WILTON, 160 m. (2,152 alt., 1,001 pop.), named for Wilton, Maine, is on the McLean-Burleigh County line and is the center of a Ukrainian settlement. These people come from Galicia, a province of the former Austro-Hungarian Empire, and found work in the lignite mines which at that time were just opening here. One group arrived in 1897 and a second two years later. Many old customs are preserved, including folk dances performed in picturesque, brightly colored costumes by both old and young people. The Ukrainians are fond of flowers and their homes usually have beautiful gardens, in which they can be seen working in the early hours of summer days.
On opposite sides of the highway at the northern end of town are two unusual churches, both focal points of the Ukrainian settlement. SS. Peter and Paul Greek Catholic Church (R) has two steeples topped with fourchée crosses. It is of the Greco-Slavonic branch of the Greek Church. The Russian Orthodox Greek Catholic Church (L) belongs to the Russo-Greek branch; a cruciform building, it has three steeples, each bearing the Greek schismatic cross of papal design, symbolizing the Trinity, with the lowest member set obliquely to denote that the church does not recognize the authority of the Pope. Both churches use the Julian calendar and have similar services and holidays.
A bird-banding station established in Wilton in 1931 by Mrs. W. H. Gray under the U. S. Biological Survey banded 5,805 birds of 86 species in its first five years.
Left from Wilton via Main St. to the second largest LIGNITE STRIP MINE of the Truax-Traer Co., 2 m. Formerly one of the largest underground lignite mines in the world (see Tours 5 & 7), in 1934-35 it yielded 185,381 tons of coal.
BISMARCK, 184.5 m. (1,672 alt., 11,090 pop.) (see Bismarck).
Points of Interest: State Capitol, Liberty Memorial Building, State Historical Society Museum, Roosevelt Cabin.
At 6th St. and Main Ave. is the junction with US 10 (see Tour 8), which unites with US 83 between this point and STERLING, 209.5 m. (1,807 alt., 110 pop.).
MOFFIT, 219 m. (1,738 alt., 130 pop.), is on the west shore of Long Lake, now under development by the U. S. Biological Survey as a migratory waterfowl refuge. The town is named for the Moffit family, who were the first settlers.
As HAZELTON, 233 m. (1,975 alt., 446 pop.), is neared it has the appearance of an oil town, due to its numerous windmills which a forerunner of the modern high-pressure salesman succeeded in selling in the community. The town is named for Hazel Roop, the daughter of the town site owner.