How the Bakken Got Its Name

How the Bakken got its name, from The Dickinson Press, November 24, 2012.

Lorin is the only son of Henry O. Bakken. The Bakken formation — the pool of oil that lies beneath western North Dakota, northeast Montana and part of Canada — is named for the well drilled in 1951 and 1952 on the Henry O. Bakken farm northeast of Tioga.

While Lorin Bakken, 59, says he feels honored, he avoids the attention he could easily draw to himself. He still lives in Tioga, but he keeps such a low profile that many people don’t know he’s connected to the Bakken boom.

He lives in a modest house, doesn’t own a car and hasn’t worked since he stopped working on his family’s farm in 1992. He primarily keeps to himself, although he regularly attends Zion Lutheran Church, eats lunch twice a week at the senior center and does errands in downtown Tioga.

Lorin said he was private before his name became famous, and he hasn’t changed.

There are several other bits of trivia in the story that make it worth reading. Perhaps the most striking is a reminder how "private" some North Dakota farmers are. Salt of the earth.