Country United States County Mountrail Incorporated 1915 Elevation 580 m Area code 701 | State North Dakota Founded 1914 Disincorporated 1953 Area 94.53 km² | |
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Van Hook is a ghost town in the north central United States, located in Van Hook Township in Mountrail County, North Dakota. The original town site was inundated when Lake Sakakawea was formed in the 1950s behind Garrison Dam, and most of the residents moved to New Town. Much of the old townsite is underwater, and that which remains was converted to a park. Lake Sakakawea's Van Hook Arm gets its name from the town.
History
Van Hook was founded in 1914 as a station on the Soo Line Railroad. It is named after Fred Van Hook, who was one of the first to survey the area in 1911. It was incorporated in 1915, and reported a peak population of 372 in 1930. In fact, the town grew so fast that it earned the nickname "The City of Speed."
When the Garrison Dam was built in the early 1950s, forming Lake Sakakawea, the town's residents relocated to New Town, which the government had built to house those displaced by the dam. Residents from Sanish, which was also flooded, also moved here. The town's last reported population in 1950 was 380.