Minot History, North Dakota

The foundation for the city of Minot was laid somewhere in the year 1886. The only reason behind the formation of this city was the halt in the construction of Great Northern Railroad which was being handled by James J. Hill. It was winter and the due to the construction work many numbers of tents were put up on this land just in one night and the land got inhabited by humans. It was this magical overnight formation of this city which became the reason why the city was tagged as the Magic City. It hardly took 5 months for the population of the city to jump to 5000. This sudden increase in the population was enough to confirm the nickname of this newly created city.

The name of the city was inspired by the name of Henry D. Minot who was a great friend of James J. Hill and also an investor in railroad business. The city was officially incorporated in June, 1887.

The famous Soo Line (which was part of the historical railroad development) built a railroad line from Valley City till Canada. Initially the plans were to opt for Burlington and cross over the River Souris. But due to argument by politicians and in honor of local interests they chose other route. It was the year 1893 when the railroad reached the city of Minot.

During the period of prohibition this city was tagged as Little Chicago. The reason was that this city was the major hub for the famous Al Capone’s alcohol smugglers. They would use a complex network of underground tunnels to transport the illegal cargo. Some of these tunnels still exist under the city of Minot.

In the1950s the city of Minot experienced heavy development like the base for Minot Air Force (constructed between year 1956 and 1957) which is around 20 kilometers north of Minot, and Garrison Dam (constructed between 1947 and 1953) which is around 80 kilometers from Minot.

In January, 2002 the city of Minot faced a serious train derailment in the proximity of the city thus bringing in huge clouds of Anhydrous Ammonia. One inhabitant of the city died in this incident and many were injured.