Washburn, North Dakota
9 topographic sheets cover this place, the earliest surveyed in 1949 and the latest in 1961. It stands in Washburn City. It lies in ZIP code area 58577. The Survey maps it on the Washburn quadrangle. 1,300 people lived here at the 2020 count. It stands 1,755 feet above sea level.
On record in Washburn
Buildings and businesses the archive holds for this place. Each opens its own page, with the source record it came from.
On the National Register 3 records
Former McLean County Courthouselisted 1985
Ingersoll Schoollisted 2010- Fort Buford Stage Roadlisted 2019
Population over time
3 figuresWashburn grew from 657 to 1,300 between 1910 and 2020. These are the recorded population figures Wikidata holds for this place, reached through the Geographic Names Information System number this page is keyed on rather than by name, so they belong to this place and not to another of the same name. Most are census counts, but not all are: an early figure may be a founding or settlement estimate, and an estimate published within five years of a census is left out. The change column is computed, and is left blank where more than 20 years separate a figure from the one before it, because a gap that long is not a change between two counts.
| Year | People | Change |
|---|---|---|
| 1910 | 657 | |
| 2010 | 1,246 | |
| 2020 | 1,300 | +54 (+4%) |
Topographic sheets covering this place
4 surveys from 9 printed sheetsMatched by testing this settlement's coordinate against the published boundary of every sheet in the United States Geological Survey's historical collection. Each opens the scanned sheet at the Survey.
- 1949 USGS Washburn quadrangle1:62500, 2 printings
- 1954 USGS McClusky quadrangle1:250000, 3 printings
- 1958 USGS McClusky quadrangle1:250000
- 1961 USGS Washburn quadrangle1:24000, 3 printings
Fires near this place
4 since 2017Regional context, not property-specific evidence. The federal wildfire occurrence database lists 4 fires within 5 miles of Washburn between 2017 and 2020, burning about 5 acres in total. None started naturally. None was recorded as arson. Distance is straight-line from the map coordinates, so a fire counted here may appear on a neighbouring settlement's page as well.
| Reported cause | Fires |
|---|---|
| Equipment and vehicle use | 3 |
| Fireworks | 1 |
The most recent of them, most recent first, with the day each was reported and the service that recorded it.
| Date | Cause | Size | Reported by | Name on the report |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 4 July 2017 | Fireworks | 1.0 acres | North Dakota State Forest Service | WASHBURN RR FIRE |
| 11 July 2019 | Equipment and vehicle use | under an acre | North Dakota State Forest Service | WINN FIRE |
| 24 June 2020 | Equipment and vehicle use | 3.0 acres | North Dakota State Forest Service | HENSLER HAY FIRE |
| 12 April 2017 | Equipment and vehicle use | 1.0 acres | North Dakota State Forest Service | HWY 83 MM 123 |
Mines and quarries near this place
2 within 5 milesRegional context, not property-specific evidence. The federal mineral resources record lists 2 workings within 5 miles of Washburn: 1 past producer, 1 unknown. None of them still produces. What was taken out: Sand and Gravel, Construction. Distance is straight-line from the map coordinates, so a quarry counted here may appear on a neighbouring settlement's page as well.
| Where | Site | Commodity | Status | Recorded |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Fisher Sand & Gravel Was | Sand and Gravel, Construction | Unknown | ||
| Van Oosting Pit and Plant | Sand and Gravel, Construction | Past Producer |
Storms near this place
47 since 1998Regional context, not property-specific evidence. The National Weather Service names Washburn in 47 storm reports between 1998 and 2025: 24 hail, 17 thunderstorm wind, 3 tornado, 1 funnel cloud. No death or injury is recorded in these reports. Each account below is quoted exactly as the forecast office filed it, from the NOAA Storm Events Database, and each date opens the federal record of that event.
| When | Event | Place named | Harm | What the report says |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| August 2006 | Thunderstorm Wind | Washburn | $675,000 | Significant damage to a grain elevator, one home, and a few vehicles in Falkirk, ND. |
| July 2020 | Thunderstorm Wind | Washburn | $150,000 | Many trees were blown down in the park along the river in Washburn, at the 4-H camp, and throughout the city. The concession stand and outhouses were blown over at the baseball park. Some buildings were damaged. |
| June 2018 | Thunderstorm Wind | Washburn | $50,000 | Multiple trees and power lines were down. |
| August 2008 | Thunderstorm Wind | Washburn | $6,000 | Severe thunderstorm winds blew down three large cotton wood trees at Fort Mandan. |
| August 2010 | Lightning | Washburn | $4,000 | Electrical appliances in a home were damaged due to a lightning strike on a tree near the home. Also damaged was a vehicle which had its side window blown out. |
| June 2025 | Tornado (EFU) | Washburn | - | The tornado touched down in an open field east-southeast of Washburn and impacted no structures. There was no damage to evaluate. By National Weather Service policy the tornado is rated EF-U (Unknown). |
| August 2023 | Thunderstorm Wind | Washburn | - | Multiple sunflower fields between Washburn and Wilton were damaged by the strong winds. |
| September 2023 | Thunderstorm Wind | Washburn | - | Thunderstorm wind gusts were estimated by a trained spotter. |
| June 2018 | Thunderstorm Wind | Washburn | - | Law Enforcement estimated thunderstorm wind gusts of 60 mph. |
| July 2017 | Thunderstorm Wind | Washburn | - | A trained spotter estimated thunderstorm wind gusts of 65 mph. |
| July 2016 | Thunderstorm Wind | Washburn | - | The public estimated thunderstorm wind gusts of 60 mph. |
| August 2013 | Thunderstorm Wind | Washburn | - | Heavy rain and small hail accompanied the strong winds. |
| June 2008 | Hail | Washburn | - | Penny to quarter size hail fell for several minutes in Washburn. |
| August 2006 | Hail | Washburn | - | Report from McLean County Sheriff dispatch. |
| July 2003 | Thunderstorm Wind | Washburn | - | A few trees down. |
| July 2001 | Thunderstorm Wind | Washburn | - | Reports of large branches down and storage tank rolled. |
| June 2000 | Tornado (F0) | Washburn | - | Tornado originated in Oliver county. Tornado stayed in open fields. |
| August 2000 | Thunderstorm Wind | Washburn | - | Semi-tractor rig blown off highway 83 and flipped over. |
| November 2000 | Tornado (F0) | Washburn | - | Tornado originated in Burleigh county before moving into southeast McLean county. The tornado skipped across the country side damaging several power poles. |
| June 1998 | Funnel Cloud | Washburn | - | County 911 lines were jammed after the warning sirens in Washburn were turned on. |
| July 2024 | Hail | Washburn | - | no account filed |
| June 2023 | Hail | Washburn | - | no account filed |
| August 2023 | Hail | Washburn | - | no account filed |
| August 2023 | Hail | Washburn | - | no account filed |
| September 2023 | Hail | Washburn | - | no account filed |
| June 2018 | Thunderstorm Wind | Washburn | - | no account filed |
| June 2017 | Thunderstorm Wind | Washburn | - | no account filed |
| July 2017 | Hail | Washburn | - | no account filed |
| April 2016 | Thunderstorm Wind | Washburn | - | no account filed |
| July 2016 | Hail | Washburn | - | no account filed |
| July 2016 | Hail | Washburn | - | no account filed |
| July 2015 | Hail | Washburn | - | no account filed |
| August 2012 | Hail | Washburn | - | no account filed |
| July 2011 | Hail | Washburn | - | no account filed |
| July 2008 | Hail | Washburn | - | no account filed |
| June 2008 | Hail | Washburn | - | no account filed |
| May 2007 | Hail | Washburn | - | no account filed |
| May 2006 | Hail | Washburn | - | no account filed |
| August 2006 | Thunderstorm Wind | Washburn | - | no account filed |
| June 2005 | Hail | Washburn | - | no account filed |
| May 2005 | Flash Flood | Washburn | - | no account filed |
| July 2005 | Hail | Washburn | - | no account filed |
| June 2004 | Hail | Washburn | - | no account filed |
| June 2004 | Hail | Washburn | - | no account filed |
| August 2002 | Hail | Washburn | - | no account filed |
| June 2001 | Hail | Washburn | - | no account filed |
| June 2000 | Hail | Washburn | - | no account filed |
Nearest settlements
The eight closest, with where each one stands in the county. Distances are straight-line, computed from the Geographic Names Information System coordinates.
| Map | Place | Distance | Sheets |
|---|---|---|---|
| Falkirk | 6.1 miles | 9 | |
| Merida | 6.2 miles | 8 | |
| Underwood | 12.9 miles | 8 | |
| Wilton | 15.8 miles | 8 | |
| Riverdale Junction | 16.4 miles | 8 | |
| Turtle Lake | 17.5 miles | 8 | |
| Coleharbor | 20.4 miles | 9 | |
| Mercer | 21.8 miles | 6 |
Elsewhere
Matched on this settlement's Geographic Names Information System number rather than its name, so it cannot be a different place of the same name in another state.
| Wikipedia article on Washburn | An encyclopaedic summary. Its text is share-alike, so it is linked here rather than copied. |
| Wikidata item Q2018717 | The structured record the population and elevation above come from. Public domain (CC0). |
Provenance
This settlement is recorded in the Geographic Names Information System as feature 1032690. The sheet list is computed by point-in-boundary test against the United States Geological Survey's historical topographic inventory. Both are works of the United States government and carry no copyright under 17 U.S.C. 105.
Wildfire. Short, Karen C. 2022. Spatial wildfire occurrence data for the United States, 1992-2020 [FPA_FOD_20221014]. 6th Edition. Fort Collins, CO: Forest Service Research Data Archive. https://doi.org/10.2737/RDS-2013-0009.6 Collected with United States Government funding and usable without additional permissions or fees.
Mines and quarries. USGS Mineral Resources Data System (MRDS) https://mrdata.usgs.gov/mrds/ A work of the United States government, no copyright under 17 U.S.C. 105.
Storms. NOAA National Centers for Environmental Information, Storm Events Database https://www.ncei.noaa.gov/stormevents/ A work of the United States government, no copyright under 17 U.S.C. 105. Narratives are quoted verbatim from the National Weather Service report and are not edited or summarised.



