New Community on the Prairie -- Centerville -- The Bakken, North Dakota, USA

Elsewhere they're talking about the excitement of the Bakken.

The discussion includes a link to a November 6, 2011, Minot Daily News article on a new community outside of Ross, North Dakota: Centerville.

Eisenschenk says he doesn't consider that he's "building a town," instead saying there is a need in the oil patch for the services Centerville will provide. It is no secret that housing has become extremely scarce ...

"When you are here you see what some of the guys are living in now," said Eisenschenk. "Some bus from Minot to Williston every day. Some pay $100 a night to sleep in their truck..."

The concept of Centerville, so named because it is in the heart of the Bakken Formation, was originally developed by a Texas speculator who never completed his plan. Eisenschenk and fellow investor Joan Braaten-Eilers, both St. Cloud, Minn., took a look at the project and decided to follow through with the development. Braaten-Eilers is familiar with the region. Her father was a long-time banker in Minot and her mother and sister still reside there.

The new community will have a population in excess of 500 folks. To put that in perspective, the town of Ross, next door, had a population of 97 in the 2010 census.

By the way, my hunch is there will be an entirely new community in the Williston area by 2020, but I won't say more than this now.