[2] In 1872, the Dakota Territory legislature authorized Burbank County (named for governor John A. Burbank); in 1874 they renamed it Barnes County, for Alanson H. Barnes (1818–1890), an associate justice of the Territorial Court.

[3] The Sheyenne River flows southerly through the central part of Barnes County.

The county terrain consists of rolling hills, carved with drainages, and dotted with lakes and ponds.

[4] The terrain slopes to the south and east; its highest point is on its upper west boundary line, at 1,535 ft (468 m) ASL.

Like North Dakota as a whole, Barnes County voters have been reliably Republican for decades.