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Williston, North Dakota

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Williston is the county seat of Williams County, North Dakota, in the United States.[6] With a population of 14,716 at the 2010 census,[7] the U.S. Census Bureau estimated 2011 population is 16,006,[8] making it the eighth 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.[9][10][11]

Williston's newspapers both in print and online are the daily, Williston Herald and the weekly, The Williston Trader . 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

Geography

Williston is located at (48.156477, -103.628064)[12]. 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 7.56 square miles (19.58 km2), of which, 7.50 square miles (19.42 km2) is land and 0.06 square miles (0.16 km2) is water.[1]

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[13]

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%
Est. 2011 16,006 8.8%
U.S. Decennial Census
2011 estimate

Williston is in northwestern North Dakota's booming oil patch where adequate, affordable housing has become a concern.[14] 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.[15] It may be as high as 30,000.[16]

2010 census

As of the census[2] of 2010, there were 14,716 people, 6,180 households, and 3,589 families residing in the city. The population density was 1,962.1 inhabitants per square mile (757.6 /km2). There were 6,542 housing units at an average density of 872.3 per square mile (336.8 /km2). The racial makeup of the city was 92.6% White, 0.3% African American, 3.3% Native American, 0.3% Asian, 0.4% from other races, and 3.0% from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino of any race were 2.2% of the population.

There were 6,180 households out of which 29.0% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 44.6% were married couples living together, 9.0% had a female householder with no husband present, 4.5% had a male householder with no wife present, and 41.9% were non-families. 34.6% of all households were made up of individuals and 12.3% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.31 and the average family size was 2.99.

The median age in the city was 35.5 years. 23.6% of residents were under the age of 18; 10% were between the ages of 18 and 24; 26.7% were from 25 to 44; 25.4% were from 45 to 64; and 14.4% were 65 years of age or older. The gender makeup of the city was 51.0% male and 49.0% female.

2000 census

According to the census of 2000[4], 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%), Dutch (4.3%), 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.

Economy

Williston's economy, while historically agricultural, is increasingly being driven by the oil industry. Williston lends its name to the Williston Basin, a huge subterranean geologic feature known for its rich deposits of petroleum, coal and potash. Williston sits atop 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 United States.[17] Williston has seen a huge increase in population and infrastructure investments during the last several years with expanded drilling using the 'frac' petroleum extraction technique in the Bakken Formation and Three Forks Groups.[18] (The State of North Dakota provides a website detailing daily oil activity.) 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 1.6-3.2 km (1–2 miles) beneath the earth's surface, recoverable oil might eventually exceed 500 billion barrels.[17]

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.

Transportation

Air

Local airline service at Williston's Sloulin Field International Airport (KISN) is provided by Great Lakes Airlines, a codeshare partner with United Airlines and Frontier Airlines. Flights are six times daily on weekdays, five times on Saturdays, and four times on Sundays. Service is either direct to Denver, CO (KDEN) or with a stop in Gillette, WY (KGCC). The airline normally utilizes Embraer EMB 120 Brasilias and occasionally Beechcraft 1900s. Bakken Air also offers scheduled flights to Bismarck Municipal Airport two times a week, on Mondays and Fridays.

In 2012, United Airlines began offering daily codeshare jet service (via SkyWest Airlines) to Denver, CO (KDEN) on Embraer 145 aircraft, while Delta Airlines began daily codeshare jet service (via ExpressJet Airlines) to Minneapolis, MN (MSP) on Bombardier CRJ200 aircraft.

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.

Rail

Amtrak, the national passenger rail system, serves a station in Williston via its Empire Builder, a once-daily train in each direction between Portland, Oregon/Seattle, Washington and Chicago.

Highways

US 2 and US 85 run concurrent through the city. ND 1804 runs through the southern portion of the city and is concurrent with US 2 and US 85 west of Main St.

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.

Williston State College is also located in Williston, off University Avenue. The college, founded in 1961 as the University of North Dakota—Williston (UND-W), is a two-year public college affiliated with the North Dakota University System (NDUS). At Williston State College, students can earn an Associate in Arts (AA), Associate in Science (AS), and/or an Associate of Applied Science (AAS) degree.

Sports

  • Williston Keybirds of North Dakota American League Baseball
  • Williston State College Tetons: women's and men's basketball, women's volleyball, men's hockey, women's softball and men's baseball.

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.

Local media

Print

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.

Radio

FM
AM

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.

Notable people

See also

References

  1. ^ a b "US Gazetteer files 2010". United States Census Bureau. Retrieved 2012-06-14.
  2. ^ a b "American FactFinder". United States Census Bureau. Retrieved 2012-06-14.
  3. ^ "Population Estimates". United States Census Bureau. Retrieved 2013-01-04.
  4. ^ a b "American FactFinder". United States Census Bureau. Retrieved 2008-01-31.
  5. ^ "US Board on Geographic Names". United States Geological Survey. 2007-10-25. Retrieved 2008-01-31.
  6. ^ "Find a County". National Association of Counties. Retrieved 2011-06-07.
  7. ^ "2010 Census Redistricting Data (Public Law 94-171) Summary File". American FactFinder. United States Census Bureau. Retrieved 2 May 2011.
  8. ^ 2011 estimate
  9. ^ 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.
  10. ^ Wick, Douglas A. (1988). North Dakota Place Names. Bismarck, North Dakota: Hedemarken Collectibles. ISBN 0-9620968-0-6 [Amazon-US | Amazon-UK]. OCLC 191277027.
  11. ^ Williams, Mary Ann (Barnes) (1966). Origins of North Dakota Place Names. Bismarck, North Dakota: Bismarck Tribune, 1966. OCLC 431626.
  12. ^ "US Gazetteer files: 2010, 2000, and 1990". United States Census Bureau. 2011-02-12. Retrieved 2011-04-23.
  13. ^ Weather.com—[1]. Retrieved 30 July 2010.
  14. ^ Meg Lindholm, "Flock To N.D. Oil Town Leads To Housing Crisis," NPR, May 28, 2010
  15. ^ NPR website.
  16. ^ Business Insider, March 7, 2012.
  17. ^ a b Moore, Stephen (11 March 2012). "What North Dakota Could Teach California". Wall Street Journal. Retrieved 2012-03-19.
  18. ^ Seattle Times.

External links