OUR HISTORY
Minot was founded in 1886 where the Great Northern Railway's construction crew set up winter
camp. As if by magic, a tent town formed practically overnight and grew to a population of 5,000 in
the next five months—giving us our best known nickname, "The Magic City." During the Prohibition
era, some people called Minot "Little Chicago" (We've always been known to have fun!), but today
our reputation is different from those bootlegging days. In 2010, Forbes ranked Minot as #12 on the
list of "The Best Small Cities To Raise a Family."
NOTEWORTHY
Minot is the hometown of Hollywood A-list actor, Josh Duhamel. Nearly a century ago, it was
also home to horror actor, Boris Karloff.
With more than 13 million online votes from around the nation, Minot's Oak Park won the title
of "America's Favorite Park" and received a $100,000 grant through Coca-Cola's second annual
Live Positively initiative!
Roosevelt Park Zoo is North Dakota's Oldest Zoo, established in 1920.
The state's record smallmouth bass (6 lb, 13 oz.) was caught in 2007 at Lake Darling near Minot.
The Minot Air Force Base, just north of Minot, has personnel from all over the world. Its motto
is, "Only the Best Come North."
Minot celebrates North America's largest Scandinavian Festival, Norsk Høstfest, every fall.
In 1991, a 230-year-old house from Norway was dismantled, shipped to Minot and reassembled
in the Scandinavian Heritage Park where you can view it today.
visitminot.org
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