Pioneer Museum of McKenzie County

The first floor of the building houses a strange combination of a visitor information center, a gift shop, and a liquor store. There are also a few fossils and a giant petrified tree stump that was found during a dig in the Badlands south of town. The second floor and the basement exhibits cover the history of McKenzie County and Watford City which was founded in 1914 when the railroad came through. Artifacts donated by the local people include household items and farm and ranching equipment. Watford City was affected by the Bakken oil boom and the population shot up from 1,700 people to over 6,000 in just 10 years. The city must have had good managers in the early years of the boom because Main Street has been beautifully renovated and upgraded.

The day that we visited two women were on duty - one who has lived her entire life in the area and has roots going back to the earlier oil boom of the 1980s and a younger woman who has lived all over the country but likes the atmosphere of Watford and is planning to stay. Interesting conversations with both of them.

The museum is accessible with a long ramp to the front porch and an elevator to the second floor and basement. The push button door were not working when we visited.

The parking lot is too small for anything but vans or short RVs. Parking is available in the lot of the children's park on the opposite side of Main Street. Museum  47.79957, -103.28358