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Office: Slope County Emergency Management – 14409 66th St SW, Amidon, ND 58620 | (701) 879-6329 | Fax: (701) 879-6278 | Cell: (701) 440-8255; Director Dick Fredericks. Volunteer fire departments in Amidon, Rhame, Bowman, Scranton, New England, and Marmarth coordinate under a county burn-ban system.
Sheriff: Slope County Sheriff’s Office – Amidon, ND 58620; confirm current phone via slopecountynd.gov.
Notes: For an active emergency, call 911.
Roads & Utilities
ROADS & TRANSPORTATION
Roads: US-85 and US-12 serve the county; Amidon is the county seat, Marmarth is the largest city, near the Montana border.
Notes: Slope County, created 1914 and organized 1915, is North Dakota’s least populous county (roughly 630-700 residents) and the 18th-least populous county in the entire United States. It was formed by splitting the southern portion of Billings County. The name refers to the “Missouri Slope,” a historic term for western North Dakota.
Business & Permits
BUILDING & PERMITS
Office: Slope County Auditor – Amidon, ND 58620; confirm current phone via slopecountynd.gov.
Notes: Marmarth is genuinely one of North Dakota’s most significant dinosaur fossil sites – in 1999, teenager Tyler Lyson discovered the “Dakota” mummified Edmontosaurus fossil nearby, a nationally significant find preserving fossilized skin impressions, now on display at the North Dakota Heritage Center in Bismarck. The area continues to yield Triceratops and Tyrannosaurus rex fossils, with public digs run by the Marmarth Research Foundation and Hell Creek Fossils. Marmarth was also genuinely visited repeatedly by Theodore Roosevelt, who shot his first bison and grizzly bear near the town along the Little Missouri River; the ranch house where he stayed still stands. Marmarth was once North Dakota’s largest town on the Milwaukee Road railroad line, with over 1,300 residents in 1920 (now around 100).
Veterans Services
VETERANS SERVICES
Office: Slope County Veterans Service – confirm current contact via slopecountynd.gov.
Federal: Fargo VA Medical Center (long distance, eastern ND).
Libraries
LIBRARIES
Confirm current library address/hours via slopecountynd.gov. A North Dakota State Library book vending machine is located at the Slope County Courthouse in Amidon.
Parks & Recreation
PARKS & RECREATION
Key Assets: Marmarth’s dinosaur fossil dig sites, the Marmarth Historical Society, and the “Woman in Stone” rock formation (a genuine 50-foot rock resembling a woman’s face) are the county’s premier attractions.
Notes: The genuine 1999 “Dakota” mummified dinosaur discovery and Theodore Roosevelt’s repeated visits are distinctive, nationally significant local facts.
GIS & Maps
GIS & MAPS
Appraisal/Parcel Search: Slope County GIS Office – 206 Main St, Amidon, ND 58620 | (701) 879-6370.
Animal Services
ANIMAL SERVICES
No dedicated county animal shelter was confirmed in this search – Slope County is North Dakota’s least populous county; animal-related concerns likely route through the Sheriff’s Office. Confirm directly via slopecountynd.gov.
Environmental & Waste
ENVIRONMENTAL / WASTE MANAGEMENT
Office: Slope County Extension Office (NDSU Extension) – confirm current contact via ndsu.edu/agriculture/extension.
NOTES: Slope County is the second county in the North Dakota v2 redo’s seventh and final batch (Sioux, Slope, Stark, Steele, Stutsman, Towner, Traill). As North Dakota’s least populous county, with the genuine 1999 “Dakota” mummified dinosaur discovery and Theodore Roosevelt’s repeated visits, this is one of the most distinctive small counties in the project. 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 Slope County County
Slope County is one of the least populous counties in America – fewer than 700 residents in southwest North Dakota’s Little Missouri badlands where Amidon, the state’s smallest county seat, serves the cattle ranching families in the most remote corner of North Dakota near Montana.
Amidon (the county seat, population ~20) is Slope County’s governmental hub, North Dakota’s smallest county seat – a tiny southwest Dakota community whose badlands setting, Custer National Forest proximity, and cattle ranching economy serve the county’s scattered ranching population.
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Slope County Assessor at 206 S. Main Street, Amidon, ND 58620, phone 701-879-6275. ND assessed at 50% of true and full value.
Courts & Legal
Slope County District Court at 206 S. Main Street, Amidon, ND 58620, phone 701-879-6275, handles probate.
Marriage & Vital Records
Marriage licenses, divorce records, and birth & death certificates are handled by the following office(s):
CLERK OF DISTRICT COURT
220 Marshall Ave, Amidon, ND 58620
(701) 879-6210
Genealogy
County-level record sources
Slope County Clerk of District Court, Amidon (probate/estate case files – see Probate section above).
The Original Slope County Courthouse building in Amidon has served as a church, school, and senior center over its history.
Local societies
No dedicated Slope 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
Slope County Clerk of District Court – Southwest Judicial District 206 South Main Street, Amidon, ND 58620 (701) 879-6275
Slope County was founded November 3, 1914, in southwestern North Dakota, seated in Amidon (though Marmarth is the county’s largest city) – North Dakota’s least populous county, and Amidon one of the smallest incorporated county seats in the nation.
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
220 Marshall Ave, Amidon, ND 58620
(701) 879-6210
Elections & Voting
Voter registration, polling locations, and elections information are handled by the following office(s):
ELECTIONS
220 Marshall Ave, Amidon, ND 58620
(701) 879-6210
Department
Health & Human Services
Offices & Contacts
Health services, social services, and assistance programs are handled by the following office(s):
Southwest District Health Unit
220 Marshall Ave, Amidon, ND 58620
(701) 879-6210
Social Services
220 Marshall Ave, Amidon, ND 58620
(701) 879-6210
Public Health Information
PUBLIC HEALTH
Office: Slope County Human Service Zone – c/o 104 1st St NW, Suite 8, Bowman, ND 58623 | (701) 523-3285.
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Last verified June 2026
County Facts
County Seat: Amidon
Population: 700
Public Records
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