Tuttle is a city in

Kidder County Kidder County is a County (United States), county located in the U.S. state of North Dakota. As of the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, the population was 2,394. Its county seat is Steele, North Dakota, Steele. History The Dakota Territ ...

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 60 at the 2020 census. Tuttle was founded in 1911. At the turn of the 19th century and early 20th century, the land surrounding Tuttle was predominantly, although not exclusively, homesteaded by families of German-Russian ethnicity. Many of their descendants still farm and ranch the land around Tuttle.

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. Because of its location in the

Prairie Pothole Region The Prairie Pothole Region (PPR) is an expansive area of the northern Great Plains that contains thousands of shallow wetlands known as potholes. These potholes are the result of glacier activity in the Wisconsin glaciation The Wisconsin gl ...

and the

Central Flyway The Central Flyway is a bird migration route that generally follows the Great Plains in the United States and Canada. The main endpoints of the flyway include the Canadian Prairies and the region surrounding the Gulf of Mexico; the migration route ...

, residents enjoy access to outdoor hunting activities. Tuttle has also become a destination for waterfowl hunters.

History

According to the Tuttle 50th anniversary book published in 1961, Tuttle was named for Col. William P. Tuttle, an official in the Dakota Land & Townsite Company which platted the town in 1910. Col. Tuttle reportedly never lived in Tuttle, but was fond of the town and once purchased baseball uniforms for the local team. The

Northern Pacific Railway The Northern Pacific Railway was an important American transcontinental railroad that operated across the northern tier of the Western United States, from Minnesota to the Pacific Northwest between 1864 and 1970. It was approved and chartered b ...

laid a track through Tuttle on October 4, 1911. Service between Tuttle and Pingree to the east started later that month. On January 21, 1917, fire completely destroyed the Miller General Store and several other Tuttle businesses. Citizens responded and were able to save other businesses from the flames. Following this fire, citizens met to organize a volunteer fire department which exists to this day. J.W. Wittmayer was elected the first fire chief of Tuttle. Many family histories recorded in the anniversary book tell of extreme hardships with the weather which can produce severe cold and blizzards in the winter and blazing heat and strong storms in the summer. On July 3, 1935, at about 9 am, the town experienced a notable weather event. A strong wind came up first and hail started falling and, combined with drenching rain, it caused significant damage to Tuttle and surrounding areas. Reportedly, nearly every window facing north and west was broken in homes and business places. Despite the damage, a July 4 Independence Day celebration occurred as planned. On July 1, 1952, about 7:00 pm, a tornado struck Tuttle in the evening. The clouds in the sky reportedly looked very threatening. As the tornado drew closer to the town, residents reported hearing a sound like "hundreds of freight trains bearing down." The funnel could not be seen in Tuttle as there was so much dust in the air, but people south of the town reported seeing it very clearly. The tornado heavily damaged several homes in Tuttle, but the majority were not touched. 2007 was a particularly difficult year for Tuttle. In this year, the Tuttle School closed. The Danielson Hotel, an abandoned hotel landmark on Tuttle's main street, was demolished. On November 19, 2007, the Tuttle post office building, a historic field stone structure created in 1938 as a WPA project, was significantly damaged after a furnace ignited and fire gutted the building. The resulting smoke plume was visible for many miles. The fire did not destroy the field stone and concrete walls, and the building was restored by 2011. Like many other small towns on the

North America North America is a continent in the Northern Hemisphere, Northern and Western Hemisphere, Western hemispheres. North America is bordered to the north by the Arctic Ocean, to the east by the Atlantic Ocean, to the southeast by South Ameri ...

Great Plains The Great Plains is a broad expanse of plain, flatland in North America. The region stretches east of the Rocky Mountains, much of it covered in prairie, steppe, and grassland. They are the western part of the Interior Plains, which include th ...

that were settled in the early 20th century, nearly a century after its founding Tuttle has experienced the closure of many business which has paralleled a population trend of outmigration of young people to larger cities and a subsequent aging of its population. Today, Tuttle is without a bank, a school and newspaper, but is home to a well stocked co-op grocery store and grain elevator. Although the railroad track that caused Tuttle to be platted was removed around 2004, improved roads and access to

Interstate 94 Interstate 94 (I-94) is an east–west Interstate Highway connecting the Great Lakes and northern Great Plains regions of the United States. Its western terminus is just east of Billings, Montana, at a junction with I-90; its eastern ter ...

has reduced the isolation of Tuttle. The cities of Bismarck and Jamestown are approximately a one-hour drive from Tuttle, and are therefore accessible to Tuttle residents.

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 80 people, 43 households, and 20 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 69 housing units at an average density of . The racial makeup of the city was 100.0%

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 ...

. There were 43 households, of which 7.0% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 37.2% 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, 4.7% had a female householder with no husband present, 4.7% had a male householder with no wife present, and 53.5% were non-families. 46.5% of all households were made up of individuals, and 23.3% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 1.86 and the average family size was 2.50. The median age in the city was 59.3 years. 12.5% of residents were under the age of 18; 2.7% were between the ages of 18 and 24; 13.9% were from 25 to 44; 37.6% were from 45 to 64; and 33.8% were 65 years of age or older. The gender makeup of the city was 53.8% male and 46.3% female.

2000 census

As of the

of 2000, there were 106 people, 56 households, and 28 families residing in the city. The population density was . There were 79 housing units at an average density of . The racial makeup of the city was 99.06%

, and 0.94% from two or more races. There were 56 households, out of which 16.1% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 48.2% were

living together, 1.8% had a female householder with no husband present, and 50.0% were non-families. 46.4% of all households were made up of individuals, and 26.8% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 1.89 and the average family size was 2.71. In the city, the population was spread out, with 15.1% under the age of 18, 4.7% from 18 to 24, 12.3% from 25 to 44, 36.8% from 45 to 64, and 31.1% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 53 years. For every 100 females, there were 103.8 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 95.7 males. The median income for a household in the city was $25,000, and the median income for a family was $46,875. Males had a median income of $50,625 versus $16,607 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 $17,970. There were no families and 6.2% of the population living 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 no under eighteens and 13.3% of those over 64.

Climate

This

climatic Climate is the long-term weather pattern in a region, typically averaged over 30 years. More rigorously, it is the mean and variability of meteorological variables over a time spanning from months to millions of years. Some of the meteorolog ...

region is typified by large seasonal temperature differences, with warm to hot (and often humid) summers and cold (sometimes severely cold) winters. According to the

Köppen Climate Classification The Köppen climate classification divides Earth climates into five main climate groups, with each group being divided based on patterns of seasonal precipitation and temperature. The five main groups are ''A'' (tropical), ''B'' (arid), ''C'' (te ...

system, Tuttle has a

humid continental climate A humid continental climate is a climatic region defined by Russo-German climatologist Wladimir Köppen in 1900, typified by four distinct seasons and large seasonal temperature differences, with warm to hot (and often humid) summers, and cold ...

, abbreviated "Dfb" on climate maps.

References

External links

Tuttle, North Dakota, 60th anniversary, 1911-1971
from th
Digital Horizons website
{{Authority control German-Russian culture in North Dakota Cities in Kidder County, North Dakota Cities in North Dakota Populated places established in 1911