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Office: Divide County Emergency Services – 300 2nd Ave NE / PO Box 49, Crosby, ND 58730 | (701) 965-6361; assigns 911 addresses for commercial/residential locations.
911/Dispatch: All 911 calls in Divide County are received and dispatched by North Dakota State Radio in Bismarck – the county does not maintain its own dispatch center.
Storm shelter: Divide County Community Center, ND Highway 5, Crosby (designated emergency shelter).
Notes: For an active emergency, call 911.
Roads & Utilities
ROADS & TRANSPORTATION
Roads: ND-5 and ND-40 serve Crosby, the county seat and largest city, in the far northwest corner of North Dakota near the Canadian border.
Notes: Divide County is genuinely named for the way it was created – on November 8, 1910, voters in Williams County chose to split the county into a northern and southern half; the southern portion kept the Williams name, and the new northern county was named “Divide,” with Crosby as its seat.
Business & Permits
BUILDING & PERMITS
Office: Divide County Auditor – PO Box 49, Crosby, ND 58730 | (701) 965-6351.
Notes: The Divide County Courthouse (built 1917, Beaux Arts style, designed by Buechner & Orth – the same firm behind the Dickey County Courthouse) is genuinely NRHP-listed (1980), featuring terrazzo floors and dark wood trim. The Divide County Pioneer Village & Museum, dedicated 1979, is a genuine 25-building heritage site including two churches, a schoolhouse, print shop, general store, sawmill, blacksmith shop, bakery, and the former First Bank of Crosby.
Veterans Services
VETERANS SERVICES
Office: Divide County Veterans Service Office – PO Box 127, Westby, MT 59275 | (701) 965-6641; VSO Gerald Herman.
Federal: Fargo VA Medical Center (long distance, eastern ND).
Libraries
LIBRARIES
Crosby: Divide County Public Library – 204 1st Street NE, Crosby, ND 58730 | (701) 965-6305 | [email protected] | Hours: Mon-Fri 8:30 AM-5:00 PM. The library is genuinely notable as the first in North Dakota to operate as a combined Public/School Library (starting 1974, housed at Crosby Elementary School) – the Divide County Library and Museum Association dates back to 1929.
Parks & Recreation
PARKS & RECREATION
Key Assets: The Divide County Pioneer Village & Museum (25 restored historic buildings) is the county’s premier attraction.
Notes: The genuine “first combined public/school library in North Dakota” designation and extensive Pioneer Village are distinctive local facts.
GIS & Maps
GIS & MAPS
Appraisal/Parcel Search: Divide County Auditor – PO Box 49, Crosby, ND 58730 | (701) 965-6351.
Animal Services
ANIMAL SERVICES
No dedicated county animal shelter was confirmed in this search – Divide County has a very small population (roughly 2,100 residents); animal-related concerns likely route through the Sheriff’s Office. Confirm directly via dividecountynd.org.
Environmental & Waste
ENVIRONMENTAL / WASTE MANAGEMENT
Office: Divide County Auditor’s Office – PO Box 49, Crosby, ND 58730 | (701) 965-6351.
NOTES: Divide County is the fifth county in the North Dakota v2 redo’s second batch (Burleigh, Cass, Cavalier, Dickey, Divide, Dunn, Eddy). The genuine county-naming story (literally created by dividing Williams County) and the Pioneer Village Museum 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 Divide County County
Divide County is North Dakota’s northwest corner and Bakken Formation oil county – the tight oil production that transformed the western North Dakota economy and the remote tri-state position at the Montana and Saskatchewan borders define a community where Crosby serves the county’s wheat farming and energy families.
Crosby (the county seat, population ~1,000) is Divide County’s governmental hub on US 85, a remote northwest North Dakota community whose Bakken oil heritage, wheat farming, and tri-state border position anchor its identity near Montana and Canada.
All Services
Browse every category and topic available for this county.
Divide County Assessor at 300 N. Main Street, Crosby, ND 58730, phone 701-965-6351. ND assessed at 50% of true and full value.
Courts & Legal
Divide County District Court at 300 N. Main Street, Crosby, ND 58730, phone 701-965-6351, handles probate.
Marriage & Vital Records
Marriage licenses, divorce records, and birth & death certificates are handled by the following office(s):
CLERK OF DISTRICT COURT
300 North Main St, Crosby, ND 58730
(701) 965-6501
Genealogy
County-level record sources
Divide County Clerk of District Court, Crosby (probate/estate case files – see Probate section above).
The 1917 Divide County Courthouse, NRHP-listed, is a significant local landmark.
Local societies
No dedicated Divide 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
Divide County Clerk of District Court – Northwest Judicial District 300 2nd Avenue (mail: P.O. Box 68), Crosby, ND 58730 (701) 965-6831
Divide County was founded November 8, 1910, in far northwestern North Dakota on the Canadian border, seated in Crosby. The 1917 Divide County Courthouse, Beaux Arts in style, is listed on the National Register of Historic Places.
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 – worth flagging in Divide County, which sits within the Bakken oil-producing region.
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
300 North Main St, Crosby, ND 58730
(701) 965-6363
Elections & Voting
Voter registration, polling locations, and elections information are handled by the following office(s):
ELECTIONS
300 North Main St, Crosby, ND 58730
(701) 965-6446
Department
Health & Human Services
Offices & Contacts
Health services, social services, and assistance programs are handled by the following office(s):
Public Health
300 North Main St, Crosby, ND 58730
(701) 965-6446
Social Services
300 North Main St, Crosby, ND 58730
(701) 965-6446
Public Health Information
PUBLIC HEALTH
Office: Divide County Human Service Zone – PO Box 9, 200 N Main St, Crosby, ND 58730 | (701) 965-6521.
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Editorial Trust
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Reviewed by CountyOffices Editorial Team
Last verified June 2026
County Facts
County Seat: Crosby
Population: 2,000
Public Records
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