PERM COPY y&mkk NORTH DAKOTA COMMUNITV FACT SURVEY BY OTTER TAIL POWER COMPANY k NORTH DAKOTA ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT COMMISSION IN COOPERATION WITH P<m4 €ak<i Qkmm of Q$wmtcc f, F Devils Lake, North Dakota. 6hU .DU9 Dhx NORTH DAKOTA STATE LIBRARY BISMARCK 58501 PUQ 14^974 3 3105 00040 3335 ,M9 DEVILS LAKE, NORTH DAKOTA COMMUNITY FACT SURVEY Sponsored By Devils Lake Chamber of Commerce In Cooperation With North Dakota Economic Development Commission Bismarck, North Dakota and Area Development and Community Relations Department Otter Tail Power Company This brochure is the result of a community fact survey undertaken in Devils Lake, North Dakota, by the Devils Lake Chamber of Commerce in cooperation with the North Dakota Economic Development Commission and the Otter Tail Power Company. The information was compiled with the hope that it would be of interest and of value to industries, commercial concerns and professional people that were considering Devils Lake as a potential site. Every effort was made to make this brochure as complete and factual as possible. For further information regarding Devils Lake, please direct your inquiry to: Devils Lake Chamber of Commerce Otter Tail Power Company Devils Lake, North Dakota Di strict Off ice Telephone No. MO 2-21 37 OR Devils Lake, North Dakota Telephone No. M0 2-U02I A word of thanks and appreciation is extended to all who assisted in the preparation of th is brochure. North Dakota State Libra?? Bismarck, ND 585J1 DEVILS LAKEAr" CITY OF DEVILS 1LAK DEVILS LAKE, NORTH DAKOTA City Commission Fred Hoghaug, President Floyd Felchle, Vice-President K. 0. Holier Arnold E. Leer Minor Jacobson F. J. Burckhard City Auditor Devils Lake, a City of 7, 000 friendly people, offers many- advantages and opportunities for any business, manufacturer or new residents. Devils Lake has excellent school facilities including a two year Liberal Arts Junior College, nice churches and good recreational facilities. The recreational facilities include a nine hole grass green golf course, water sports, duck and goose hunting, skating and skiing. Devils Lake's newest asset is its splendid water of which there is an ample supply at reasonable rates. Our City has been operated conservatively over the past years so our tax rates are competitive with cities our size. Ai Mayor of Devils Lake, I extend a cordial invitation to consider our City for any and all industries or commercial businesses. Fred Hoghaug / Mayor of the £ity of Devils'" Lake "Buy North Dakota Products" 2 DEVILS LAKE! DEVILS LAKE-¥- CHAMB: ^R OF co: MERGE "The Friendly City" DE Best Water In The State /1L S LAKE, NORTH DAKOTA We are proud of our city of Devils Lake and feel it is a growing city with a very definite future. Devils Lake is a retail center located between Grand Forks and Minot, North Dakota, 94 miles from Grand Forks and 124 miles from Minot, and serves a large area of the population between the two cities. It is serviced by two railroads, the Soo Line and the Great Northern, and is a regularly scheduled stop of the North Central airlines. Devils Lake has a daily news­ paper, a weekly newspaper and a radio station, two national banks, five department stores, good men's and ladies stores, four supermarkets, plus many other fine shops, an excellent hospital and two medical clinics. It is very complete in all service facilities. Devils Lake's attitude toward industrial activity and growth is extremely favorable. The business and professional people are keenly interested in attracting industry to the city and its Chamber of Commerce is eager and anxious to encourage the establishment of additional firms. A really fine welcome awaits the prospective industrialist. We hope you will read this brochure thoroughly and learn of the many fine things our city has to offer and we will be pleased to provide any additional information or help that might be requested. Milton A. Barker, President Devils Lake Chamber of Commerce HOME OF THE LAKE REGION JUNIOR COLLEGE 3 TABLE OF CONTENTS Page Introduct i on I Mayor's Letter Chamber President's Letter Tab 1e of Con ten ts General I nformat ion 5-6 Raw Materials and Agricultural Production 7-9 Cl i mate 10 Mun i c i pal Serv i ces 11-13 Map of Devils Lake 14 Tax Structure I 5-1 7 Commu n i ty Se rv i ces I 8-20 Commun i ty Facilities 21-30 Transportation 31 Electric Power 32 Labor 33-34 Commun icat i ons 35 Market I nformat i on 36 Map of Trade Area 37 Industrial Development 38-39 GENERAL INFORMATION LOCATION Devils Lake, "The Heart of the Lake Region," is situated north of North Dakota's largest natural lake, in Ramsey County, in the northeastern quarter of North Dakota. U. S. Highway No. 2, a hard-surfaced east and west transcontinental highway, skirts the county seat community on the south. Entering the city from the south is North Dakota State Highway No. 57 in addition to No. 20, which continues on to the Canadian border approximately 70 miles to the north. In addition, State Highway No. 19, a hard-surfaced highway, runs west from Devils Lake and is the direct route to the airport. ELEVATION AND The highest point on which the community of Devils Lake is located is 1,470 feet above sea level, while the lowest is only 1,440. Surrounding TOPOGRAPHY the city, because of its location near the lake and because it is located on glaciated upland or the "drift prairie," the land varies greatly. To the north the land is rolling and flat; to the east and west it is flat; and to the south it is hilly, almost mountainous and rolling. In this area, the fertility of the soil is most remarkable. Because the soil is a result of glacial drift, it is a rich, black, vegetable loam mixed with lime, gypsum and other fertilizing materials. Underlaying this entire region is a heavy, rich layer of clay subsoil. POPULATION The community of Devils Lake, which covers approximately 1,596 acres of business and residential area, has a population of 6,299. In considering the population of Devils Lake itself, it must be noted that the city limits do not include the suburban developments located south of.Highway No. 2 and Lakewood Park, thus adding about 1,700 people to the 6,299. The population of the Devils Lake trade area, composed of parts of seven counties, totals over 60,000, with over 20,000 of these people living within a 25-mile radius of the city. COURT HOUSE 5 GENERAL INFORMATION BRIEF HI STORY Devils Lake bears its history proudly, but with neither the desire nor the intention of living in the past. With its name springing from the lore of its Indians and its colorful history dating back to the late 1800's, its more than 7,500 residents look to the coming decades when Devils Lake will fulfill its potential as an industrial center. The city celebrated its Diamond Jubilee in 1957 and, as part of the over-all observance, a very complete and factual history of the community was compiled. Anyone interested in details of Devils Lake's history and growth is invited to write or visit the Devils Lake Chamber of Commerce. RAW MATERIALS AND AGRICULTURAL PRODUCTION NATURAL Devils Lake, due to its location on the main highway to the great oil RESOURCES and natural gas fields in the state, enjoys year-around traffic to and from these points. Also being close to the state's lignite coal fields, Devils Lake is an ideal location for industry able to utilize this low cost fuel. The fields produce lignite valued at $8,000,000 annually and can supply the needs of the nation for many years to come. Modern research laboratories have already found more than 30 by-products of lignite offering a great challenge to industry of tomorrow. Coal, bauxite, petroleum, sand and gravel are raw materials available in or near the vicinity of Devils Lake. Large quantities of wheat, barley, flax and other grain straw are wasted each year, which may at some time be utilized by industry. The area surrounding Devils Lake has 14,000 acres of tree growth, of which 4,800 acres are commercial forest. TOURIST AND The possibilities for further development of tourist and recreational RECREATIONAL facilities in Devils Lake are outstandingly favorable due to the abundance of wooded areas, hills, lakes, historical sites and the DEVELOPMENT invigorating climate. MATERIALS, CROPS Local processing is confined primarily to agricultural products. There AND PRODUCE PRO- are tnree meat processors, one hatchery, one dairy and three mills processing grains for various types of feed. CESSED LOCALLY FORT TOTTEN CAVALRY SQUARE 7 RAW MATERIALS AND AGRICULTURAL PRODUCTION AGRICULTURE Supplementary to the industrial opportunities available, Devils Lake offers an opportunity to share in the wealth of tremendous agricultural development that surrounds it. Grain crops of durum, hard wheat, flax, rye, oats and corn are diversified with a strongly established beef, hog, sheep and dairying industry. As the county seat of Ramsey County, the city has at hand all of the facilities desirable for a "heart-of- the-farmland" community including: the County Extension office, the Agriculture Conservation Service office, the Soil Conservation office and the Farm Home Administration office. The major types of soil found in the Devils Lake area are loams of the Barnes, Glyndon, Hamerly and Svea varieties. These loams vary somewhat in consistency; but all are very rich, black, well-drained soils which vary from gently rolling to almost level in topographical detail.