Blood, Trauma, and Biohazard Cleanup in Zap, ND

Zap is a city in Mercer County, North Dakota, with a population of 221 in the 2020 census and 96 households.

Zap was founded in 1913 along a branch line of the Northern Pacific Railway that began in Mandan, and the exact origin of its name is uncertain, though one theory ties it to the Zapp name, either a prominent Minnesota banking family or a coal-mining town in Scotland.

Zap sits in the prairie country of western North Dakota along Spring Creek, a tributary of the Knife River, and covers about one square mile.

Zap's ZIP code is 58580, and the city lies on North Dakota Highway 200 about 13 miles west of Beulah, in the state's lignite coal country.

Zap observes Mountain Time, unlike most of North Dakota, which is on Central Time.

Zap is probably most widely known for the Zip to Zap riot of May 9-11, 1969, which began as a tongue-in-cheek spring break invitation in the North Dakota State University student newspaper, The Spectrum.

Between 2,000 and 3,000 college students descended on the small town for the Zip to Zap, and Governor William Guy called in 500 troops from the North Dakota Army National Guard to disperse the crowd.

The Zip to Zap remains the only official riot in North Dakota history that had to be put down by the National Guard, and the damage, estimated at more than $25,000, was ultimately paid for by the student governments of North Dakota State University and the University of North Dakota.

Zap's population peaked at 574 in the 1940 census, surged again to 511 in 1980, and has since settled near 220 residents.

Zap counted 237 residents in the 2010 census, so the 2020 count of 221 continued a slow decline from its mid-century peak.