Local Information

Bottineau is located in Bottineau County, N.D., near the Turtle Mountains. It is the county seat of Bottineau County and is located just over 10 miles south of the Canada–United States border. The city's population was 2,211 at the 2010 census.

The city is home to Dakota College at Bottineau. Attractions in Bottineau include the Bottineau Winter Park and Lake Metigoshe. In 2012 a new chalet called Annie's House was built at the Bottineau Winter Park. The facility is North Dakota's first ski facility for handicapped children and wounded veterans. It was built to honor Ann Nicole Nelson, who was the only North Dakotan to die in the terrorist attacks on the World Trade Center in New York City.

Bottineau was founded in 1883 as Oak Creek as a customs station and an overnight stagecoach stop. The town name was changed to Bottineau in 1884 in honor of Pierre Bottineau, a Métis pioneer, hunter and trapper who became a successful land speculator.

The town was originally located about 1.5 miles north of its current location. The entire town was moved south in 1887 to where the Great Northern Railway was installing new tracks.