Grand Forks is the third-largest city in the state of North Dakota, and the county seat of Grand Forks County. The city was named for its location at the fork of the Red River and the Red Lake River. The Red River Flood of 1997 devastated the city. In 2010, the population was 52,838, while that of the City and its surrounding metropolitan area was 98,461.
About Grand Forks, North Dakota in brief
Grand Forks is the third-largest city in the state of North Dakota, and the county seat of Grand Forks County. The city was named for its location at the fork of the Red River and the Red Lake River. It is located on the western banks of the north-flowing Red River of the North. The Red River Flood of 1997 devastated the city. The area where the city developed, for thousands of years had been an important meeting and trading point for Native Americans. In 1883, the University of N.D. was established, six years before North Dakota was admitted as an independent state born from the Dakota Territory. In the 1920s, the state-owned North Dakota Mill and Elevator was constructed on the city’s north side. In 1954, Grand forks was chosen as the site for an Air Force base. The military base brought thousands of new jobs and residents to the community. With construction of federal highways, during the postwar years residential and business development became suburbanized spreading to new land was available. The Alerus Center and Ralph Engelstad Arena host athletic and other events, while the Empire Arts Center and Chester Fritz Auditorium are the city’s largest cultural venues. In 1997, the city suffered the most damage of any major city in Red River Valley in the history of flooding. The government began developing a new levee system to protect the city, which was later completed 10 years later. The United States acquired the territory from British Rupert’s Land with the Treaty of 1818, but indigenous tribes dominated the area until the late 19th century.
Early French explorers, fur trappers, and traders called the area Les Grandes Fourches, meaning “The Grand Forkers’”. When a U.S. S. post office was established on the site on June 15, 1870, the name was changed to the English “Grand forks” The city’s economy now encompasses higher education, defense, health care, manufacturing, food processing, and scientific research. It also includes a shopping area and two enclosed shopping malls – South Forks Plaza and Columbia Mall – were built on the south side of the city and two shopping areas – South Columbia Mall and Plaza Plaza – were on the north side of Red River River. In 2010, the population was 52,838, while that of the City and its surrounding metropolitan area was 98,461. The twin city of East Grand Fork, Minnesota, forms the center of the Grand ForKS, ND-MN Metropolitan Statistical Area, which is often called Greater Grand ForKs or the Grand Cities. The city grew quickly after the arrival of the Great Northern Railway in 1880 and the Northern Pacific Railway in 1887. The University of North. Dakota was established in 1883 and is the oldest institution of higher education in theState. The U.N. Air Force Base was established in 1954, and it is the site of the National Air Force Training Center.
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This page is based on the article Grand Forks, North Dakota published in Wikipedia (as of Dec. 03, 2020) and was automatically summarized using artificial intelligence.
