Underwood, ND History Album #1 - A nice town with wonderful memories!

(1950s) - Boardman's Texaco at the entrance to Underwood
(Across the street from Cromer's Park Inn)

There was never a dull moment around the 'boom towns' extending less than 10 miles from Riverdale to Gateway. In a 2-mile stretch about 1,000 residents made up the towns of SILVER CITY, BIG BEND, DAKOTA CITY AND SITKA. There were 12 bars catering to hard working, hard living Garrison Dam construction workers, the most famous called the Dakota Bar.

SILVER CITY (1946) Had Jimmy's Bar, Silver Dollar Bar, Silver City Cafe, Standard Service Station and the Silver City Garage and a taxi service.

First few houses built in Silver City:

(Courtesy of Bill Nehring, Bowbells, ND)

BIG BEND across the highway had the Big Bend Hardware, Art's Service Station, Big Bend Drug Store, Steve's Bar, LaValley's barber shop, M & C Clothing, Horace Wood's Cafe, Cities Service Station, a bowling alley, Assembly of God Church and the Missouri Synod Lutheran Church.

SITKA had McNulty's Airplane Service, Sitka Cottage Cafe, and a grocery store. East of Sitka was the Ranger Bar in American City.

SCRIP (store in-trade tokens) from the Quality Super Market in Sitka.
(Courtesy of Bill Nehring, Bowbells, ND)

Photo Courtesy of Jerry McQuay; Pierre, SD (2005)

(Former Sitka Resident - 1950-54) "My parents lived there during the building of the Garrison Dam from 1950-54. I was eight years old when we left in the Summer of 1954. The map of Sitka

was drawn by what I and my older brother could remember. My parents had taken this photo of our house which shows some of the are of what Sitka looked like. An 'X' on the map is where the house was located. "

"Sitka had a one-room school house that held class for grades one through three. Then you had to take a bus to Riverdale. Sitka also had a string of apartment houses that were located back behind the store."

"I remember an airplane hangar that was a house with two round concrete containers that looked like aeration ponds that may have been for water or sewer processing. The house was abandoned and the concrete containers were not in use when we were there, so we used to play around them. We became pretty familiar with Sitka and the neighboring towns as were the paper boys delivering the Minneapolis Sunday paper as well as sale bills for the store at Sitka. Big Bend also contained the Post Office for the surrounding towns." -- Jerry McQuay; Pierre, SD (2006)

DAKOTA CITY had the Dakota Service Station and the Dakota Club and the Pigeman's Cafe.

GATEWAY had the Oasis Drive-in and dining room. A barn served as a skating rink and dance hall.