Bismarck, North Dakota Bismarck, North Dakota Bismarck () is the capital of the U.S. state of North Dakota and the county seat of Burleigh County. It is the second-most populous city in North Dakota after Fargo. The city's population was estimated in 2017 at 72,865, while its metropolitan population was 132,142. In 2017, "Forbes" magazine ranked Bismarck as the seventh fastest-growing small city in the United States. Bismarck was founded by European Americans in 1872 on the east bank of the Missouri River. It has been North Dakota's capital city since 1889, when the state was created from the Dakota Territory and admitted
History of North Dakota treaties defined the territory of the different tribes in North Dakota. In 1861, the area that is now North Dakota was incorporated into the new Dakota Territory along with what is now South Dakota. On November 2, 1889, North Dakota and South Dakota became separate states. Eager to attract immigrants, state officials broadcast widely pamphlets and newspaper accounts celebrating the "Myth of North Dakota." This myth included: 1) the myth of the garden; 2) the "work and win" philosophy that promise to the realization of the American Dream of home ownership through hard work; and 3) an image of an