Williston, North Dakota

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Williston, North Dakota
—  City  —
Location of Williston, North Dakota
Coordinates: 48°9′23″N 103°37′41″W / 48.15639°N 103.62806°W / 48.15639; -103.62806Coordinates: 48°9′23″N 103°37′41″W / 48.15639°N 103.62806°W / 48.15639; -103.62806
Country United States
State North Dakota
County Williams
Area
 • Total 7.0 sq mi (18.2 km2)
 • Land 7.0 sq mi (18.1 km2)
 • Water 0.1 sq mi (0.2 km2)
Elevation 1,877 ft (572 m)
Population (2010)[1]
 • Total 14,716
 • Density 1,794.1/sq mi (693.1/km2)
Time zone Central (CST) (UTC-6)
 • Summer (DST) CDT (UTC-5)
ZIP codes 58801-58802
Area code(s) 701
FIPS code 38-86220[2]
GNIS feature ID 1032815[3]
Highways US 2, US 2 Bus., US 85, US 85 Bus., ND 1804

Williston is the county seat of Williams County, North Dakota, USA.[4] With a population of 14,716 at the 2010 census,[1] it was the ninth largest city in North Dakota. Founded in 1887, Williston was named for Daniel Willis James, a board member of the Northern Pacific Railroad Company, by his friend, railroad owner, James J. Hill.[5][6][7]

Williston's newspaper both in print and online is the daily Williston Herald. Sloulin Field International Airport is a public airport two miles north of the business district. Williston is the home of Williston State College and the Miss North Dakota Scholarship Pageant.

Contents

[edit] Geography

Williston is located at 48°9′23″N 103°37′41″W / 48.15639°N 103.62806°W / 48.15639; -103.62806 (48.156477, -103.628064)[8]. It is located at the crossroads of U.S. Highways 2 and 85.

It is near the confluence of the Yellowstone River and the Missouri River, at the upper end of the Lake Sakakawea reservoir.

According to the United States Census Bureau, the city has a total area of 7.0 square miles (18 km2). 7.0 square miles (18 km2) of it is land and 0.1 square miles (0.26 km2) of it (0.99%) is water.

[edit] Climate

Williston has a semi-arid climate (Köppen climate classification BSk).

Climate data for Williston
Month Jan Feb Mar Apr May Jun Jul Aug Sep Oct Nov Dec Year
Record high °F (°C) 55
(13)		 66
(19)		 84
(29)		 92
(33)		 106
(41)		 108
(42)		 110
(43)		 108
(42)		 104
(40)		 93
(34)		 76
(24)		 63
(17)		 110
(43)
Average high °F (°C) 19
(−7)		 28
(−2)		 40
(4)		 56
(13)		 68
(20)		 77
(25)		 83
(28)		 83
(28)		 70
(21)		 57
(14)		 36
(2)		 27
(−3)		 53
(12)
Daily mean °F (°C) 8
(−13)		 17
(−8)		 29
(−2)		 43
(6)		 55
(13)		 64
(18)		 69
(21)		 68
(20)		 56
(13)		 44
(7)		 26
(−3)		 13
(−11)		 41
(5)
Average low °F (°C) −3
(−19)		 6
(−14)		 17
(−8)		 29
(−2)		 41
(5)		 50
(10)		 55
(13)		 54
(12)		 42
(6)		 30
(−1)		 15
(−9)		 2
(−17)		 28
(−2)
Record low °F (°C) −42
(−41)		 −50
(−46)		 −35
(−37)		 −15
(−26)		 19
(−7)		 26
(−3)		 34
(1)		 32
(0)		 13
(−11)		 −9
(−23)		 −27
(−33)		 −50
(−46)		 −50
(−46)
Precipitation inches (mm) 0.54
(13.7)		 0.39
(9.9)		 0.74
(18.8)		 1.05
(26.7)		 1.88
(47.8)		 2.36
(59.9)		 2.28
(57.9)		 1.48
(37.6)		 1.35
(34.3)		 0.87
(22.1)		 0.65
(16.5)		 0.57
(14.5)		 14.16
(359.7)
Source: Weather.com[9]

[edit] Demographics

Historical populations
Census Pop. %±
1890 295
—
1900 763 158.6%
1910 3,124 309.4%
1920 4,178 33.7%
1930 5,106 22.2%
1940 5,790 13.4%
1950 7,398 27.8%
1960 11,866 60.4%
1970 11,230 −5.4%
1980 13,336 18.8%
1990 13,131 −1.5%
2000 12,512 −4.7%
2010 14,716 17.6%
U.S. Decennial Census

Williston is in northwestern North Dakota's booming oil patch where adequate, affordable housing has become a concern.[10] The 2010 census counted a population of 14,716, up from 12,680 in 2000, but the number of current residents is likely much higher because the count did not include those living in temporary housing. In September 2011, the mayor estimated the actual population at 20,000.[11] It may be as high as 30,000. [12]

According to the census of 2000[2], there were 12,512 people, 5,255 households, and 3,205 families residing in the city. The population density was 1,794.1 per square mile (693.1/km²). There were 5,912 housing units at an average density of 847.7 per square mile (327.5/km²). The racial makeup of the city was 93.69% White, 0.17% African American, 3.65% Native American, 0.24% Asian, 0.02% Pacific Islander, 0.17% from other races, and 2.06% from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino of any race were 1.23% of the population.

The top 6 ancestry groups in the city are Norwegian (47.8%), German (31.6%), Irish (9.6%), English (5.8%), Swedish (4.5%), French (4.0%).

There were 5,255 households out of which 30.7% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 47.4% were married couples living together, 10.5% had a female householder with no husband present, and 39.0% were non-families. 34.1% of all households were made up of individuals and 13.7% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.30 and the average family size was 2.96.

In the city the population was spread out with 25.6% under the age of 18, 9.3% from 18 to 24, 25.8% from 25 to 44, 22.5% from 45 to 64, and 16.8% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 38 years. For every 100 females there were 91.9 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 88.3 males.

The median income for a household in the city was $29,962, and the median income for a family was $38,713. Males had a median income of $29,578 versus $18,879 for females. The per capita income for the city was $16,656. About 11.3% of families and 13.4% of the population were below the poverty line, including 19.1% of those under age 18 and 7.8% of those age 65 or over.

[edit] Economy

Williston's economy, while historically driven by agriculture, is increasingly driven by the oil industry. Williston is near the geographic center of the Williston Basin. Williston has seen a huge increase in population and infrastructure investments in the last several years with the expanding drilling (using the 'frac' petroleum extraction technique) of oil in the Bakken Formation and Three Forks Groups. [13] The State of North Dakota has a website detailing daily oil activity.

A major regional grain elevator is served by the Burlington Northern Santa Fe railroad. Williston's livestock arena has weekly auctions.

Forts Union and Buford, as well as the confluence of the Yellowstone and Missouri Rivers—a part of the history of the Lewis and Clark Expedition—encourages area tourism. Williston is also comparatively close to the North Unit of Theodore Roosevelt National Park.

[edit] Transportation

  • FedEx Express of Memphis, TN, provides cargo flights to and from the Williston, ND Airport (ISN) and Grand Forks, ND (GFK) airport utilizing Cessna 208B Caravans with CargoMaster cargo pods. These flights run Monday through Saturday. The Saturday service has an early cutoff time and pickups are limited to in-town stops and drop box locations only.

[edit] Education

The Williston Public School District#1 serves the city. The surrounding rural area, is served by New Public School District #8. Trinity Christian School is a private K-12 school located in Williston. St. Joseph Catholic School is a private K-6 school located in Williston.

[edit] Sports

[edit] Healthcare

Williston clinics include Craven-Hagan Clinic, Fairlight Medical Center, and Trinity Medical Clinic. Fairlight has the only Veteran's Affairs clinic in northwestern North Dakota and also serves residents of northeastern Montana. Fairlight includes a walk-in clinic with four health care professionals. Mercy Medical Center is the Williston hospital. It provides 24-hour emergency and trauma care but lacks a walk-in clinic.

[edit] Local media

[edit] Print

[edit] Television

In the late 1970s and early 1980s, KXMD and KUMV were rebroadcast across Saskatchewan as part of that region's first terrestrial-based cable television system. By 1984, however, the Williston signals had been replaced by those of similar stations in Detroit.

[edit] Radio

FM
AM

[edit] Sites of interest

  • Fort Union Trading Post National Historic Site - a reconstructed fur-trade era fort owned and maintained by the National Park Service.
  • Fort Buford - a pioneer age military fort. An interesting site is the military graveyard.
  • Missouri-Yellowstone Confluence Interpretive Center A museum highliting the history of the area where the Missouri River and the Yellowstone River merge.
  • Lake Sakakawea - a large man-made lake located close to Williston. The lake offers plenty of recreational activities.
  • The Confluence - where the Missouri River and the Yellowstone River meet. A historical center, boat ramp, camp site, and bike path are located here.
  • Eagle Ridge Golf Club - an eighteen-hole golf course located on Highway 2 north of Williston. It measures 6,240 yards (5,710 m) from the back tees.
  • Williston Municipal Golf Course - a 9-hole golf course located at 3600 42nd Street West in Williston.
  • The Links of North Dakota at Red Mike Resort - an 18-hole links course east of Williston. "GOLFWEEK" ranked it 41st among America's 100 best modern courses in 1997, 75th in 1998, and 81st in 1999. Lying alongside Lake Sakakawea it is reminiscent of the links at St Andrews, Scotland. It is located 24 miles (39 km) east of Williston on Highway 1804.
  • Cut Bluff Overlook - a historic site located about two miles (3 km) east of Williston on the south side of Highway 1804. Commemorating Lewis and Clark's campsite near Cut Bluff on the south banks of the Missouri River.

[edit] Notable former residents

[edit] See also

[edit] References

  1. ^ a b "2010 Census Redistricting Data (Public Law 94-171) Summary File". American FactFinder. United States Census Bureau. http://factfinder2.census.gov/faces/tableservices/jsf/pages/productview.xhtml?pid=DEC_10_PL_GCTPL2.ST13&prodType=table. Retrieved 2 May 2011. 
  2. ^ a b "American FactFinder". United States Census Bureau. http://factfinder.census.gov. Retrieved 2008-01-31. 
  3. ^ "US Board on Geographic Names". United States Geological Survey. 2007-10-25. http://geonames.usgs.gov. Retrieved 2008-01-31. 
  4. ^ "Find a County". National Association of Counties. http://www.naco.org/Counties/Pages/FindACounty.aspx. Retrieved 2011-06-07. 
  5. ^ John Matzko, Reconstructing Fort Union (Lincoln: University of Nebraska Press, 2001), 26; Ben Innis, Sagas of the Smoky-Water (Williston, ND: privately published, 1985), 344.
  6. ^ Wick, Douglas A. (1988). North Dakota Place Names. Bismarck, North Dakota: Hedemarken Collectibles. ISBN 0-9620968-0-6. OCLC 191277027. 
  7. ^ Williams, Mary Ann (Barnes) (1966). Origins of North Dakota Place Names. Bismarck, North Dakota: Bismarck Tribune, 1966. OCLC 431626. 
  8. ^ "US Gazetteer files: 2010, 2000, and 1990". United States Census Bureau. 2011-02-12. http://www.census.gov/geo/www/gazetteer/gazette.html. Retrieved 2011-04-23. 
  9. ^ Weather.com—[1]. Retrieved 30 July 2010.
  10. ^ Meg Lindholm, "Flock To N.D. Oil Town Leads To Housing Crisis," NPR, May 28, 2010
  11. ^ NPR website.
  12. ^ Business Insider, March 7, 2012.
  13. ^ Seattle Times.

[edit] External links

Municipalities and communities of Williams County, North Dakota, United States
County seat: Williston
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