Churchs Ferry is an unincorporated community in Ramsey County, North Dakota, United States that has been impacted by the expansion of nearby Devils Lake. The population was 9 at the 2020 census.
Churchs Ferry was a city from its founding in 1883 until September 2022 when the town disincorporated and was turned over to Ramsey County.
History
The town took its name from an early resident, Irvine Church, who operated a ferry service on Devils Lake, when the Minnie H steamboat also traversed its waters. The lake began shrinking after 1900, and soon became too shallow for commercial vessels. The prolonged drought of the Dust Bowl years impacted the lake, reducing it to a slough by 1940. The lake began to recover in the mid-20th century, returning to a depth that allowed the resumption of recreational use by the 1970s.
Devils Lake began rising again in the early 1990s, and more than 400 homes around the lake have been relocated or destroyed. This includes much of the community of Churchs Ferry, one of two municipalities that have been bought out by government agencies. The other is Penn, although some people remain in both communities. Measures have since been implemented to alleviate ongoing damage caused by the increase in elevation, and the lake sits several feet below its outlet neat Tolna.
On January 10, 2012, Churchs Ferry residents voted 5 to 2 to remain an incorporated town.
On June 14, 2022, the town's 6 remaining residents voted to dissolve the city with a 5–1 vote. The city dissolved on September 1, 2022, with Paul Christenson being the last mayor of Churchs Ferry.