Minot, North Dakota

I passed through Minot, North Dakota, several times between 1999 and 2003 riding Amtrak’s Empire Builder to and from Milwaukee, Wisconsin. Minot is a service stop for the Empire Builder, so I usually got off the train to stretch my legs and sometimes took a few pictures.

Minot, North Dakota is the Ward County seat and has a population of about 35,000 people, with an additional 10,000 living at nearby Minot Air Force Base. Lewis and Clark spent the Winter of 1804-1805 with Native Americans near present-day Minot. Minot is located in the Souris River (AKA Mouse River) Valley, and the original downtown is just above the river's flood plain. In 1969, a winter flood forced 15,000 Minot residents from their homes.

Minot is a railroad town, and much of its early growth is a result of the arrival of railroads. The city gained the nickname "Magic City" because the city seemed to grow like magic after the railroad arrived. Minot was officially named by Great Northern Railway President James J. Hill for Great Northern executive Henry D. Minot, a close friend of Theodore Roosevelt. 

Today, Minot is served by the Burlington Northern-Santa Fe Railroad, the Canadian Pacific Railway and Amtrak. While railroad employment in Minot has fallen from over 2500 in 1955 to about 200 today, the railroads are still a driving factor in the local economy.

Some of San Francisco’s landmarks are covered in the following posts:

Old Soo Line Depot
Amtrak Depot
BNSF-CP Crossing

Minot Links
City of Minot
Minot Convention & Visitor’s Bureau
Minot Air Force Base
Minot Public Library

Continue to Old Soo Line Depot…