 314 5th St W, Bottineau, ND 58318 | (701) 228-2967 | Fax: (701) 228-2171 | [email protected] | Hours: Mon-Wed/Fri 9 AM-5:30 PM, Thu 9 AM-7:30 PM, Sat 10 AM-2 PM; ~28,500-volume collection, circulating over 42,500 items annually; also operates a traveling bookmobile serving local schools.
Parks & Recreation
PARKS & RECREATION
Key Assets: Tommy the Turtle/Tommy Turtle Park, the International Peace Garden, Turtle Mountain State Recreation Area (695 acres, 12 miles of trails), Bottineau Winter Park, and Lake Metigoshe ice fishing are the county’s premier attractions.
Notes: The genuine “World’s Tallest Turtle” and International Peace Garden heritage are among the most distinctive, checkable local facts covered in this project.
GIS & Maps
GIS & MAPS
Appraisal/Parcel Search: Bottineau County Auditor – 314 5th St W, Bottineau, ND 58318 | (701) 228-2225.
Animal Services
ANIMAL SERVICES
No dedicated county animal shelter was confirmed in this search – animal-related concerns in Bottineau County likely route through the Sheriff’s Office. Confirm directly via bottineauco.com.
Environmental & Waste
ENVIRONMENTAL / WASTE MANAGEMENT
Office: Bottineau County Weed Control / Road Department – 314 5th St W, Bottineau, ND 58318; Highway Superintendent (701) 263-1607.
NOTES: Bottineau County is the fifth county in the North Dakota v2 redo’s first batch (Adams, Barnes, Benson, Billings, Bottineau, Bowman, Burke). The genuine Tommy the Turtle roadside landmark and International Peace Garden are distinctive local facts. All contact information above was sourced via web search as of early August 2026 and should be reconfirmed directly with the relevant office before a visit, deadline-sensitive filing, or emergency-adjacent decision.
About Bottineau County
Bottineau County is North Dakota’s Turtle Mountain forest and lake country – Lake Metigoshe’s forested shores and clear water provide a Minnesota lake experience in the heart of the Great Plains, and Tommy the Turtle’s 35-foot concrete presence welcomes visitors to one of North Dakota’s most scenically distinctive regions.
Bottineau (the county seat, population ~2,200) is the gateway to Lake Metigoshe and the Turtle Mountains – Bottineau Winter Park and the summer lake economy drive a recreation-based economy unusual for the North Dakota prairie.
All Services
Browse every category and topic available for this county.
Bottineau County Tax Director at 314 W. 5th Street, Bottineau, ND 58318, phone 701-228-3983. ND residential assessed at 50% of true value.
Courts & Legal
Bottineau County District Court at 314 W. 5th Street, Bottineau, ND 58318, phone 701-228-3983, handles probate.
Marriage & Vital Records
Marriage licenses, divorce records, and birth & death certificates are handled by the following office(s):
CLERK OF DISTRICT COURT
314 5th St West, Bottineau, ND 58318
(701) 228-2029
Genealogy
County-level record sources
Bottineau County Clerk of District Court, Bottineau (probate/estate case files – see Probate section above).
Local societies
No dedicated Bottineau County genealogical society was confirmed in available directories.
Probate & Estate
Losing someone and having to deal with courts and paperwork at the same time is hard. This section won’t make that easier, but it should tell you what to expect, what it costs, and where to go – so at least you’re not walking in blind.
Where to go
Bottineau County Clerk of District Court – Northeast Judicial District 314 5th Street West, Suite 12, Bottineau, ND 58318 (701) 228-3983
Bottineau County was founded January 4, 1873, named for fur trader Pierre Bottineau, in north-central North Dakota near the Canadian border, seated in Bottineau.
Step 1: figure out which path applies
North Dakota has adopted the Uniform Probate Code (UPC), under Title 30.1 of the North Dakota Century Code – one of only about 18 states to do so. Probate is handled through the state District Court in the county where the decedent was domiciled.
Affidavit for Collection of Personal Property of the Decedent (Form 1, NDCC § 30.1-23) – available when the estate’s personal property, less liens and encumbrances, does not exceed $100,000 (raised from $50,000 by 2025’s HB 1224) AND there is no real property in the estate. Requires a 30-day wait after death, no court filing. Mineral and oil/gas rights are classified as real property and can never be transferred by this affidavit.
Informal Probate – available when less than 3 years have passed since death, the validity of the will isn’t disputed, and everyone with equal or higher priority for appointment agrees on the personal representative. No court hearing required; unsupervised administration is the default.
Formal Probate – required when the will’s validity is contested, someone objects to informal probate, or more than 3 years have passed since death.
Supervised Administration – a court can require ongoing supervision if protection of the estate calls for it.
Step 2: filing for administration
File an Application (informal) or Petition (formal) for Probate of Will and Appointment of Personal Representative with the Clerk of District Court in the county where the decedent was domiciled.
The court/registrar issues Letters Testamentary (with a will) or Letters of Administration (intestate) to the personal representative.
The personal representative publishes notice to creditors; North Dakota’s creditor claim period is 3 months from first publication.
The personal representative inventories and manages the estate’s assets, pays debts and expenses, and distributes what remains according to the will or North Dakota’s intestacy law.
The estate is closed with a final accounting/closing statement.
What it costs
No court filing fee for the Affidavit for Collection of Personal Property.
Filing fees for informal/formal probate vary but generally follow the statewide statutory schedule.
North Dakota does NOT have a statutory fee schedule for attorneys or personal representatives – fees must be “reasonable” based on services provided.
No state estate tax, no state inheritance tax. Only the federal estate tax could apply, and only to very large estates.
Probate filings, estate administration, and guardianship matters are handled by the following office(s):
Public Safety & Arrests
Arrest records, inmate search, and law enforcement services are handled by the following office(s):
SHERIFF
314 5th St West, Bottineau, ND 58318
(701) 228-2610
Elections & Voting
Voter registration, polling locations, and elections information are handled by the following office(s):
ELECTIONS
314 5th St West, Bottineau, ND 58318
(701) 228-2221
Department
Health & Human Services
Offices & Contacts
Health services, social services, and assistance programs are handled by the following office(s):
Public Health
314 5th St West, Bottineau, ND 58318
(701) 228-2261
Social Services
314 5th St West, Bottineau, ND 58318
(701) 228-3941
Public Health Information
PUBLIC HEALTH
Office: County Nurse (First District Health) – (701) 228-3101.
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Last verified June 2026
County Facts
County Seat: Bottineau
Population: 6,300
Established: 1873
Tier: 3
Public Records
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