While the oil boom in the Bakken Formation area near Watford City, North Dakota has brought a lot of quick prosperity to many local residents, the character of the town is changing due to the growth of the 1,400 residents six years ago to 10,000 today. As The atlantic.com tells MHProNews, all manner of commercial enterprises are expanding as the 2,400 oil wells that have been drilled in McKenzie County to reach the deposits 10,000 feet below have attracted thousands of oil field workers and providers of industrial and consumer goods and services.

Many married men arrived alone, but are now bringing their families in, creating a huge influx of people whose major wish is to find affordable housing. A two-bedroom travel trailer rents for $2,000 or more a month. MHProNews has posted numerous stories of modular workforce housing being built in the western North Dakota region, as well as the rise in demand for manufactured housing. Louise Tanner, manager of Watford City Tourist Park, home to a half-dozen RVs, noting the small campground as a minor version of the town’s growth, said, “People are waiting for civilization to catch up with this wild thing that’s been happening here.” ##

(Photo credit: Elena Semuels/latimes.com–Watford City, North Dakota)