 However, since most of the old townsite was never actually flooded by Lake Sakakawea, the townsite and land nearby more recently has been turned into a thriving unincorporated resort community still called Van Hook and with both a summer-only and a year-around permanent populations.Lake Sakakawea's Van Hook Arm gets its name from the town.Van Hook was founded in 1914 as a station on the Soo Line Railroad.