Driving into New Town South Dakota is interesting. There are two brand new looking hotels when entering from east to west. There’s a new grocery store next to the two hotels. The new look of the buildings fades away just a few blocks into the small town. The main street through the town has an old, almost Western feel to it. The odd feeling between very new and very old is a contrast not usually seen in the middle of a small town.
The small town takes only a few minutes to drive through it. The restaurants on the main street include a little café that includes your typical American breakfast options. There’s also a small Mexican restaurant that seemed to be very popular with people coming in and out constantly throughout the day.
The town of New Town is located on Fort Berthold, which is a Native American reservation home to the MHA nation (Mandan, Hidatsa and Arikara). Three tribes brought together because of a smallpox outbreak in the 1800s.
The town has a unique history.
Prior to the construction of New Town there were several small towns in the area. The towns of Sanish, Elbowoods, Lucky Mound, Shell Creek, Nishu, Charging Eagle, Beaver Creek, Red Butte, Indpendence and Van Hook were in place in the surrounding area. All of these towns were eliminated to make way for a dam.
The dam and reservoir project, approved by the United States Congress in 1944, on MHA Nation land, had a goal to create a lake some 200 miles long. The goal was to provide water for irrigation and other needs for the region.
Since the existing towns were to be destroyed by the lake created by the dam, a new town was to be created. Hence New Town. The town was constructed, with the help of the Army Corps of Engineers. The deadline for residents to move out of the dissolving towns was July of 1953.
New Town is a smaller town with a population of 1,925 according to the most recent census. Of that population 1,471 are of Native American descent and 342 are Caucasian. Mayor Daniel Uran stated that the population swelled into the 3000s when the oil boom occurred.
The discovery of oil occurred in 2007 underneath Fort Berthold. Since then the small town has went through some changes and brought in many oil workers. Originally, the oil companies built man camps. These camps, located outside of New Town, were places for oil workers to live during the height of the oil boom. The man camps are “mostly gone” according to Mayor Uran with new apartments, and the aforementioned hotels, being built. The mayor did have a word to say regarding the oil workers.
“They work hard, so when they come into town they want to play hard,” said Mayor Uran.
Mayor Uran did admit that the influx of oil workers increased crime in the small town, but believes the oil companies are doing their due diligence to help ease the increased crime.
“They can’t stop everything,” said Mayor Uran.
Mayor Uran believes that New Town is economically for the long term.
“The town is set up for long term economic success because of the oil boom,” said Mayor Uran.
New Town does appear to be headed in a better economic direction as a result of the boom. The problem is taking the good with the bad. With the success of the oil boom comes in oil workers. The oil workers make upwards of one hundred thousand dollars per year. And in a small place like New Town that money has to be spent somewhere.
Professor Rick Ruddell explains the influx of crime in conjunction with oil booms in chapter four of his book Oil, Gas, and Crime.
“It’s easier to get a prostitute than it is ordering pizza,” writes Ruddell quoting an unnamed police officer.
Despite the influx of crime in New Town associated with the oil boom, Mayor Uran stays positive in-regards-to the oil company’s contribution.
“The oil companies donate to the police and fire departments and also donate to the community to help create a better quality of life,” said Mayor Uran.
The residents of New Town are being affected by increased crime, increased housing costs and the previous generation had to leave their homes to make way for a water reservoir. It’s a town that appears to have very little going on, but in actuality has many working parts, both good and bad, that affect the everyday life of its residents.