Casselton is a city in Cass County, North Dakota, United States.

The city is named in honor of George Washington Cass, a president of the Northern Pacific Railway, which established a station there in 1876 to develop a town for homesteaders.

Casselton had its origin in 1873 when the Northern Pacific Railway sent Mike Smith to plant cottonwood and willow trees in the area to serve as windbreaks along the right-of-way.

They planned to harvest the trees for lumber to use as railroad ties, but the experiment failed for a number of reasons.

Various means were used to attract immigrants from Europe and migrants from the East looking for a piece of land or the chance to become tradesmen and professionals.

In the 1920s, railroad personnel were transferred to other locations, and as a result, the population of Casselton fell 285 persons between 1920 and 1930.

Water was pumped from artesian wells, and stored in a standpipe which was located on the east part of town.

They deeded the 73 acres (300,000 m2) of land, which encompassed that body of water, to the City of Casselton.

The reservoir area has since been developed into a recreational center with softball diamonds, tennis courts, picnic tables and the like.

After World War II, the business district streets were paved with concrete.

[7] On December 30, 2013, a westbound BNSF train carrying soybeans derailed approximately one mile west of Casselton.

The collision ignited the crude oil and caused a chain of large explosions, which were heard and felt several miles away.

[8][9][10] The resulting fireball created a massive cloud of black smoke, which prompted authorities to issue a voluntary evacuation of the city and surrounding area as a precaution.

The National Transportation Safety Board conducted an investigation, and in 2017 issued findings of probable cause, starting with a broken axle on the westbound train.

[11][12][13] Although no casualties were reported, as the crew of the crude oil train abandoned the lead locomotives before they were engulfed in flames as soon as they had derailed and come to stop in a snowbank,[14] the incident occurred in proximity to a populated area and renewed safety concerns regarding the transportation of hazardous materials by rail, especially in the wake of the Lac-Mégantic derailment in Canada earlier in the year.

Casselton mayor Ed McConnell, acknowledging that the town "dodged a bullet", publicly called on the federal government to review the dangers and urged lawmakers to consider pipelines as a safer option.

Casselton was home to the world's largest oil can pile/free standing structure.

This tourist attraction was created in 1933 by Max Taubert when a Sinclair gas station occupied the lot that included a hamburger stand.