Dakota Mysteries and Oddities: North Dakota's Smallest Towns
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While most of North Dakota, past and present, is down-to-earth, some of the state’s sites and stories involve mystery and intrigue. Others are certainly out of the ordinary. Two of those unusal historical episodes are highlighted here.
During the construction of an anti-ballistic missile site in the 1970s, the Hove family built a trailer park on their farm to accommodate the growing number of workers. Within two years, the residents incorporated a town to solve some of the issues with maintaining the park. When the missile site closed, the workers left, leaving the population of Hove at just two.
Producer
Matt Olien (Producer); Dave Geck, Travis Jensen (Videographers)
Source
Dakota Oddities and Mysteries, Prairie Public Television (2003)
Standards
Explain ways humans benefit from Earth’s resources (e.g., air, water, soil, food, fuel, building materials)
Apply map skills (i.e., cardinal directions, map key, symbols) to read a simple map
Identify events on a simple time line
Identify the physical characteristics (e.g.,
landforms, bodies of water, vegetation, wildlife
and climate) of the local community
Describe ways (e.g., the development of transportation, communication, industry, and land use) geography has affected the development of the local community over time
Identify the varying roles (e.g., parent, teacher, brother/sister, student, girl/boy scout, community volunteer) that individuals play in various groups (i.e., family, school, and communities)
Use map scales to locate physical features and estimate distance on a map
Identify the location and characteristics of significant features of North Dakota (e.g., landforms, river systems, climate, regions, major cities)
Explain the factors (e.g., trade routes, goods available, location) that influenced the growth of cities
Explain how people create and change structures of power (e.g., force, elections, wars, reactions to economic conditions and natural disasters)
