New Town trip planner

New Town is a city in Mountrail County, North Dakota in the United States. The population was 1,925 in 2010 census. New Town was platted in 1950 as a replacement site for the residents of Sanish and Van Hook, as these towns were scheduled to be flooded by the creation of Lake Sakakawea, a reservoir to provide water for irrigation.It is the largest city and the administrative center of the Fort Berthold Reservation. New Town is home to Fort Berthold Community College. New Town is located on State Highway 23 at the crossing of Lake Sakakawea by the Four Bears Bridge. The city has recreation for all seasons, including fishing, boating, water skiing, and trails for hiking.HistoryIn 1944, the United States Congress authorized the Garrison Dam and Reservoir Project. The dam was planned to be the world's largest rolled-earth filled dam and would create the second-largest reservoir in the world to collect water for irrigation and regional water needs. It would form a lake 200 miles long, 14 miles wide in some places and have roughly 1,500 miles of shoreline. In order to make this dam and reservoir, the towns of Sanish, Elbowoods, Lucky Mound, Shell Creek, Nishu, Charging Eagle, Beaver Creek, Red Butte, Independence, and Van Hook had to be dissolved and the residents relocated before the area was flooded. A total of seven possible sites were inspected before the present site was chosen.After the site was purchased, plans were quickly developed for the proposed town. With the help of Army engineers, by August 1950, the combined town site was platted. On September 10, 1950, a ground-breaking ceremony and celebration was held at the proposed town site. The official ground-breaking was a furrow cut by a county road grader in what was to become Main Street. The first building set up was for the relocation company. They held an auction to sell off lots in what was called New Town.