Arnegard, North Dakota

Arnegard, North Dakota
City
Arnegard Post Office
Arnegard, North Dakota Location within the state of North Dakota
Coordinates: 47°48′29″N 103°26′19″W / 47.80806°N 103.43861°WCoordinates: 47°48′29″N 103°26′19″W / 47.80806°N 103.43861°W
Country	United States
State	North Dakota
County	McKenzie
Area[1]
• Total	0.25 sq mi (0.65 km^2)
• Land	0.25 sq mi (0.65 km^2)
• Water	0 sq mi (0 km^2)
Elevation	2,254 ft (687 m)
Population (2010)[2]
• Total	115
• Estimate (2014)[3]	166
• Density	460.0/sq mi (177.6/km^2)
Time zone	Central (CST) (UTC-6)
• Summer (DST)	CDT (UTC-5)
ZIP code	58835
Area code(s)	701
FIPS code	38-03220
GNIS feature ID	1027736[4]

Arnegard is a city in McKenzie County, North Dakota, United States. The population was 115 at the 2010 census.^[5] Arnegard was founded in 1913.

History

Looking north at the old grain elevator on the north side of town in Arnegard.

Arnegard was founded in 1906 and is named for Evan Arnegard, the first homesteader in the area. The first church was a one-room log cabin, the Wilmington Lutheran Church. It was so named because most of the people who founded Arnegard came from Spring Grove, Minnesota, where they belonged to the Old Wilmington Lutheran Church. The post office was established July 14, 1906 with Gerhard A. Stenehjem as postmaster. The town was incorporated in 1913 when the Great Northern Rail Road extended its line past Watford City to Arnegard.

In 1914, the town built the Arnegard School, a one-story, four room school which taught grades 1 through 12. It opened on January 29, 1915. AS second story and rear annex was built in June 1936. Included were four more classrooms and a library on the second floor, and a gym and principal's office in the rear. The annex was torn down in 1954, and a much larger gym built. By then, the Arnegard Spuds basketball team was winning games throughout the state, and wrestlers too were winning awards. In 1961, the school won the State Class C Boys' Basketball Championship. The high school closed in 1963 due to declining enrollment, but elementary school classes continued to be held in the structure until 1976. McKenzie County donated the building to the city of Arnegard shortly thereafter, and it was used as a roller skating rink, town library, and meeting hall. By the early 1980s, the second floor was considered unsafe, and the building eventually closed. In 1998, local man Milton Hanson purchased the structure and completely renovated it. It now is operated as the "Old School Bed & Breakfast", and has been featured on HGTV's "If Walls Could Talk" and Prairie Public TV's "Old to New: Remodel, Restore, Revitalize". In 2015 it was sold, without the bell, and is no longer a bed and breakfast.

Buildings in Arnegard.

Arnegard suffered a horrible fire on its Main Street in January 1959. Cleanup had barely begun when a second fire occurred in March. But by 1961, most of the structures on Main Street had been rebuilt.

Arnegard was founded with about 100 people living there, and it reached its peak population of 254 in 1930. The town weathered the Great Depression well enough, but by 1940 the population was down to just 222 (a loss of 12.5 percent). The population stayed relatively steady until 1960, but dropped by almost 40 percent to just 141 people in 1970. A brief surge in population during the 1970s oil boom (oil and natural gas deposits were found beneath McKenzie County about 1974), but the boom was followed by a bust in 1980 as drillers discovered that most of the oil was locked in shale which (at the time) could not be reached. By 1990, the population was 122, and by 2000 it was just 105. Arnegard has seen a small uptick in population due to the 1990s oil boom (which is continuing). The U.S. Census estimates that the town had 135 residents as of 2012.

Geography

Arnegard is located at 47°48′29″N 103°26′19″W / 47.808145°N 103.438621°W.^[6]

According to the United States Census Bureau, the city has a total area of 0.25 square miles (0.65 km²), all of it land.^[1]

Demographics

Historical population
Census	Pop.		%±
1930	254		—
1940	222		−12.6%
1950	206		−7.2%
1960	228		10.7%
1970	141		−38.2%
1980	193		36.9%
1990	122		−36.8%
2000	105		−13.9%
2010	115		9.5%
Est. 2015	126	[7]	9.6%
U.S. Decennial Census[8] 2014 Estimate[3]

2010 census

As of the census^[2] of 2010, there were 115 people, 47 households, and 31 families residing in the city. The population density was 460.0 inhabitants per square mile (177.6/km²). There were 59 housing units at an average density of 236.0 per square mile (91.1/km²). The racial makeup of the city was 97.4% White, 0.9% Native American, and 1.7% from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino of any race were 1.7% of the population.

There were 47 households of which 29.8% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 51.1% were married couples living together, 6.4% had a female householder with no husband present, 8.5% had a male householder with no wife present, and 34.0% were non-families. 27.7% of all households were made up of individuals and 6.4% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.45 and the average family size was 2.94.

The median age in the city was 41.3 years. 28.7% of residents were under the age of 18; 8.8% were between the ages of 18 and 24; 15.6% were from 25 to 44; 36.5% were from 45 to 64; and 10.4% were 65 years of age or older. The gender makeup of the city was 58.3% male and 41.7% female.

2000 census

As of the census of 2000, there were 105 people, 44 households, and 23 families residing in the city. The population density was 415.5 people per square mile (162.2/km²). There were 60 housing units at an average density of 237.4 per square mile (92.7/km²). The racial makeup of the city was 97.14% White, and 2.86% from two or more races.

There were 44 households out of which 29.5% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 50.0% were married couples living together, and 45.5% were non-families. 40.9% of all households were made up of individuals and 31.8% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.39 and the average family size was 3.46.

In the city the population was spread out with 31.4% under the age of 18, 4.8% from 18 to 24, 23.8% from 25 to 44, 20.0% from 45 to 64, and 20.0% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 40 years. For every 100 females there were 101.9 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 105.7 males.

The median income for a household in the city was $27,857, and the median income for a family was $37,188. Males had a median income of $27,500 versus $18,750 for females. The per capita income for the city was $14,831. There were no families and 1.1% of the population living below the poverty line, including no under eighteens and none of those over 64.

Notable people

• Orville W. Hagen, 27th Lieutenant Governor of North Dakota

References

1. "US Gazetteer files 2010". United States Census Bureau. Archived from the original on 2012-01-24. Retrieved 2012-06-14.
2. "American FactFinder". United States Census Bureau. Retrieved 2012-06-14.
3. "Population Estimates". United States Census Bureau. Retrieved May 27, 2015.
4. "US Board on Geographic Names". United States Geological Survey. 2007-10-25. Retrieved 2008-01-31.
5. "2010 Census Redistricting Data (Public Law 94-171) Summary File". American FactFinder. United States Census Bureau. Archived from the original on 26 July 2011. Retrieved 2 May 2011.
6. "US Gazetteer files: 2010, 2000, and 1990". United States Census Bureau. 2011-02-12. Retrieved 2011-04-23.
7. "Annual Estimates of the Resident Population for Incorporated Places: April 1, 2010 to July 1, 2015". Retrieved July 2, 2016.
8. "U.S. Decennial Census". Census.gov. Archived from the original on May 11, 2015. Retrieved May 25, 2014.

External links

Media related to Arnegard, North Dakota at Wikimedia Commons

• Contour map of Arnegard Lake