Burlington, North Dakota
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Burlington is a city in Ward County, North Dakota in the United States. The population was 1,096 at the 2000 census. Burlington was founded in 1884. Burlington is the oldest city in Ward County and was the county seat until 1888.
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[edit] Geography
Burlington is located at (48.277475, -101.427694)GR1. It is located near the confluence of the Des Lacs and the Mouse Rivers.
According to the United States Census Bureau, the city has a total area of 1.6 km² (0.6 mi²), all land.
[edit] Demographics
As of the censusGR2 of 2000, there were 1,096 people, 369 households, and 298 families residing in the city. The population density was 671.7/km² (1,737.5/mi²). There were 388 housing units at an average density of 237.8/km² (615.1/mi²). The racial makeup of the city was 96.08% White, 0.55% African American, 2.01% Native American, 0.18% Asian, and 1.19% from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino of any race were 0.91% of the population.
There were 369 households out of which 51.8% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 65.6% were married couples living together, 11.7% had a female householder with no husband present, and 19.2% were non-families. 14.6% of all households were made up of individuals and 4.3% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.97 and the average family size was 3.27.
In the city the population was spread out with 35.9% under the age of 18, 7.4% from 18 to 24, 33.7% from 25 to 44, 16.9% from 45 to 64, and 6.2% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 31 years. For every 100 females there were 93.6 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 93.7 males.
The median income for a household in the city was $40,078, and the median income for a family was $42,639. Males had a median income of $24,922 versus $19,179 for females. The per capita income for the city was $14,250. About 2.7% of families and 3.7% of the population were below the poverty line, including 3.0% of those under age 18 and 9.4% of those age 65 or over.
[edit] History
Burlington was established in 1883, the first town in Imperial Ward County. Since its foundation the town has grown on its original site, near the confluence of the Souris and Des Lacs Rivers.
It was here that a group of travelers, Joseph L. Colton, James Johnson, and J. J. Rogers arrived at the fork of the Souris and Des Lacs River, April 30, 1883. Joesph Colton established squatter's rights to the land near this junction and his son-in-law James Johnson settled on adjoining land.
Here they camped and one of the discoveries they made was the presence of lignite coal. The building of a camp fire upon an outcropping of lignite here in spring of 1883 is credited with first having acquainted the pioneers here with developing the fuel on a large scale. These men were surprised one morning to find their camp fire of the previous night still burning. Upon investigation they learned that their wood fire had ignited a blackish mineral lignite in the earth beneath it. All lignite mines int the Burlington vicinity were underground. Burlington became the first center for lignite mining in the county. The oldest or first mine is Davis mine.
In the summer of 1883, Colton and Johnson erected a two-story building to be used as a store and hotel. It was the first hotel in this region and probably the first store. It was the first west of Devils Lake, north of Bismarck and east of Buford. It was also the first framed building in this same territory. The building became known as the Forks. Lumber and other supplies were shipped by river boat on the Missouri as far as Fort Stevenson and from thery were brought by wagon. The first stock of merchandise arrived the same way. When the Colton-Johnson womenfolk came that same year from Lisbon, they traveled by rail to Bismarck, by boat to the fort and were met at the fort with team and wagon.
Johnson immediately petitioned for a post office. He secured approval for one in August, 1883. The intention was to call the town Colton. The post office department objected, there being another town named Colton in Dakota Territory. It was decided to call the place Burlington, after the home town of Frank Hatton, assistant postmaster general. The name of Burlington became official on February 28, 1884. Mr Johnson became the first postmaster. No mail was delivered by the government until the following year when Burlington became the end of a route served overland via Villard.
In 1884 Colton started the first newspaper in Ward County, the Burlington Reporter. He brought printing equipment from Lisbon. This same newspaper after passing through many hands and having many names became the Minot Daily News.
The very first school in Ward County was managed by Mr. Colton, who maintained it until the township was organized. So much interest was shown in the project that he decided to build a real schoolhouse. The building would serve as a school, church or courthouse. This building served the purpose until 1904. A vote affirmed that the courthouse should be repaired but the repairing took place in constructing a new courthouse in Minot. Burlington lost the county-seat.
The winter of 1883-1884 was a pleasant one for most of the settlers. A considerable amount of social activity developed, by way of passing time. Johnson in his reminiscences stated: "We used to fix up a four horse slay that would accommodate about twenty people and go from one place to onother and have a good time. Wherever the room was big enough we would have a dance. Otherwise we woild visit, play cards, tell stories and do tricks."
The first law enforcement organization was formed in 1884 and named the Burlington Regulators. This group was organized to protect the settler from claim jumpers, horse thieves, prairie fires or any other evils that might threaten.
In 1885 Burlington and Harrison Townships were surveyed. It cost $800 per township to get a special survey. Mr. Colton, Mr. Johnson and a Mr. Scott got the work done. The rest of the county was not surveyed until later so settlers held land by squatter's rights.
The first load of grain sold by a farmer in Ward County was hauled to Devils Lake in spring of 1885 by James Johnson. It took five days to get that load of grain from Burlington to Devils Lake.
In the spring of 1906 James Johnson invited the members of the newly organized Ward County Old Settlers Association to meet and camp on a tract of land near Burlington known as No Man's Land. This spot continued to be a meeting place of the Old Settlers Association. The land was deeded to Burlington Township as a recreational spot, which is now "The Old Settlers Campground & Park". The township deeded it to Ward County for a park and thus came into existence the first county park, not only in Ward county but the state. It was dedicated to the memory of James Johnson and officially named Old Settlers Park.
The little group of travelers who arrived at the Forks in 1883 now rest in the little cemetery near the spot where they camped that night, but what they did for their community, county and state lives on.
When the Great Northern was built in 1886-1887, Burlington was bypassed allegedly because of a spat between two women, one of them the wife of the chief surveyor. Then in 1888 the county seat was lost in a much-criticized election. The business places continued to serve the settlers who were coming in and settling all around. The post office served patrons all up the valleys of the Souris and Des Lacs. Coal mines were opened in a large surrounding territory. The Soo Line was built in 1893 and a station was located at Burlington. The station proved very beneficial for the mining industry as it gave a means of transporting coal. Much of the coal was sold to farmers and businesses and was hauled directly from the mines. The town had a large mining population until the 1920s when some of the mines were worked out. The competition from strip mines became strong and there was also some labor trouble. The 1930s were bad years and the federal government had to provide some help as it did elsewhere. Through the efforts of A. Madsen, Robert Oliver and others the Federal Rehabilitation Corporation put in an irrigation project and constructed 35 homesteads for the benefit of the miners so they could support themselves when there was no work in the mines. This project has been turned over to the state and was used primarily as homes for veterans and later sold to interested persons.
[edit] Education
Burlington shares its school system with nearby Des Lacs, North Dakota. Children in grades kindergarten through eight attend school in Burlington, while those in grades nine through twelve attend in Des Lacs, where the high school is located.
[edit] Attractions
[edit] External links
- City of Burlington official website
- History of Burlington
- United Public School District 7
- Maps and aerial photos
- Street map from Google Maps, or Yahoo! Maps, or Windows Live Local
- Satellite image from Google Maps, Windows Live Local, WikiMapia
- Topographic map from TopoZone
- Aerial image or topographic map from TerraServer-USA
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State of North Dakota Bismarck (capital) |
|---|---|
| Topics | |
| Regions: |
Badlands | Drift Prairie | Missouri Plateau | Red River Valley | Turtle Mountains |
| Largest cities: |
Beulah-Hazen | Bismarck-Mandan | Devils Lake | Dickinson | Fargo-West Fargo | Grafton | Grand Forks | Jamestown | Minot | Rugby | Valley City | Wahpeton | Williston |
| Counties: |
Adams | Barnes | Benson | Billings | Bottineau | Bowman | Burke | Burleigh | Cass | Cavalier | Dickey | Divide | Dunn | Eddy | Emmons | Foster | Golden Valley | Grand Forks | Grant | Griggs | Hettinger | Kidder | La Moure | Logan | McHenry | McIntosh | McKenzie | McLean | Mercer | Morton | Mountrail | Nelson | Oliver | Pembina | Pierce | Ramsey | Ransom | Renville | Richland | Rolette | Sargent | Sheridan | Sioux | Slope | Stark | Steele | Stutsman | Towner | Traill | Walsh | Ward | Wells | Williams |
