Lefor | |
|---|---|
| Coordinates: 46°40′54″N 102°33′35″W / 46.68167°N 102.55972°W | |
| Country | United States |
| State | North Dakota |
| County | Stark |
| Elevation | 2,592 ft (790 m) |
| Time zone | UTC-6 (Central (CST)) |
| • Summer (DST) | UTC-5 (CDT) |
| ZIP codes | 58641 |
| Area code | 701 |
| GNIS feature ID | 1029858 |
Lefor is an unincorporated community in southern Stark County, North Dakota, United States. It lies southeast of the city of Dickinson, the county seat of Stark County. Its elevation is 2,592 feet (790 m). Lefor's post office closed November 2, 2002, but the town still has its own ZIP code of 58641.
Lefor has the highest percentage of residents of Hungarian origin of any zip code in the United States. Most are descended from pioneers -- who were actually ethnically German -- from the Banat region who were invited to the United States in the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries.
Lefor is part of the Dickinson Micropolitan Statistical Area.
History
The Dakota Territory was acquired in the early nineteenth century, and the United States government began settling the area despite resistance from displaced natives.
Lefor was settled primarily by German-Hungarian immigrants from the Banat region who claimed land under the Homestead Act beginning in the 1890s. Most were immigrating due to harsh economic policies imposed by the Hungarian State, as well as its policy of forced assimilation into Hungarian culture. However, farmers found the land in North Dakota even more difficult to farm than the land in the Banat
Construction of the St. Elizabeth Parish construction began in 1898.
A bank was built in 1913 and ceased operations by 1934; today, all that remains is a free-standing vault.
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, Lefor has a humid continental climate, abbreviated "Dfb" on climate maps.
References
- ^ a b U.S. Geological Survey Geographic Names Information System: Lefor, North Dakota
- ^ Rand McNally. The Road Atlas '08. Chicago: Rand McNally, 2008, p. 77.
- ^ U.S. Geological Survey Geographic Names Information System: Lefor, North Dakota, Geographic Names Information System, 1980-02-13. Accessed 2008-03-31.
- ^ U.S. Postal Service Postmaster Finder: Post Offices by ZIP Code Archived April 28, 2019, at the Wayback Machine. Retrieved on July 12, 2008
- ^ Zip Code Lookup
- ^ Zip Codes with the Highest Percentage of Hungarians in the United States
- ^ a b c Michels, John M. (1997). North Dakota pioneers from the Banat: by John M. Michels (2nd ed.). Bismarck, North Dakota: University of Mary Press.
- ^ "This photo, at the site of an old state bank in the tiny town of Lefor, North Dakota, almost tells its own story | Library of Congress". www.loc.gov. Retrieved January 17, 2025.
- ^ Climate Summary for Lefor, North Dakota
External links
- Lefor, ND : GhostsofNorthDakota.com (North Dakota's Ghost Towns and Abandoned Places)
- St. Elizabeth Parish (Roman Catholic)
