 In the early 1900s, there was interest in drilling for oil in northwestern North Dakota. Based on the geology of the area, it was believed this could be an area that could produce black gold. The Pioneer Drilling Company came through in 1930. They drilled south of town. Unfortunately, they didn't go deep enough, so it was a dry hole. Bruce Lobdahl has lived in this area for all of his life. The technology and knowledge of that time simply wasn't at a stage in the 1930s for them to find the oil.