Williston Library
Williston, North Dakota
September 10, 2024
Minot
Minot (/ˈmaɪnɒt/ ⓘ MY-not) is a city in and the county seat of Ward County, North Dakota, United States,[5] in the state's north-central region. It is most widely known for the Air Force base approximately 15 miles (24 km) north of the city. With a population of 48,377 at the 2020 census,[3] Minot is the state's fourth-most populous city and a trading center for a large part of northern North Dakota, southwestern Manitoba, and southeastern Saskatchewan. Founded in 1886 during the construction of James J. Hill's Great Northern Railway, Minot is also known as "Magic City", commemorating its remarkable growth in size over a short time.
Minot is the principal city of the Minot metropolitan area, a metropolitan area that covers McHenry, Renville, and Ward counties[6] and had a combined population of 77,546 at the 2020 census.
Minot came into existence in 1886, after the Great Northern Railway laid track through the area. A tent town sprang up overnight, as if by "magic", giving Minot its first nickname, the Magic City; in the next five months, the population increased to over 5,000, further bolstering the nickname.[7]: 39 [8]: 129 The town site was chosen by the railroad to be placed on the land of homesteader Erik Ramstad, who was convinced to relinquish his claim and became one of the city leaders. The town was named after Henry Minot, a Great Northern investor, ornithologist, and friend of Hill. Its Arikara name is niwaharít sahaáhkat,[9] and its Hidatsa name is maagada'ashish ("Plum Coulee").
The city was incorporated on July 16, 1887. The Minneapolis, St. Paul and Sault Ste. Marie Railroad (Soo Line) later built a line from Valley City to Canada. While initially their plan was to cross the Souris River at Burlington, local interests and arguments convinced them otherwise; landholders along the new route donated the right-of-way, and the Soo Line reached Minot in 1893.
In 1898 a tornado destroyed the timber Gassman Coulee Bridge near Minot.[11] A passenger train, just three minutes away from crossing the bridge when it collapsed, was able to stop just in time to avoid disaster.[11] Until a new trestle, this time made of steel, was built in 1899, the railroad ferried passengers across the coulee using wagons and buggies that transported them to another train parked on the other side of the coulee.
On July 22, 1920, a tornado passed over Minot and bore down in a coulee three miles (5 km) southeast of town.[12] The tornado picked up Andy Botz's home and hurled it to the ground, killing his wife, breaking Botz's shoulder, and slightly injuring the two Botz children who were in the house.
Minot and its surrounding area were wide open from 1905 to 1920. The population grew rapidly due to railroad construction and availability of unclaimed land. Nearly complete court records of Ward County and Minot document the prevalence and different types of criminal activity, and offer strong support for the epithet "crime capitol of North Dakota". State attorney general William Langer helped clean up the town in 1917–1920, but by the time Prohibition arrived in the 1920s, Minot had become a center of illegal activities associated with the High Third district, exacerbated because the city was a supply hub of Al Capone's liquor smuggling operations. The hotbed of alcohol bootlegging, prostitution, and opium dens that sprang up in the downtown area soon led people to nickname Minot "Little Chicago". Smugglers used a network of tunnels (some previously built for heating or deliveries) to transport and conceal illicit cargo entering from Canada.
The 1950s saw a large influx of federal funding into the region, with the construction of Minot Air Force Base (1956–1957) thirteen miles (21 km) north of the city, and Garrison Dam (1947–1953) on the Missouri River, about fifty miles (80 km) south. In 1969, a severe flood on the Souris River devastated Minot in April.[14] Afterward, the Army Corps of Engineers straightened the river's path through the city and built several flood control structures.
The Old Soo Depot Transportation Museum is housed in the historic Soo Line Depot (built 1912) in downtown Minot.
On January 18, 2002, a severe train derailment west of the city sent a gigantic cloud of anhydrous ammonia toward Minot and Burlington. One man died and many of Minot's citizens were sickened and severely injured by the gas, causing one of the worst major chemical accidents of the country.[15] In early 2006, court cases were heard in Minneapolis, Minnesota, against Canadian Pacific Railway, the owner of the derailed train. The anhydrous ammonia spill was the largest such spill in U.S. history. Eric Klinenberg used the incident in his book Fighting for Air: The Battle to Control America's Media as an example of the failure of mass media, specifically local radio stations, to disseminate information in an emergency.
The 2011 Souris River flood caused extensive damage throughout the Souris River Valley. On June 21, 2011, KXMC-TV reported that a flood of historic proportions was imminent in the valley, largely due to large dam releases upstream. Around 12,000 people were evacuated. On June 26, flooding exceeded previous records when the river crested at 1,561.7 feet (476.0 m) above sea level, three feet (0.9 m) above the previous record set in 1881. It is estimated that 20% of Minot sustained damage from the flood; this figure includes over 4,100 homes that were in some way affected, 2,376 extensively damaged, and 805 damaged beyond repair. Burlington was also severely damaged during this time.
The Minot Hot Tots play in the Northwoods College Summer League.
Foxholm
Foxholm is a census-designated place and unincorporated community in Ward County, North Dakota, United States. Its population was 75 as of the 2010 census.
Foxholm is located along U.S. Route 52, 18 miles (29 km) northwest of Minot and 76 miles (122 km) southeast of the Saskatchewan and North Dakota border at Portal, ND/North Portal, SK. Foxholm is in the Des Lacs River Valley. A post office called Foxholm was established in 1894, and remained in operation until 1967.[4] The community supposedly was named after a place in England.
Donnybrook
Donnybrook is a city in Ward County, North Dakota, United States. The population was 75 at the 2020 census.[3] It is part of the Minot Micropolitan Statistical Area. The first place named Donnybrook was founded in 1895 and named after Donnybrook Fair in Ireland. In 1897, the postmaster of this site changed the name to Goetz. The name Donnybrook was then reused in 1898 when a new town formed to the west of Goetz along the main line of the Soo Line Railroad.
Coulee
Coulee is an unincorporated community in Mountrail County, North Dakota, United States, on the border of Ward County. It is the location of Our Savior's Scandinavian Lutheran Church, which is listed on the U.S. National Register of Historic Places.
Stanley
Stanley is a city in Mountrail County, North Dakota, United States. It is the county seat of Mountrail County.[5] The population was 2,321 at the 2020 census,[3] making it the 22nd largest city in North Dakota. Stanley was founded in 1902. The town's economy is heavily connected to the nearby oil-rich Bakken Formation. Stanley was platted in 1902.[6] The Mountrail County Courthouse was built in 1914. In 1935, Stanley was the site of one of the deadliest tornadoes in North Dakota's recorded history. The storm claimed four lives and injured more.
White Earth
White Earth is a small City in Mountrail County, North Dakota, United States. It is one of the oldest communities in Mountrail County, having been founded in 1887. The population was 100 at the 2020 census.[3] There is a City Hall at White Earth (which is considered a "city" under North Dakota law), community center, two churches and a granary; and no other businesses or services. The community's recent growth due to the North Dakota oil boom is the subject of an Academy Award–nominated short documentary film, White Earth.[5]
Ray
Ray is a city in Williams County, North Dakota, United States. The population was 740 at the 2020 census.[3]. Ray was founded in 1902. The city was named in honor of William G. Ray, a railroad official.[5] A post office has been in operation at Ray since 1902.[
Tioga
Tioga (/taɪˈoʊɡə/ ty-OH-gə) is a city in Williams County, North Dakota,l The population was 2,202 at the 2020 census, up from 1125 at the 2000 census. The increase is due to fracking. Tioga was founded in 1902 and named by settlers from Tioga, New York. The population of the city increased dramatically in the 1950s following the discovery of oil nearby in the Williston Basin.
The city is known as the oil capital of North Dakota.
Ray
Ray is a city in Williams County, North Dakota, United States. The population was 740 at the 2020 census. The population has been decking since it was 1, 049 in 1960. Ray was founded in 1902. The city was named in honor of William G. Ray, a railroad official.[5] A post office has been in operation at Ray since 1902.
Williston
Williston is a city in and the county seat of Williams County, North Dakota, United States.[5] The 2020 census[3] gave its population as 29,160, making Williston the sixth-most populous city in North Dakota. The city's population nearly doubled between 2010 and 2020, due largely to the North Dakota oil boom.
Founded in 1887, Williston was named for Daniel Willis James, a merchant and capitalist, by his friend, railroad magnate James J. Hill.
Williston's economy, while historically based in agriculture and especially ranching, is increasingly being driven by the oil industry. The Williston Basin, named after the town, is a huge subterranean geologic feature known for its rich deposits of petroleum, coal, and potash.
Williston developed over the Bakken formation, which by the end of 2012 was predicted to be producing more oil than any other site in the United States, surpassing even Alaska's Prudhoe Bay, the longtime leader in domestic output in the nation.[20] The oil boom has been spurred here by the development of new technologies—such as fracking—which enabled extraction from areas previously inaccessible.
In 1995, the U.S. Geological Survey estimated that there were 150 million barrels of oil "technically recoverable" from the Bakken shale. In April 2008, the number was said to be about four billion barrels; in 2010 geologists at Continental Resources, the major drilling operation in North Dakota, estimated the reserve at eight billion. In March 2012, after the discovery of a lower shelf of oil, it announced a possible 24 billion barrels. Although current technology allows for extraction of only about 6% of the oil trapped 0.99–1.99 mi (1.6–3.2 km) beneath the earth's surface, recoverable oil might eventually exceed 500 billion barrels.[
Williston has seen a huge increase in population and infrastructure investments during the last several years with expanded drilling using the fracking petroleum extraction technique in the Bakken Formation and Three Forks Groups.[21] Examples of oil industry-related infrastructure investments are the multi-acre branch campus of Baker Hughes and the Sand Creek Retail Center.
Williston, North Dakota Amtrak Station; the railroad is a popular way for migrants to reach the city.
A major regional grain elevator is served by the BNSF Railway. Williston's livestock arena has weekly auctions.
Forts Union and Buford, as well as the nearby confluence of the Yellowstone and Missouri Rivers west of the city, associated with the history of the Lewis and Clark Expedition and development of the fur trade and frontier—are destinations for area tourism. Williston is also comparatively close to the North Unit of Theodore Roosevelt National Park.
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