VALLEY CITY

city, seat (1875) of Barnes County, southeastern North Dakota, U.S., in the Sheyenne River Valley. Settlers went there in 1872 with the coming of the Northern Pacific Railway. Originally called Worthington, the community was renamed and incorporated as a village in 1881. It developed as an agricultural trade centre. Valley City State University was opened in 1890. Bald Hill Dam, a flood-control project on the Sheyenne River, impounds Lake Ashtabula 11 miles (18 km) northwest. Inc. city, 1883. Pop. (1990) 7,163; (1994 est.) 7,068.