Fort Totten is a census-designated place (CDP) in Benson County, North Dakota, United States. The population was 1,160 at the 2020 census. Fort Totten is located within the Spirit Lake Reservation and is the site of tribal headquarters. The reservation has a total population estimated at 6,000. Although not formally incorporated as a city, Fort Totten has the largest population of any community in Benson County.

Geography

According to the United States Census Bureau, the CDP has a total area of , of which is land and (2.77%) is water.

Demographics

As of the census

Education

Much of the community is in the Fort Totten Public School District 30. A portion is in the Oberon School District.

Sites of interest

  • Fort Totten State Historic Site is a fort built after the American Civil War by the United States Army to protect European-American settlers in the area. It was also used as the site of the Devil's Lake Indian Agency (the original name of the reservation). Later the fort was adapted for use as an Indian boarding school, one of several run by the federal government via the Bureau of Indian Affairs.

Today it is preserved as a state historic site, and it is listed on the National Register of Historic Places. The structure has been adapted for use as a bed and breakfast and a community theatre.

  • White Horse Hill National Game Preserve is a National Wildlife Refuge commissioned by Theodore Roosevelt.

Climate

This climatic 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 system, Elm Creek has a humid continental climate, abbreviated "Dfb" on climate maps.

References

  • History of Fort Totten United States Department of the Interior, 1950