Washburn, ND

Washburn is the oldest city in McLean County and its seat, on the upper Missouri River corridor. The 2020 census counted 1,300 residents. John Satterlund founded the town in 1882, choosing a site for its soil, wood, coal, and water transportation; the city took the name of Wisconsin governor and congressman Cadwallader C. Washburn. Fort Mandan, the winter quarters of the Lewis and Clark Expedition, lies nearby and gives the surrounding river landscape a national historical reference.

Washburn's present working map includes the lignite and energy operations across the Missouri River, including Falkirk Mining and the Coal Creek station named by the city as the region's largest coal-fired generating plant. The North Dakota Lewis and Clark Interpretive Center sits at the edge of town with exhibits, artifacts, a walking trail, and a deck over the Missouri River valley. City parks, a pool, school, businesses, and two museums fill in the day-to-day pieces. Washburn combines county-seat duties with a river museum landscape and an energy corridor just outside town.