Max is a city in McLean County,

North Dakota North Dakota ( ) is a U.S. state in the Upper Midwest, named after the indigenous Dakota people, Dakota and Sioux peoples. It is bordered by the Canadian provinces of Saskatchewan and Manitoba to the north and by the U.S. states of Minneso ...

, United States. The population was 331 at the 2020 census. Max was founded in 1906.

History

Before 1906, rumors were circulating that the Soo Line would lay track close to Elbow Lake, north of

Garrison A garrison is any body of troops stationed in a particular location, originally to guard it. The term now often applies to certain facilities that constitute a military base or fortified military headquarters. A garrison is usually in a city ...

, to obtain water for their

steam engine A steam engine is a heat engine that performs Work (physics), mechanical work using steam as its working fluid. The steam engine uses the force produced by steam pressure to push a piston back and forth inside a Cylinder (locomotive), cyl ...

s. On this prospect, enterprising businessmen swiftly began staking claims in anticipation of purchasing prime real estate in a new town. A haphazard

shack A shack (or, in some areas, shanty) is a type of small shelter or dwelling, often primitive or rudimentary in design and construction. Unlike huts, shacks are constructed by hand using available materials; however, whereas huts are usually r ...

-building boom ensued on the surrounding ambling

prairie Prairies are ecosystems considered part of the temperate grasslands, savannas, and shrublands biome by ecologists, based on similar temperate climates, moderate rainfall, and a composition of grasses, herbs, and shrubs, rather than trees, as the ...

s. On August 8, 1906, a

surveyor Surveying or land surveying is the technique, profession, art, and science of determining the terrestrial two-dimensional or three-dimensional positions of points and the distances and angles between them. These points are usually on the ...

named J.G. Sheldrick filed a certificate to

plat In the United States, a plat ( or ) (plan) is a cadastral map, drawn to scale, showing the divisions of a piece of land. United States General Land Office surveyors drafted township plats of Public Lands Survey System, Public Lands Surveys to ...

what would become the Max townsite on a grid. The Soo Line came from the south and would have east and west branches at a junction to be named "Junction" or "Junction City". However, people started calling it Max's

Post Office A post office is a public facility and a retailer that provides mail services, such as accepting letter (message), letters and parcel (package), parcels, providing post office boxes, and selling postage stamps, packaging, and stationery. Post o ...

, after Max Freitag, eldest son of Paul Freitag. Paul Freitag was a local

farmer A farmer is a person engaged in agriculture, raising living organisms for food or raw materials. The term usually applies to people who do some combination of raising field crops, orchards, vineyards, poultry, or other livestock. A farmer ...

and the first

postmaster A postmaster is the head of an individual post office, responsible for all postal activities in a specific post office. When a postmaster is responsible for an entire mail distribution organization (usually sponsored by a national government), ...

. Max asked people he met at the junction if they were coming to ''"his"'' post office to pick up their mail. The name, truncated to simply Max, stuck (in habit, if not officially). When the town was later moved two miles west to the present townsite, the name was changed officially to Max. The Central Light and Power Company installed

street light A street light, light pole, lamp pole, lamppost, streetlamp, light standard, or lamp standard is a raised source of light on the edge of a road or path. Similar lights may be found on a railway platform. When urban electric power distribution b ...

s in January 1918. In 1947, Max decided to fully

incorporate Incorporation may refer to: * Incorporation (business), the creation of a business or corporation * Incorporation of a place, the creation of municipal corporation such as a city or county * Incorporation (academic), awarding a degree based on the ...

, with affairs managed by an elected

mayor In many countries, a mayor is the highest-ranking official in a Municipal corporation, municipal government such as that of a city or a town. Worldwide, there is a wide variance in local laws and customs regarding the powers and responsibilitie ...

, and aldermanic council of four. In the early 1950s, the town obtained a new

telephone system A telephone network is a telecommunications network that connects telephones, which allows telephone calls between two or more parties, as well as newer features such as fax and internet. The idea was revolutionized in the 1920s, as more and more ...

, updated fire equipment,

waterworks Water supply is the provision of water by public utilities, commercial organisations, community endeavors or by individuals, usually via a system of pumps and pipes. Public water supply systems are crucial to properly functioning societies. Thes ...

water main A water distribution system is a part of water supply network with components that carry potable water from a centralized treatment plant or wells to consumers to satisfy residential, commercial, industrial and fire fighting requirements. Defi ...

s and a

sewerage Sewerage (or sewage system) is the infrastructure that conveys sewage or surface runoff ( stormwater, meltwater, rainwater) using sewers. It encompasses components such as receiving drains, manholes, pumping stations, storm overflows, and scr ...

system.

Geography

According to the

United States Census Bureau The United States Census Bureau, officially the Bureau of the Census, is a principal agency of the Federal statistical system, U.S. federal statistical system, responsible for producing data about the American people and American economy, econ ...

, the city has a total area of , all land.

Climate

Demographics

2010 census

As of the

census A census (from Latin ''censere'', 'to assess') is the procedure of systematically acquiring, recording, and calculating population information about the members of a given Statistical population, population, usually displayed in the form of stati ...

of 2010, there were 334 people, 141 households, and 90 families residing in the city. The

population density Population density (in agriculture: Standing stock (disambiguation), standing stock or plant density) is a measurement of population per unit land area. It is mostly applied to humans, but sometimes to other living organisms too. It is a key geog ...

was . There were 164 housing units at an average density of . The racial makeup of the city was 94.3%

White White is the lightest color and is achromatic (having no chroma). It is the color of objects such as snow, chalk, and milk, and is the opposite of black. White objects fully (or almost fully) reflect and scatter all the visible wa ...

, 2.7% Native American, and 3.0% from two or more races.

Hispanic The term Hispanic () are people, Spanish culture, cultures, or countries related to Spain, the Spanish language, or broadly. In some contexts, Hispanic and Latino Americans, especially within the United States, "Hispanic" is used as an Ethnici ...

or Latino of any race were 0.3% of the population. There were 141 households, of which 29.1% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 53.2% were

married couples Marriage, also called matrimony or wedlock, is a culturally and often legally recognised union between people called spouses. It establishes rights and obligations between them, as well as between them and their children (if any), and b ...

living together, 5.7% had a female householder with no husband present, 5.0% had a male householder with no wife present, and 36.2% were non-families. 30.5% of all households were made up of individuals, and 12.7% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.37 and the average family size was 2.89. The median age in the city was 37.7 years. 24.6% of residents were under the age of 18; 8.7% were between the ages of 18 and 24; 25.5% were from 25 to 44; 27.6% were from 45 to 64; and 13.8% were 65 years of age or older. The gender makeup of the city was 50.6% male and 49.4% female.

2000 census

As of the

of 2000, there were 278 people, 129 households, and 74 families residing in the city. The population density was . There were 150 housing units at an average density of . The racial makeup of the city was 95.68%

, 1.44% Native American, 1.44% Asian, and 1.44% from two or more races. There were 129 households, out of which 28.7% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 48.8% were

living together, 7.8% had a female householder with no husband present, and 42.6% were non-families. 40.3% of all households were made up of individuals, and 27.9% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.16 and the average family size was 2.92. In the city, the population was spread out, with 25.9% under the age of 18, 5.8% from 18 to 24, 21.9% from 25 to 44, 25.2% from 45 to 64, and 21.2% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 42 years. For every 100 females, there were 87.8 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 80.7 males. The median income for a household in the city was $27,321, and the median income for a family was $31,375. Males had a median income of $26,250 versus $16,563 for females. The

per capita income Per capita income (PCI) or average income measures the average income earned per person in a given area (city, region, country, etc.) in a specified year. In many countries, per capita income is determined using regular population surveys, such ...

for the city was $13,640. About 10.8% of families and 17.9% of the population were below the

poverty line The poverty threshold, poverty limit, poverty line, or breadline is the minimum level of income deemed adequate in a particular country. The poverty line is usually calculated by estimating the total cost of one year's worth of necessities for ...

, including 28.8% of those under the age of 18 and 21.0% of those 65 or over.

Local politics

Jodi Gullickson, the mayor of Max preceding current mayor Richard Seklecki, faced an unsuccessful effort to

recall Recall may refer to: * Recall (baseball), a baseball term * Recall (bugle call), a signal to stop * Recall (information retrieval), a statistical measure * ReCALL (journal), ''ReCALL'' (journal), an academic journal about computer-assisted langua ...

her in a

special election A by-election, also known as a special election in the United States and the Philippines, or a bypoll in India, is an election used to fill an office that has become vacant between general elections. A vacancy may arise as a result of an incumben ...

held in April 2007. The recall election followed several resignations in Max's government in late 2006.

Education

It is within the Max Public School District 50.
Text list
/ref>

References

External links

Max, North Dakota Official Website
{{authority control Cities in North Dakota Cities in McLean County, North Dakota Populated places established in 1906 1906 establishments in North Dakota