4/29/2015:
On this date in 1910, census enumerators in North Dakota were hard at work, counting the population of every township, village, city, and unincorporated area before the May 15 deadline. In Minot, citizens were excited to see the official report on their population numbers, which were projected to be between 8,000 and 9,000 people.
The first returns from the Bureau of the Census arrived in mid-August. However, these numbers showed that the population of the city was 6,188, far less than expected, and a great disappointment. Some wondered if the report had been transmitted in error, and the editor of the Minot Optic sent a note to Director Durand of the Census Department, saying there must be a mistake, and asking if the numbers could be rechecked. Within a few days, they had their answer – there was no error.
The Ward County Independent responded to the census returns with this statement: "The city of Minot has 6,188 people according to the census returns received a few days ago. Ours is the first city receiving official census returns in the state. North Minot has a population of 432, making a total for the two places of 6,620. While this is a disappointment to many who believed that the total for the two would not fall short of 9000, the growth during the past ten years is shown to be remarkable. The census of ten years ago showed that Minot had but 1,277, hence the gain is 4,911. In 1890, Minot had a population of but 575, making a gain of 5,613 in twenty years. If in the next ten years our city shows as healthy a growth as during the past decade, we will be satisfied."
On a side note, some of Minot's business class were "indulging in a few post mortem regrets that they did not respond to the call at the time the census was taken and show more interest in the result."
Elsewhere in the state, the 1910 Burleigh County population, which includes Bismarck, was just over thirteen thousand, up from approximately six thousand in 1900. Cass County, which includes Fargo, had a population close to 34,000, versus 28,625 in 1900. Divide County in the northwest corner of the state had no recorded population in 1900, but more than six thousand in 1910; and Stutsman County’s numbers, home to Jamestown, had grown from around nine thousand in 1900 to eighteen thousand by 1910.
Dakota Datebook written by Sarah Walker
Sources:
The Ward County Independent, April 28, 2010, p1; May 5, 1910, p20; August 18, 1910, p2 and p3
The Bismarck Daily Tribune, August 14, 1910, p1; August 17, 1910, p2; August 21, 1910, p6; Feb 3, 1911, p3; May 5, 1911, p6
The Evening Times (Grand Forks), May 2, 1910, p2
North Dakota Blue Book, p401 (1913) https:// book