Williston, North Dakota

Williston, North Dakota
—  City  —
Location of Williston, North Dakota
Coordinates:
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 (2000)
 - Total 12,512
 - 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[1]
GNIS feature ID 1032815[2]
Highways US 2, US 2 Bus., US 85, US 85 Bus., ND 1804

Williston is the county seat of Williams County, North Dakota, USA.[3] The population was 12,512 at the 2000 census. 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.[4][5][6]

Williston's newspaper 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

Geography

Williston is located at (48.156477, -103.628064)[7]. It is located at the crossroads of US 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 18.2 km² (7.0 mi²). 18.1 km² (7.0 mi²) of it is land and 0.2 km² (0.1 mi²) of it (0.99%) is water.

Climate

Monthly Normal and Record High and Low Temperatures
Month Jan Feb Mar Apr May Jun Jul Aug Sep Oct Nov Dec
Rec High °F 53 66 78 92 106 106 109 107 104 93 76 58
Norm High °F 19.4 27.6 40.1 56 68.2 77.3 83.4 82.8 70 57 36.2 24
Norm Low °F -3.3 5.9 17.2 29.1 40.9 50.1 55.2 53.8 42.2 30.2 14.9 2.1
Rec Low °F -40 -41 -31 -15 10 26 34 34 15 -9 -27 -50
Precip (in) 0.54 0.39 0.74 1.05 1.88 2.36 2.28 1.48 1.35 0.87 0.65 0.57
Source: USTravelWeather.com [1]

Demographics

Historical populations
Census Pop.
1900 763
1920 4,178
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%
Est. 2008 12,641 1.0%

According to the census of 2000[1], there were 12,512 people, 5,255 households, and 3,205 families residing in the city. The population density was 693.1/km² (1,794.1/mi²). There were 5,912 housing units at an average density of 327.5/km² (847.7/mi²). 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.

Economy

Williston's economy is driven by agriculture and the oil industry. Williston is near the geographic center of the Williston Basin. 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.

Transportation

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.

Sports

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.

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

Notable residents

See also

References

  1. 1.0 1.1 "American FactFinder". United States Census Bureau. http://factfinder.census.gov. Retrieved 2008-01-31. 
  2. "US Board on Geographic Names". United States Geological Survey. 2007-10-25. http://geonames.usgs.gov. Retrieved 2008-01-31. 
  3. "Find a County". National Association of Counties. http://www.naco.org/Template.cfm?Section=Find_a_County&Template=/cffiles/counties/usamap.cfm. Retrieved 2008-01-31. 
  4. 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.
  5. Wick, Douglas A. (1988). North Dakota Place Names. Bismarck, North Dakota: Hedemarken Collectibles. ISBN 0-9620968-0-6. OCLC 191277027. 
  6. Williams, Mary Ann (Barnes) (1966). Origins of North Dakota Place Names. Bismarck, North Dakota: Bismarck Tribune, 1966. OCLC 431626. 
  7. "US Gazetteer files: 2000 and 1990". United States Census Bureau. 2005-05-03. http://www.census.gov/geo/www/gazetteer/gazette.html. Retrieved 2008-01-31. 

External links