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RICHLAND COUNTY COURT HOUSE

The material for this history was com­ piled and written by F. G. Callan, un­ der the direction of the Federal Writers Project Division of the Works Progress A dministration.

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SOUVENIR STORE NORTH DAKOTA STATE LIBRARY 604 EAST BOULEVARD AVE. BISMARCK, ND 58505-0800 NORTH DAKOTA STATE LIBRARY NORTH DAKOTA BOOK OR AUTHOR 3 3105 00602 1396 Q Hktokxx el Kicklanc) County avid the Citxi o* WanpetoH UoktU Uatzoia

The Land Richland County is the extreme southeastern county of North Dakota. Its 33 by 48 miles of level to rolling fields, relieved by farm groves and the wooded con­ tours of winding streams, lie at the southern end of the famous Red River Valley. The land as it exists today was built up on the original rock of the earth by ancient seas. Time and again, for reasons not yet entirely clear, the sea advanced and receded over large parts of the continent. In the course of inconceivably vast periods of time it deposited the sediment which, crushed beneath later deposits, became the various strata that underlie the regton today. The stratum known as the Archean—from the Greek word for beginning—\s thought to have been the first deposited. It is found at a lesser depth in Richland than in most parts of the State, a fact indicating that this section has been subjected to erosion for a longer period of time. Together with its sedimentary rocks, the Archean has a large ad­ mixture of igneous rocks, and both sedimentary and igneous rocks have been profoundly changed from their primitive forms—circumstances that suggest the violently unstable condition of the surface of the earth in the far distant time of their formation. , .,,.... Fossils found in the strata indicate a wide and varying animal life in those long past ages, some specimens of which, such as the odd reptiles known as dino­ saurs; would seem very strange were they to be encountered wandering through the land today. In the periods between the advances of the sea much of North Dakota was covered by tropical swamps and forests. It is believed that as the cast-off growth of the forests fell into the swamps, peat was formed, which, subjected to pressure beneath the sands and clays brought in by later seas turned into lignite coal. Most of the North Dakota lignite beds thus formed had their origin in the ter­ tiary Period, which, while comparatively recent as geologists reckon time, is yet thought to have occurred many million years ago. Two discoveries of lignite were made in Richland County in the early days of white settlement. The first deposit, too shallow for development was found m 1862 when a trench was being dug from Fort Abercrombie to the Red River. Ihe second, discovered in 1881 in the drilling of a well at Colfax was said to he at a depth of 80 to 100 feet, and, as nearly as could be measured by the drill, in veins three to four feet thick. Men with capital became interested and a company was organized- but a shaft sunk near the mill to a depth of some 40 feet encountered excessive quantities of water, and the venture failed. This did not deter other companies from sinking shafts—with unsatisfactory results— in and around Coltax. It was in the Tertiary Period that a large northward-flowing stream cut out in the clavs left by preceding eras what is known today as the Red River Valley. This river continued its work until the valley was cut to a depth of 800 to A>U icet. North Dakota State Library 604 E Boulevard Avenue -gr7?Mj& BisrnarcK. ND 58505-0800 2 A HISTORY OF RICHLAND COUNTY AND THE CITY OF WAHPETON

In the Glacial Period, which followed the Tertiary, great ice sheets pushed out from the Hudson Bay region and covered much of North America. Twice the ice advanced over North Dakota, at one time covering nearly all the State east and north of the Badlands. Throughout most of this area, including the old valley, clay, sand, gravel, and boulders were left to a depth of 200 to 300 feet. In the south­ western corner of the county—the section southwest of Hankinson—the effects of this glaciation are very apparent. The surface is composed of morainic hills between which are found kettle-like depressions. Over it are scattered characteristic glacial boulders and gravel. In the early history of the county a chain of lakes—• Elk, Elm, Taylor, and Twin—extended from six miles northwest of Lidgerwood to Hankinson and southward. They were the results of depressions in the glacial channel of the Sheyenne River, which at one time drained the water from the melting front of the Dakota Glacier near what is now Devils Lake, and had a much longer course through the area of the county than its short route across the northwest corner today. Another of these now dry glacial lake beds is that of Skunk Lake. Toward the close of the Glacial Period the ice dammed the northern end of the old valley eroded during the Tertiary, and formed Lake Agassiz, which at one time had an area of 110,000 square miles, covering a region greater than the area of the Great Lakes. From the southeastern corner of what is now North Dakota the lake extended northward for 550 miles into Canada beyond Lake Winnipeg, one of its present-day remnants. In the north it was more than 130 miles wide and 600 feet deep, but in the south it was much narrower and shallower, being 50 to 60 miles wide and about 100 feet deep in the Wahpeton area. Rivers flowing into the lake brought sediment which in the course of time raised its floor 20 to 50 feet, forming a very level bed. As a consequence this part of the county—most of the county is the floor of the ancient lake—is perhaps as level as any land surface on earth. From Wyndmere (altitude 1,062) to Wahpeton (altitude 965), 25 miles east the slope is less than four feet per mile, and from south to north in the county it is less than two feet. Some of the rivers entering Lake Agassiz were especially large and sediment- laden. When their swift waters met those of the quiet lake, they dropped their heavier gravels and sands, and in the course of great periods of time formed huge deltas. The one deposited by the Sheyenne covers almost 800 square miles, largely in Ransom and Richland Counties, the area in the latter county comprising in general the land north and west of Hankinson. The outline of the Sheyenne Delta is very pronounced along its northeastern edge, in places rising 75 feet above the valley proper. It was when the ice receded and the delta was formed that the latter turned the course of the Sheyenne more directly east toward the lake and into its present channel. In the northeastern part of the county the beaches of the old lake, sometimes as much as 10 to 20 feet in height and 10 to 30 rods in width, may still be seen. As the waters of the lake receded, only a stream was left here and there. Today at the lowest point in the center of the valley the Bois de Sioux flows north to Wahpeton, where it joins the Ottertail from the east to form the Red River. The course of the Bois de Sioux and Red Rivers was the route of early-day exploration and steamboating, and now marks the eastern boundary of North Dakota and Richland County and forms the main drainage channel of the Red River Valley. The only other river of importance in the county is the Wild Rice. This little stream rises in the Drift Plain in eastern Sargent County and flows in a generally easterly direction across central Richland to the neighborhood of the Red. Here it turns north and almost parallels the latter stream, into which it empties some distance north of the county line. A HISTORY OF RICHLAND COUNTY AND THE CITY OF WAHPETON 3 Climate The climate of Richland County is typical of the Northwest. The average temperature for 36 years as shown by the Wahpeton weather station is 41.70° F., January being the coldest month and July the warmest. February 1893 showed an extreme of 44° below zero and July 1936 had one day of 111° above. However, although each year may have short periods of marked heat or cold, the low relative humidity of the Red River Valley—about 78 percent, and sometimes on summer afternoons only 25 percent—makes extremes less distressing than they are in more humid sections. According to the Wahpeton weather station, the average date for the last kill­ ing frost in spring is May 19, and that for the first in fall, September 20. The average length of the growing season is 124 days. Contributing to the total hours favorable to growth are the large number of clear days and the long twilight summer even­ ings—the latter being characteristic of the northern prairies. From the middle of May to the end of July the sun shines for more than 15 hours a day. Not only is this advantageous to growing crops, but it forms an attraction often noted by travelers. The vast seas of grain swaying in an evening breeze with the sun sinking slowly in the west is a sight long remembered. Following such evenings, due to the extraordinary clarity of the atmosphere, there are often moonlit, starlit nights of peculiar brilliance. While 20 inches of moisture is sufficient to produce good crops, the average yearly precipitation for Richland County from 1892 to 1930 was 21.52 inches. About 75 to 80 percent falls during the growing season—that is, from April to September, inclusive—50 percent occurring in the three months of May, June, and July. The normal precipitation for the driest months—November, December, January, and February—is about one-half inch each, the total forming only about one-ninth of the annual fall. Over a period of 30 years Wahpeton averaged 69 days per year in which the precipitation was 0.01 inch or more. The lowest annual precipitation, 10.74, occurred in 1917, and the greatest, 33.18 inches, in 1896; these wide variations from the normal were unusual, however, occurring only in single years. About 30 inches of snow falls annually. The first light fall sometimes comes in September, but there is usually very little until November. The greatest amount comes in March, and light falls are occasionally experienced as late as May. Natural Resources The greatest natural resource of the county is, of course, its soil. Decayed vegetable matter from the grass of centuries has combined with the clay and sand loams left by glacial Lake Agassiz to make the soil of the Red River Valley one of the richest in the world. With the exception of a small section on the northwestern border in the sandy Sheyenne Delta, not suitable for raising of crops and therefore used for grazing, nearly all the county is excellent farming land. There are 15 types of soil, of which Fargo fine sand loam, Fargo fine sand, Fargo clay loam, and Marshall loam constitute 89 percent of the total acreage. Another great resource of the county is its ground water, of which, in addition to the streams, the two chief sources are artesian and surface wells. In normal years the sand and gravel of the Sheyenne Delta and the beach ridges of the ancient lake furnish an excellent supply of water at a depth of 10 to 20 feet. This is water that has fallen on the surface in the form of snow or rain and filtered downward through the sand to the impervious clay. 4 A HISTORY OF RICHLAND COUNTY AND THE CITY OF WAHPETON

Most of the rural homes of the county have found it necessary to go below the lake silt to the glacial drift in order to secure good water. These drift wells in many cases are artesian, their depth varying from 50 to ISO feet. The water is good, but shows a hardness of 775 parts to the million comparison with the IS to 69 parts per million found in wells penetrating to the deeper Dakota sandstone. These latter wells range from 265 to 900 feet in depth and are the most satisfactory supply for waterworks for towns and cities. The pressure in some of the artesian wells, which in cases is markedly powerful, has decreased somewhat due to the great waste from unregulated wells in the district. Plant Life Most homesteads in the county have groves, which serve both as windbreaks and as sources of fuel. They are planted to such quick-growing trees as cotton- wood, box elder, and willow. Also used in shelterbelts are caragana, green ash, Chinese elm, hackberry, Scotch pine, northwest poplar, Russian olive, American elm, and ponderosa pine. As in many other prairie sections, the native timber of the county is confined to sparsely wooded areas along the streams. The timber here is of the Minnesota type and consists of a moderate growth of deciduous trees—American elm, white ash, box elder, bur oak, ironwood, basswood, aspen, balsam, poplar, plum, cotton- wood, and such shrubs as hazel and alder. There are few coniferous trees. Some wild strawberries, raspberries, gooseberries, chokeberries, pin cherries, sand cherries, and grapes are found in the wooded areas along the rivers, and there are wild cranberries in Sheyenne Township. In addition, almost every garden has a few apple or plum trees and a good growth of the smaller cultivated fruits. One tract in the extensively cultivated section of the county southwest of Wahpeton has never been plowed, and still produces the primitive buffalo grass. Among the cultivated grasses of the county are Kentucky blue grass, red top, crested wheat grass, rye grasses, millet, Soudan grass, rape, timothy, and brome grass, the latter two being the most extensively grown. A number of noxious weeds, including wild oats, quack grass, French weed, wild morning glory, mustard, and Russian thistle are common to the county, while creeping jenny, leafy spurge, cocklebur, and Canadian thistle are found in some districts. The sow thistle is troublesome in wet years, and the sandbur is present in the sandy areas in the western section of the county. The poisonous water hem­ lock, cut-leaved night shade, black night shade, and sheepberry are found in­ frequently on wet soils near sloughs and swamps. The county has a great profusion of wild flowers, the prairie section showing the largest number of the species common to North Dakota. The beautiful pasque flower, often called crocus, making its appearance in the middle of April, is parti­ cularly appreciated as the harbinger of spring. This is followed by the prairie violet, silverweed, blue-eyed grass, and others, from the first to the middle of May. From May 20 to June 10 milk vetch, spiderwort, wild vetch, Canada anemone, stargrass, and blue larkspur are seen, and about the middle of June the wild rose, the official State flower, blooms in great numbers in the fields and along the highways. It is accompanied by wild flax, slender beardtongue, and the primrose. The latter part of the month brings the lily, bluebell, wolfberry, and camas, to be followed in July by the white larkspur, prairie thistle, coneflower, and milkweed. In the wooded and low ground areas, the first to greet the spring is the blood- root, followed in early May by the violet, large bellwort, buttercup, corydalis, A HISTORY OF RICHLAND COUNTY AND THE CITY OF WAHPETON 5 jack-in-the-pulpit, and later by the wake-robin, marsh marigold, columbine, bane- berry, ragwort, false lily-of-the-valley, and ditch buttercup. From June 10 to 30, the bushy vetch, black-eyed Susan, Solomon's seal, dogbane, hawk's beard, meadow rue, and arrowhead are in bloom, while in the period from July 1 to 10 there are loosestrife, monkey flower, lady's slipper, and many others. Animal Life In early days the vicinity of Wahpeton was rich in fish and game and in fur- bearing animals. In addition to many smaller species, deer, antelope, and buffalo were present in great numbers. The spectacular but now extinct passenger pigeon was common. Only a minor percentage of this former animal life now remains, and that which does is of the smaller forms. Fish, however, are still present but not in numbers as to cause the county to be regarded as a fisherman's resort; Lake Elsie, two and one-half miles south of Hankinson, and the Sheyenne, Wild Rice, and Red Rivers furnish some wall-eyed pike, northern pike, bass, sunfish, perch, bull­ heads, crappies, and pickerel. Due to the disappearance of the shallow lakes during the recent dry years, ducks and geese are not as plentiful as in the past. Prairie chicken are still hunted, however, and the Chinese ringnecked pheasant and the English pheasant have been brought in by sportsmen. Moreover, most of the 340 species of birds found in the State visit Richland County. Late in March or early in April are seen the robin, crow, tree sparrow, Junco, and meadow lark, to be followed shortly by the killdeer, red-winged blackbird, and song sparrow. By the middle of April the grackle, bluebird, flicker, mourning dove, phoebe, hermit thrush, and several species of wild ducks have arrived. The king­ fisher, sapsucker, bittern, blackbird, warbler, and chipping and other sparrows have made their appearance by the end of the month. May brings a great new crowd, marked by the grebe, cowbird, house wren, martin, swallow, brown thrasher, grosbeak, bobolink, Baltimore oriole, gold finch, catbird, kingbird, humming bird, red-headed woodpecker, and cedar waxwing. Sanctuaries have been provided for birds in various parts of the county, and a U. S. Biological Survey bird-banding station at Fairmount has added to general interest in their life. Moreover, increased knowledge of their commercial value as destroyers of weed seeds and injurious insects has contributed to popular appreci­ ation. The small animals of prairie and woodland, such as ground squirrels, gophers, woodchucks, field mice, shrews, and ground hogs, have little commercial value and are usually destroyed as pests. Cottontail, snowshoe, white, and jack rabbits, and badgers and weasels are hunted for sport and occasionally for their pelts. The most serious insect pest in recent years has been the grasshopper. The green food along the roads and ditches is usually sufficient for the insects, and destruction in the fields is negligible, but in the past dry years the hatch has been so great that farmers have sought control through the spreading of poisoned bait. The Colorado beetle or potato bug is controlled by the use of poison sprays. The army worm, corn ear worm, and the corn borer do some damage, but no organized effort has been made for their control. The web-worm, new to the county, works not only in corn but in vegetables, and methods for its eradication are being sought. Early Indian Life Richland County shows abundant traces of early Indian life. Flint spearheads and arrowheads, bone hide-scrapers, and stone knives, axes, hammers, and mauls are found in the northwestern part of the county, especially where wind erosion 6 A HISTORY OF RICHLAND COUNTY AND THE CITY OF WAHPETON has laid them bare; and the very interesting mounds, built by an unidentified pre­ historic people, are found in many places, particularly in the neighborhood of the big bend of the Wild Rice River, the lake area southwest of Lidgerwood, and the territory near the Sheyenne River. The mounds have not yet been fully investigated, but archeologists believe their makers were closely related to the mound builders in what is now Minnesota. The Cheyenne Indians, one of the four agricultural tribes of North Dakota, un­ doubtedly passed through the Richland County area in their migration westward from the headwaters of the Mississippi. They came by way of Lac que Parle and Lake Traverse, and lived for a time near the Big Bend of the Sheyenne River, which stream was named for them—early geographers changed the "C" to "S". The site of one of their villages has been identified near Lisbon in Ransom County. Archeological surveys have also determined the sites of many temporary camps, thought to have been established for hunting purposes by the Assiniboin and Sioux, who were more nomadically inclined than the Cheyenne. Just at the open­ ing of the historical period, the Sisseton, Wahpeton, Mdewakanton, and Wahpekute Sioux dwelt in the region about Lake Traverse and east to the Mississippi, and the Richland County area was one of their favorite hunting grounds. The largest hunting camp site in the area is in the northwestern corner of the county at what is known as the Iron Springs Bowl on the Sheyenne River. When the Indians—perhaps a thousand men, women, and children—engaged in these hunts, the scene was very different from what it is today. No farm homes appeared on the level plain of the valley and none of the present-day towns and villages had been built along the rivers. The Sioux dwelt in villages of tipis. Some tipis required 15 buffalo hides each in their construction and were as much as 25 feet in height. A tipi 15 feet in diameter usually accomodated two families. The Indians traveled to the site of their buffalo camp on horseback or on foot, carrying their provisions by means of the travois, which was formed of two long poles, often tipi poles, fastened together at one end by a strap passing over the neck of a horse. The loose ends of the poles were allowed to drag along the prairie, and tipi covers, cooking utensils, and food supplies were strapped to the crude implement of transportation thus formed. Upon the coming of the white man to the Red River the oxcart was added to the Indians' equipment. Two methods were used in slaughtering the buffalo. In the corral method the buffalo were driven into a coulee that had been barricaded on all sides except at the entrance. Here at close range the animals could be killed easily. In the second method the Indians, mounted on horses and equipped with bows and arrows or firearms, surrounded the buffalo and slaughtered them on the plains. After the hunt the Indian women cut the meat into strips for drying and for making pem- mican. As white domination of the region was established, that of the Indian declined. In 1870 a peace treaty, signed at Fort Abercrombie between the Sioux and the Chippewa, not only brought peace to the Indians but did much to open the country to white settlement. This treaty was brought about largely through the efforts of Rev. Jean Baptiste Genin, whose face was likened by Dr. and Mrs. B. F. Slaughter, noted early residents of Dakota, to pictures of St. John the Apostle. The Chippewa lived in northern Minnesota and northern Dakota, and although the boundaries between them and the Sioux were well known, there were numerous raids into each other's lands. Father Genin in ministering to the two tribes had gained their con­ fidence and respect. His own white flag with a large red cross in the center was always carried at the head of his party by an Indian; and the Indians were never known to mutilate a body, red or white, which the flag covered. A HISTORY OF RICHLAND COUNTY AND THE CITY OF WAHPETON 7

Father Genin, knowing the horrible details of the raids, induced 900 delegates from the Chippewa and Sioux tribes to gather at Fort Abercrombie in August 1870 for a conference—the greater part of present Richland County was regarded as neutral ground by the two tribes. The Indians pitched their tipis on both sides of the river within the military reserve, and for three days were in conference, settling definitely the limits of their hunting grounds, and agreeing to live in peace. This conference ended intertribal strife that had been going on for generations. The decendants of the Indians who once lived in the Richland County area are now on reservations in North and South Dakota and Minnesota. Those who lived in the northern part of North Dakota and Minnesota, particularly the Chippewa, are now on the White Earth reservation in Northern Minnesota and on the Turtle Mountain reservation in North Dakota, while the Wahpeton and Sisseton Sioux live on the Sisseton reservation in South Dakota. Indian boys and girls from these three reservations attend the U. S. Indian School in the city of Wahpeton, which takes its name from the Wahpeton Sioux. Evolution of Richland County Politically Through the explorations of John Cabot in 1495-98 on the northeast coast and those of Jacques Cartie?r in 1534-41 in the Gulf and River of St. Lawrence, England and France held conflicting claims to the North American mainland. The English maintained that a nation had a right to all land inward from points occupied on the coast, while the French held that occupying the mouth of a river gave title to all lands drained by the river. Since the Souris and Red Rivers are a part of the Nelson River system, which flows into Hudson Bay, the French claim to Canada extended to the northeastern half of present North Dakota. In 1682 La Salle sailed down the Mississippi from the French possessions in the north and claimed for France all lands drained by that river, including, of course, the southwestern half of the State. Roughly, the line of division between these northeast and southwest halves of tie State ran northwest from what is now Sargent County to northwest Divide County. France ceded Canada to England in 1763, following the French and Indian War, and that part of the drainage basins of the Souris and Red Rivers at present lying within the United States was ceded to this country by England in the treaty of 1818. The international boundary line, though defined by this treaty as the 49th parallel, was generally understood merely to lie west from the Lake of the Woods to the Rocky Mountains. This indefinite characterization made thelineamatterof controversy until 1823, when it was definitely located by Maj. Stephen Long, who passed through present Richland County on his way to make the survey. While the entire territory included within the present boundaries of North Dakota is often considered a part of the Louisiana Purchase, only the section drained by the Missouri River was included in that transaction. The northeastern half of the State is in the drainage basin of Hudson Bay, and therefore was not a part of the Louisi­ ana Purchase and did not come to the United States until 1818. The northeastern edge of the Purchase lies a short distance west of the western border of Richland County. When the Red River Valley became a part of the United States, it also became a part of Missouri Territory, which included most of present North Dakota, Minne­ sota, Wyoming, Colorado, Iowa, Missouri, Kansas, Nebraska, South Dakota, and Montana. In 1834 the part of the State east of the White Earth and Missouri Rivers became a part of the newly-organized Michigan Territory, in which lay also trie areas of present Michigan, Wisconsin, Minnesota, Iowa, and a large 8 A HISTORY OF RICHLAND COUNTY AND THE CITY OF WAHPETON part of South Dakota. As new states were formed and therefore subtracted from the territory, the section became successively a part of Wisconsin Territory (1836), Iowa Territory (1838), and Minnesota Territory (1849). Minnesota Territory was divided into nine counties, three of which—Pembina, Mahkahto, and Wahnatah—extended west to the Missouri, and were the first counties established in what is now North Dakota. What is now Richland County was included in Wahnatah and Mahkahto Counties; the boundary between these two counties ran from the junction of the Crow Wing River with the Mississippi west to the Missouri River, and passed not far north of the site of Wahpeton. The two counties were never organized, and in 1851 Pembina County was enlarged to in­ clude all of present North Dakota that at that time lay in Minnesota Territory. After Minnesota became a State in 1858, the territory between the Red and Missouri Rivers was left unorganized until 1861. At that time it was made a part of the newly-formed Dakota Territory, which in general extended south from the international line, along the western boundaries of Minnesota and Iowa to the confluence of the Big Sioux River with the Missouri, and west to the main ridge of the Rocky A4ountains, to include present Montana, North and South Dakota, and large parts of Wyoming and Idaho. The capital was at Yankton in the southern part of the Territory. The Richland County area was not placed in a county in the new Territory until 1862, when it became part of Sheyenne County, which included most of present Richland, all of Sargent, and parts of Dickey and LaMoure Counties. In 1863, however, the law creating this county and several others to the north was repealed; the counties were in Indian country and consequently were not under the jurisdiction of Territorial laws and courts. Richland County was not in the Pembina County formed by the Territorial legislature in 1866-67, but it was included in Pembina County as defined by the laws of 1870-71. This county comprised nearly all the territorv in the eastern one-third of the present State. Richland County, together with many others east of the Missouri, was formed by the legislature of 1872-73. At that time the county was given the contour it has today except for its southern boundary. The session of 1872-73 defined the southern boundary as the line between townships 129 and 130, which passes through Skunk Lake. The boundary was moved south a few miles to the 46th parallel in 1883, and still farther south to the 7th Standard parallel, which eventually became, the dividing line between North and South Dakota, in 1885. At the latter date, by the formation of Idaho Territory in 1863, Montana Territory in 1864, and Wyoming Territory in 1868, and by the extension of Nebraska to its present northern bound­ ary in 1882, Dakota Territory had been reduced to include the area now occupied by North and South Dakota. The Territorial capital had been moved to Bismarck in 1883, and on Nov. 2, 1889 President Flarrison issued the proclamation admitting the two sections to statehood. Summary of White Ownership 1534 - - Present 1534-41 Under claim of France 1763 Ceded to England by France 1818 Ceded to United States by England and added to Missouri Territory 1834 Became part of Michigan Territory 1836 Became part of Wisconsin Territory A HISTORY OF RICHLAND COUNTY AND THE CITY OF WAHPETON 0 1838 Became part of Iowa Territory 1849 Became part of Minnesota Territory 1851 Apportioned as part of Pembina County, Minnesota Territory 1858-61 Unorganized 1861 Became part of Dakota Territory 1862 Assigned to Sheyenne County, Dakota Territory 1863 Reverted to unassigned Dakota Territory 1870-71 Assigned to Pembina County, Dakota Territory 1872-73 Became Richland County, Dakota Territory 1889 Became Richland County, State of North Dakota Early Expeditions, Steamboating:, Fort Abercrombie and Indian Trouble 1823 - 64 It is not known definitely who was the first white man to visit Richland County. The earliest settlers tell of finding established trails, at least one of which appeared to have been used by white men. Undoubtedly explorers, trappers, hunters, fur traders, and missionaries were in the district before 1823, but there are no authentic records of their visits. Maj. Stephen Long, on his boundary line expedition, passed through this section in 1823, and is thought to have followed the most important of the early trails—the one to Pembina along the west banks of the Bois de Sioux and Red Rivers. In 1849 the expedition of Maj. Samuel Wood and Capt. John Pope crossed the Red River at Graham's Point and entered Richland County. Traveling to Pembina, they investigated complaints of ruthless slaughtering of buffalo, trespassing by British subjects, and selling of intoxicating liquors to the Indians. Gov. Isaac I. Stevens' expedition to the Pacific Coast was the next to visit the county. In 1853 he crossed the Bois de Sioux south of present Wahpeton and traveled on the west side of that stream and the Red River until near Graham's Point, where he turned west, crossed the Wild Rice and Sheyenne Rivers, and traveled by way of Forts Union and Benton to Seattle. The mission of the ex­ pedition was to make a preliminary survey for railroads, including a suitable pass over the Rocky Mountains. The routes surveyed are in large part followed today by either the Great Northern or the Northern Pacific Railways. The next military expedition through the county was that of 1856 under Col. C. F. Smith, sent out to determine the location of a line offorts. The urge to acquire virgin land was bringing settlers into the Northwest and it was necessary that military outposts be established within supporting distance of each other to protect the frontier, especially the country dominated by the Sioux. Smith crossed the Bois de Sioux four miles south of the present interstate bridge between Breckenridge and Wahpeton, and followed the well-defined trail to Graham's Point, where he proceeded west and northwest to Devils Lake, and from there northeast to Pembina. His report on the Red River Valley and the Devils Lake area definitely decided the location of the first military fort in North Dakota at Graham's Point (boil Abercrombie), and the subsequent location of Fort Totten at Devils Lake and Fort Pembina at Pembina. Definite objectives of national importance determined the establishment of Fort Abercrombie. Hundreds of oxcarts were using the Red River trail in carry­ ing the commerce of the district to and from Minnesota points. A fort was needed 10 A HISTORY OF RICHLAND COUNTY AND THE CITY OF WAHPETON to protect this transportation system, to form a base for troops needed to supervise the district and prevent trespassing, to furnish a supply depot for other forts that would necessarily have to be built in more remote sections as the territory develop­ ed, and to serve as a concentration point where military-escorted immigrant wagon trains could organize for travel over the northern route to Montana, Idaho, and Washington. Graham's Point was finally chosen because supplies could be brought in at lower cost and with less effort; cavalry could police the district from Lake Traverse to the Canadian border with this point as a base; the head of navigation on the Red River for craft of deeper draft than flat boats was known to be at this point; and the Wood Road from Fort Ripley, the Middle Road from Fort Snelling, and the trail on the west banks of the Bois de Sioux and Red Rivers all converged at this point, making it a crossroads of the new West. The first Fort Abercrombie was built in 1857 under the command of Lt. Col. John Abercrombie, for whom it was named. Very possibly, the new fort gave impetus to the sport of buffalo hunting in the area. In those early days buffalo hunting was an attraction that drew sportsmen not only from St. Paul and the East but even from Europe. Its appeal was like that of big game hunting in Africa today. It required courage, and a thrill rewarded the bagging of one of North America's largest specimens of wild animal life. Rich­ land County and its vicinity was a favorite section for these hunting parties. In one hunt of special note, organized in 1858, 80 persons took part and the kill was in the hundreds. Participants received the following invitation: St. Anthony, Minnesota June 1858 Mr Sir: You are respectfully invited to become one of a party, soon to start from the Red River of the North, to engage in the exciting sport of a buffalo hunt. Companies will leave St. Cloud, Minn, for Breckenridge (the head of navigation on the Red River and the place of rendezvous) on the 15th of July and first of August. Tents for camping and car­ riages for equipment and provisions have been provided for the companies and each participant is expected to obtain a pony for himself, if he desires one. Hoping you may oblige us by accepting this invitation, we are Yours truly, George F. Brott, St. Cloud D. A. Coleman, Breckenridge P. L. Gregory, St. Anthony E. L. Hall, St. Anthony W. J. Cullen, St. Paul Steamboating on the Red River, another activity encouraged by the presence of the fort, began in 1859. Originally the commerce of the Valley was conducted by Red River oxcarts. Its growing volume, however, interested the St. Paul business houses with whom trappers and traders exchanged furs, pemmican, buffalo hides, and tongues for supplies. Seeking ways to encourage and extend this valuable trade and bring it to their city, the St. Paul Chamber of Commerce made a survey of the territory. This report, giving the river tonnage possible with steamboat transportation, led the chamber to offer a bonus of $2,000 to the first man to build and operate a steamboat on the Red River. The award was won by Capt. Anson Northrup, who had the machinery taken from a Mississippi steamboat, the North Star, and transported overland to a point at the confluence of the Red and A HISTORY OF RICHLAND COUNTY AND THE CITY OF WAHPETON 11 Sheyenne Rivers, known as Lafayette, where timber was cut for the construction of the hull. Named Anson Northrup for its builder and captain, the boat, of 50- to 75-ton capacity, was built during the winter of 1858-59 and launched that spring. It left Fort Abercrombie May 17 with its first cargo of freight and pas­ sengers for Fort Garry (Winnipeg). Captain Northrup later sold his boat to J. C. Burbank, who was operating a stage line between St. Cloud and Fort Garry. In the spring of 1860 alterations and repairs were made on the boat and it was re­ named Pioneer, Capt. Sam Painter being engaged as the new master. The second steamboat on the river was Mr. Burbank's International, recon­ structed from a boat known as the Freighter, which Capt. J. B. Davis brought up the Minnesota River in 1857, with the intention of taking it into the Bois de Sioux and Red Rivers by way of Big Stone Lake and Lake Traverse during the flood stage pericd. Had he accomplished his objective he would have won the $2,000 award thatwent to Captain Northrup. He was unsuccessful, however, and abandon­ ed the boat below Big Stone Lake, where it remained stranded for more than three years. Finally it was sold at a sheriff's sale to J. C. Burbank, who had it taken apart and transported overland to Georgetown, where it was reassembled and put in service as the International. It was sold to the Hudson's Bay Company in 1864. Fort Abercrombie was abandoned in 1859 and was not reoccupied until the fol­ lowing year, when a new set of buildings was erected a short distance farther north, between the present village of Abercrombie and the river bank. The military reserve on which the fort was built extended three and a half miles to the four points of the compass from the flagstaff of the fort. Quarters for officers, three companies of infantry, and one troop of cavalry were erected, as well as storehouses, hospital, bakehouse, ice house, and workshops. All were of wood except the brick powder magazines. Cordwood for heating the quarters and hay for the stock were supplied on contract. Fort Abercrombie was used to some extent to train volunteers and officers for the Civil War, then in progress. This may explain why from 1858 to 1863 nine successive commanders were in charge. Several well-known trails radiated from the fort. One taking a southwesterly course through the county, passed near the present site of Hankinson and on to Fort Wadsworth in South Dakota. A small section of this trail is now part of ND 11 and can be recognized as the diagonal piece of highway just west of the Flankinson nursery. Another trail, known as part of the northern trail to Oregon, led directly west from Abercrombie to Fort Ransom in present Ransom County. Still another, to Fort Totten and Devils Lake, followed the Fort Ransom trail into what is now Viking Township and then branched to the northwest, crossing the Sheyenne River in Barrie Township. The Sibley trail crossed the southwestern corner of the county. Amid ;he rough and ready events incident to the building of a fort and in­ augurating steamboating on the Red, there came a touch of romance. The first marriage ceremony on record in Richland County took place on a steamer (probably the Pioneer) at Fort Abercrombie June 10, 1860, with officers, soldiers, and civil­ ians as wedding guests. The principals were Mr. and Mrs. Peter Russell. The bride, whose maiden name is not known, was born at Winnipeg in 1840, and in 1859 came with her parents to Fort Abercrombie, where she was employed in the Luell house­ hold. Mr. Russell was engaged in service around the fort and at the trading post. Five years after the establishment of Fort Abercrombie occurred the most spectacular event in the history of Richland County—the Indian attack on the fort in August and September of 1862, a continuation of the Minnesota Massacre, 12 A HISTORY OF RICHLAND COUNTY AND THE CITY OF WAHPETON which broke out in southern Minnesota August 17 under the leadership of Little Crow. The Sioux had long resented the white encroachment on their lands, the gradual pushing back of their reservation boundaries, the breaking of treaties, the withholding of tribal funds, and the late delivery of annuity payments. In addition, there were rumors that the annuity payments were to be given to the newly-freed Negroes in the South. The spark that set off the situation was the late arrival of the 371,000 gold annuity payment at Fort Ridgely in the Minnesota River Valley. Had it been received a week earlier, the uprising might have been prevented. Directly in the path of the Sioux fleeing west after the massacre lay Fort Abercrombie. On August 23 the fugitive Indians killed several settlers at Brecken­ ridge, and other settlers missed a like fate by escaping across the river to the fort. The stage on its way from Breckenridge to Fort Abercrombie was looted, the mail it carried scattered over the prairie, and the driver, Joe (or Charles) Snell, killed. News of the uprising evidently arrived from several sources at about the same time, and messengers were sent at once to the settlements, urging the people to hurry to the fort for protection. About 77 settlers soon arrived. In addition, a de­ tachment of troops stationed at Georgetown, down the river, to control that dis­ trict and protect Red River traffic, was recalled. Capt. John Van der Horck was in command of the post, which was manned by Co. D 5th Minnesota Volunteers. While food supplies were ample, the defenders were not prepared to withstand a siege. There were not enough men to hold off a major attack, and while a palisade was built some time later, there was none at this time—an omission that appears unusual in view of the abundance of timber on the river banks, which even an ordinary observer would have recognized as potential cover for an attacking party. The defenders were further handicapped by a shortage of guns and ammunition. These facts, together with the great distance of Aber­ crombie from any supporting fort or arsenal, made the situation one of anxiety and concern. However, the soldiers and civilians set about to fortify the post as best they could. Barrels of pork, corned beef, and flour, intermingled with cordwood, logs, and earth, and topped with eight-inch squared oak timbers, furnished pro­ tection for the defenders and a shelter for the women and children and the sick. It was apparent at once that outside help would be needed if the besieged were to survive, and a message was dispatched by mounted courier to Fort Snelling. However, because of the great need for men in the South—a fact undoubtedly known to the Indians, and one which may have influenced them in deciding to turn against the white men at this particular time—troops were difficult to obtain. On August 30, one week after the massacre at Breckenridge, the first attack was made on the fort. The Indians confined themselves chiefly to an attempt to stampede and drive off the herds—the stock regularly kept at the fort had been augmented by the animals of the fugitive settlers and a herd being held there for consummation of a treaty with the Chippewa Indians in northern Minnesota. Since the corrals and pasture were outside the fort, the Indians were partially successful in their efforts. The defenders could not give adequate protection to the stock, without running the risk of being killed and thereby weakening the already in­ adequate garrison. Two days after the stampede a few men went out and recovered part of the stock, and some of the animals returned of their own accord. At daybreak September 6 a major assault was made on the fort. About 50 Indians approached on horseback and tried to draw the members of the garrison stationed outside the temporary stockade in pursuit, but the maneuver failed be­ cause of orders previously issued to the defenders to remain inside the fort. The Indians then appeared in great numbers, surrounded the buildings, set fire to some A HISTORY OF RICHLAND COUNTY AND THE CITY OF WAHPETON 13 hay stacks, and made desperate efforts to drive off the remainder of the stock and capture the fort. Seeing the possibility of losing more of their cattle, some of the settlers became enraged, and, disregarded orders, charged the stables, where they killed two Indians who had succeeded in entering. The attack on the fort lasted until noon, with heavy loss to the Indians; the casualties among the defenders were one killed and two wounded. The deciding factor in the contest was the defenders' battery of three 12-pound howitzers. The shells from these guns, in passing through the air, made a hissing sound, which, with the deadly results achieved when the shells exploded and discharged their canister shot, terrorized the Indians and caused them to withdraw from the attack, carrying with them most of their dead and wounded. This canister ammunition played another important part in saving the post. After the second attack was over, it was discovered that only 350 rounds of am­ munition remained for the muskets of the troops. When the soldiers of the 5th Minnesota Volunteers had been mustered in at Fort Snelling, they were equipped with 69-caliber Harper's Ferry muskets, supplied with 2,000 rounds of ammunition to fit their guns, and told that there were 40,000 additional rounds at Fort Aber­ crombie. Upon their arrival at the fort in April, however, they had found, instead of 69-caliber balls, a supply of 58-caliber. The commander immediately requisition­ ed 20,000 rounds to fit the muskets, but up to the time of the attack the ammunition had not arrived. Here was a serious situation for the defenders. Fortunately, an inventory showed 12 cases of canister ammunition on hand; and it was discovered that these shells contained 69-caliber balls—about a good handful to each shell. Canister ammunition was similar to the shrapnel of today. It consisted of metal cans containing lead balls and charged with black powder, which was exploded by a lighted fuse after being discharged from the gun. The timing of the explosion was governed by the length of the fuse. Upon discovery of this supply of ammunition the women were set to work opening the cans, extracting the balls, and substituting small pieces of scrap iron, which the men provided by breaking up old iron around the fort. In addition to the employment of this valuable piece of strategy, the defenders had another piece of good fortune—among the supplies in the treaty train held at the fort were found a quantity of black powder and 50 muzzle-loading shotguns—a great help and a source of added courage. From September 6 to September 23 the fort was under siege. No more major attacks were made, but the Indians kept up a sniping fire from the trees on the river bank. Repeated requests had been sent to Fort Snelling for assistance, but no word had been received as to when it would arrive, if at all. At about 5 o'clock on the afternoon of September 23 dust floating in the air was noticed in the southeast. The harrowing thought that it might be Indian reinforcements finally gave way to the glad realization that it was the relief for which the defenders had been so earn­ estly hoping. Capt. Emil Burger with infantry troops from the 3rd and 7th Minnesota Volunteers, and Ambrose Freeman, commanding the Northwest Rangers or State Militia Cavalry from Sauk Center, 350 men in all, constituted the relief forces. Following two days rest after their long march, detachments of cavalry and in­ fantry were sent out to clear the districts of Indians. Several small engagements oc­ curred, during which one Indian Camp was burned. The Sioux were finally driven westward over the prairies of Dakota, where they took temporary refuge near Devils Lake. With reinforcements of cavalry and infantry, arrangements made for better 14 A HISTORY OF RICHLAND COUNTY AND THE CITY OF WAHPETON protection of the fort, and supplies replenished, the civilians, especially those with families, were eager to leave the exposed district. Accordingly, a group of 220, in­ cluding women and children, left the fort September 30 under military escort, bound for St. Cloud and St. Paul. Early Settlement of Richland County 1864 - 78 The Indian uprising checked the development and settlement of northwestern Minnesota and the Red River Valley for at least two years. Settlers hesitated to bring their families into a territory that might suffer another attack. However, with an increased garrison of 1,000 at the fort and 300 cavalry to patrol the district, the situation was soon brought under control and confluence reestablished. Morgan T. Rich, founder of Wahpeton, visited the Richland area two years after the siege of Fort Abercrombie, and was very much impressed with the attrac­ tive setting and the fertility of the soil—so much so that five years later, in 1869, he returned and became the first white settler in what is now Richland County. His first home, a dugout in the river bank, near the present entrance of Chahinkapa Park, was the beginning of a settlement known as Richville. The land on which he squatted—all settlers were squatters before the land was surveyed and opened to entry—is today the major portion of the city of Wahpeton. In the same year that Mr. Rich arrived, Congress, anticipating the relinquish­ ment of the Wahpeton-Sisseton Indian claims in the Red River Valley, and plan­ ning for orderly settlement, appropriated $10,000 for a land survey of the Red River Valley on the Dakota Territory side. This was the first government survey undertaken in North Dakota and Richland County. Contracts for the work were awarded to Rollin J. Reeves, Miles T. Wooley, and George W. Proper, who assembled their crews at Yankton in July 1870 and outfitted for five-months ex­ pedition. Traveling overland in heavy wagons by way of what are now known as Sioux Falls and Brown's Valley, S. Dak., they headed for the Bois de Sioux River to pick up the western end of the 7th Standard Parallel as determined by the Min­ nesota surveys. Extension of the parallel into Dakota Territory provided a base for the survey as it proceeded northward down the valley. All the standard and town­ ship lines were run from the Bois de Sioux and Red Rivers west to the range line between ranges 52 and 53 on the 7th Guide Meridian, which was traced north to the Canadian boundary. Mr. John Q. Burbank, later a resident of Wahpeton, and Richland County sur­ veyor for many years, was a member of Reeve's crew. In 1871 he was appointed deputy surveyor by Gen. W. H. H. Beadle, Surveyor General of Dakota Territory, and that year subdivided eight townships in what is now Cass County, one in Richland, and one in Traill. The year following the survey on the Dakota side of the Red River saw many interesting events in the early history of the county. For two years Mr. Rich had lived alone, his only human contacts an occasional Indian, or hunters and trappers passing up and down the valley, or immigrants on their way to squat on land. In preparation for the coming of his wife and daughters he had built a log house, boarded on the outside, on the plot at the northeastern corner of present Dakota Avenue and the river bank, and in 1871 Mrs. Rich and her daughters came from Redwing, bringing with them furniture for their new home on the frontier. William Root also arrived in 1871, settling on the land adjoining that of Mr. Rich on the south. Part of Mr. Root's land was later included in the town site of Wahpeton, and is still known as Root's addition. A HISTORY OF RICHLAND COUNTY AND THE CITY OF WAHPETON 15 Another important event in 1871 was the opening of a post office at Richville. During that year the settlement showed considerable growth, and Folson Dow was appointed the first postmaster and commissioned December 1, 1871. The Indian name for the town, Chahinkapa (Sioux, the top of the trees, from the fact that at this point the Sioux coming from the west could see the tops of the trees of the Minnesota forests appear on the horizon), was used. [A Literal translation of Chahinkapa is "No more wood". Thus "the end of the woods" is the accepted meaning by many people. In the days when only the Indians lived here there was no timber west of the Red River.] It is thought the office was in Dow's home, as no business buildings were built until 1874. Other than the service at Fort Aber­ crombie, established for the officers and men when the fort was erected in 1857, this was the first regular post office in Richland County. The mail was carried by stage. In 1371 there was a good deal of traffic across the Bois de Sioux River between Brecker.ridge and Chahinkapa. As no stores had been established west of the river, settlers on the Dakota side and the people at the fort went to Breckenridge to trade. Immigrants and supply trains passed over the Bois de Sioux and Ottertail Rivers by means of a corduroy road—a road often submerged and dangerous. Mr. Rich met the situation by building a ferryboat, which he operated until 1876, when the first bridge was built across the river. The birth of the first white child in Richland County was another event of 1871. She was Nellie Johnson, daughter of Mr. and Mrs. Peter L. Johnson, who had come tc North Dakota from Wisconsin, where they had resided a short time after their arrival from Norway. Nellie was born June 4, 1871, grew up in Richland County, and was married to Olaf L. Olson November 12, 1894. In 1871 the first Catholic Mass in Richland County was celebrated by Rev. Ignatius Thomison for a group of young Bohemian men, recently arrived from Iowa. They were Albert Chezik, Joseph Chezik, Frank Formanack, Joseph For­ manack, and Matt Lorenz, and the Mass was held in their first home, a dugout on the bank of the Red River. Richland County, like all eastern North Dakota, was retarded in settlement by the adverse reports of some of its early explorers, who announced the country was almost a desert, was infested with grasshoppers and other insects, and was not fit for habitation by white men. The periodic intertribal warfare among the Indians also discouraged settlement. However, the establishment of Fort Abercrombie and the cessation of tribal difficulties after the treaty of 1870 tended to remove the Indian hazard; cultivation of land at the fort revealed the wonderful fertility of the soil of the Red River Valley; and insect pests were found to be a serious manace only infrequently. These facts, conveyed to the central West by personal letters and by articles in newspapers and periodicals, soon attracted the attention of prospective settlers. At first only a trickle of people came, but they were so delighted with the climate and the yields from the rich soil that they spread the news to others of their ac­ quaintance or nationality, and by 1874 a steady stream of immigrants was pouring into the county. Settlers were of various nationalities, and came from Michigan, Wisconsin, Iowa, and Minnesota. The first settlement was Richville, now Wahpeton; the second, a German colony, was begun in 1871 on the Wild Rice River, directly west of Wahpeton. Being keen judges of land, the Germans selected some of the most fertile acres in the county. While some of these pioneers came directly from Germany most of them were from the North Central States. 16 A HISTORY OF RICHLAND COUNTY AND THE CITY OF WAHPETON Richland County seemed to appeal particularly to Norwegians, and many of them migrated to the county from 1871 to 1874. They were no strangers to a rigorous winter climate, and to be able to put their plows into stone-free land with no timber to clear was to their liking. They took up homesteads north, west, and south of the Fort Abercrombie district, along the Red, Wild Rice, and Sheyenne Rivers. Before coming to North Dakota, many of the men worked in the lumber camps of Michigan, Wisconsin, and Minnesota, accumulating a money stake to enable them to move to the prairies. From 1871 to 1874 a number of Bohemian families came to the county from Iowa and Wisconsin, and squatted or homesteaded on land adjacent to Wahpeton, where they formed the first colony of this nationality in North Dakota. A second Bohemian colony was begun in 1880 near the present site of Lidgerwood. The settlers who arrived in 1870-71-72-73 were: William Root Chas. Morgan Folsom Dow Peter Magnussen D. Wilmot Smith K. L. Johnson Ransom Phelps K. Currie Samuel Taylor John Q. Burbank Benjamin Taylor Peter Keating Simon Woodsum Richard Keating Matt Lorenz Michael Keating John Kotschovar Joseph Kubella John M. Ruggles Charles Gudgar Caroline Rich Joseph Formanack Helen Rich Frank Formanack \ Sara Rich Albert Formanack J. W. Blanding Wenzel Formanack Emma Blanding Joseph Chezik Jessie Blanding Albert Chezik Walter Blanding Michael Chezik Elizabeth Blanding David Lubenow Frank Blanding Theo. Martinson Hugh R. Blanding J. F. Shea Joseph Blanding August Hoefs P. J. Wold H. J. Hagen Frank Herreck C. 0. Ulven John Schmitt A. A. Skaarvold Sam Ottis J. B. Russell R. H. Hankinson S. M. Hendrickson Nels Thompson Chas. W. Crawford W. H. Blair Albert Schmidt and M. P. Propper had come in 1865. The completion of the St. Paul and Pacific Railway—now the Great Northern- - from St. Paul to Breckenridge in 1872 was a very important event in the history of the Red River Valley. Primitive transportation by cart and wagon had retarded settlement because it was inadequate to supply the increasing demands of the new West for food, building materials, machinery, household supplies, and passenger transportation. The railroad provided easy access to western Minnesota and the eastern Dakota prairies, and was instrumental in developing a system of flat-boat traffic on the Red River to supply the needs of the northern part of the Valley, including the Selkirk settlements and Fort Garry in Canada. The boats, having a capacity of 10 to 50 tons each, were constructed by the hundreds on the river banks A HISTORY OF RICHLAND COUNTY AND THE CITY OF WAHPETON 17 at Breckenridge and Chahinkapa. Undoubtedly they would be considered very crude craft today, but they were well adapted for freighting on a shallow and wind­ ing river. Freight from the railroad cars was slid down chutes to the boats, where it was stowed for balance and weight. When the loading was completed, the deck was roofed and everything made ready. The boats were connected in gangs by short tow lines, and started on their journey northward, carried by the current. Because of the meandering of the river and the fall of less than one foot to the mile, the current was slow, and it took many days to reach Pembina or Fort Garry. After discharging their cargoes, the boats were sold for lumber, and often brought more than their original cost. Many of the early settlers worked on the flat boats, or helped build them at Breckenridge and Wahpeton. Those employed on the voyages returned to headwaters by stage. Profits in the flat-boat traffic are said to have been enormous. With the building of railroads in the Valley, however, river transportation of all types felt the competition and finally disappeared entirely. The year 1873, like its two predecessors, saw many changes in the new country. Previous to 1873 the territory now known as Richland County had been part of the lands claimed by the Wahpeton-Sisseton bands of the Sioux. To extinguish the Indian title in order that settlers could file on homesteads and claims, and receive clear titles through the United States Land Office, an agreement was made in 1873 whereby the Indians received allotments in severalty of 160 acres to each member of the tribe, together with a cash bonus, for relinquishment of their claims to the area. This permitted orderly settlement and the establishment of com­ munities. Those who had squatted on the land previous to 1873 were given pre­ ference when regular filing though the land office was begun. The Territorial legislature of 1873 named the counties of Dakota largely in honor of men who were old residents and prominent in the political, financial, and military affairs of the Territory. The story is told that Enos Stutsman, representa­ tive from Pembina, on his way to the meeting of the legislature at Yankton, stop­ ped at Wahpeton to spend the night at the home of Morgan T. Rich, and that during this visit the names for most of the counties then existent were selected. Richland County was named for Mr. Rich and Chahinkapa was selected as the county seat. Governor Pennington, the seventh Governor of Dakota Territory, appointed the first commissioners and officers, who served until the first election in November, when J. W. Blanding, D. Wilmot Smith, and Morgan T. Rich were chosen as commissioners, Hugh Blanding as clerk and register of deeds, William Root as sheriff, Ransom Phelps as judge of probate, and Emma Blanding as super­ intendent of public instruction. There were only about 60 votes cast at the one polling place in the county, the county seat. It is estimated that less than 500 people lived in the county at the time, most of them in the territory bordering the Red River. It was in this year (1873) that the name Chahinkapa, whose difficult spelling and pronunciation had made it unpopular, was changed to Wahpeton. In 1874, the year following the organization of Richland County, Jacob Movrin in partnership with Joseph Sitarich built at Wahpeton the first business building and established the first retail store in the county. It was on the north side of the present Dakota Avenue, a short distance from the river bank, and the lumber for its erection was brought from St. Cloud. This store enabled people to obtain supplies without crossing the river to Breckenridge. Moreover, since it was a meeting place for all the settlers of the district and furnished an open forum for affairs of local, territorial, and national importance, it became very popular. Mr. Movrin was kill­ ed by lightning shortly after the store had been opened, but Mr. Sitarich con­ tinued the business. Later the building and stock were sold to John Kotschovar. 18 A HISTORY OF RICHLAND COUNTY AND THE CITY OF WAHPETON

Mr. Sitarich, 102 years old and known as the town's first merchant, is still a resident of Wahpeton (1938). The year 1874 saw also the erection of a second business building, the first county courthouse. A small frame building, 16x22 feet in size, on the south side of Dakota Avenue, about a block from the river bank, it was built by Morgan T. Rich and John Q. Burbank. The county officers made use of its limited space until 1882, when a new courthouse was erected. The record is not clear, but it is thought that the first public school instruction in Richland County was given at Fort Abercrombie, to the children of the officers and men stationed at the Fort. The first schoolhouse in the county was built at Wahpeton in 1875, a small frame structure near what is now First Street and Second Avenue North. The enrollment for the first year was less than a dozen, and Miss Mary Keating, later Mrs. James F. Shea, was the first teacher. From 1868 to 1874 Wahpeton did not develop as a commercial center because of the superior position of Breckenridge just across the river. In Breckenridge a saw mill was in operation, the railroad had built shops and a round house, flat- boat building was an active industry, and the town was a station for the stage lines and the terminus of the railroad. It was only natural that business houses and hotels and boarding houses would be established to serve those connected with these activities as well as the people passing through to Dakota and those visiting the district on business. The stores attracted trade from a wide territory, including the Dakota side of the Red River as far as Fort Abercrombie. Too, Breckenridge had a growing social life, and church services were held in railway coaches or in the depot. For these reasons traffic between Breckenridge and Wahpeton had reached a greater volume in 1876 than Mr. Rich's ferry across the Bois de Sioux could handle adequately. Consequently, subscriptions of money and labor were solicited on both sides of the river and a wooden pier bridge, which served many years, was built at the site of the present interstate bridge. In the years immediately following the construction of the bridge across the Bois de Sioux occurred three events indicating the growing strength and stability of the young community. In 1877 the settlers had come to feel sufficient security to allow the withdrawal of the troops from Fort Abercrombie. The next year the town's first newspaper, the Richland County Gazette, was established by a Mr. Borgen and sold the same year to E. K. Morrill, who was its editor and manager until 1902. In the third year, 1879, the military reserve was opened for settlement and the buildings of the fort sold at auction. A movement is now (1938) being promoted to rebuild the old fort according to original specifications. Period of Rapid Settlement. 1879 - 90 Shortly after the military reserve of Fort Abercrombie was opened for settle­ ment, railroads were built into the county, and a period of rapid settlement began. In the decade following—from 1880-90—Richland County saw an increase of 300% in population—the greatest increase from a numerical or percentage standpoint in the history of the county. From 3,567 in 1880 the population rose to 10,751 in 1890. Completion of the St. Paul and Pacific Railroad line to the Red River in 1872 facilitated settlement of the eastern border of the county and state. The town of Abercrombie, near the site of the fort, was established in 1879. It was not until 1880, however, that the more remote land in the district began to draw settlers in large numbers. July 27, 1880 marks the beginning of railroad transportation in A HISTORY OFRIHLAND COCUNTY AND THE CITY OF WAHPETON 19

Richland County. On that day engine number 37 crossed the railroad bridge be­ tween Breckenridge and Wahpeton and ran for a few rods on the line that was then in the process of being built through the county. This line is now the Casselton branch of the Great Northern Railway. Its route extended northwest from Wahpeton, and its building brought about the founding of Dwight (1880), Galchutt (1882), Colfax (1881), and Walcott (1880), as well as several shipping points where there are no stations. The lands bordering the railroad were soon homesteaded, and homes, churches, schools, and business houses built in great numbers. It was with this rising tide of settlement that Great Bend was founded (1880) a few miles southwest of Wahpeton. A spectacular development of the 1880's was bonanza farming. It was possible in the early 1880's to purchase railroad lands at a very small outlay of cash— railroad script purchased at a heavy discount could be applied on the price of the land at par, and many large holdings were acquired in this way for about one dollar an acre. From 1880 to the close of the century several very large farms were in oper­ ation in the county, their area ranging from 1,200 to 27,000 acres. What is thought to have been the largest of these was owned by the Dwight Farm and Land Company, of which John Miller, later the first Governor of North Dakota, was for a time superintendent. It was begun in 1880 with holdings of 19,000 acres, which were later increased to 27,000 acres. Operations were on a large scale—two hundred horses and mules, 44 binders, 8 steam threshing machines, 50 gang and sulky plows, 45 seeders and other equipment in proportion were required; and in the rush seasons an army of men was employed. Grain farming, chiefly wheat, was the program. In those days no consideration was given to crop rotations or fertilization, and the soil was gradually depleted. From a land utilization standpoint, therefore, the bonanza farms were not desirable, but they did bring in settlers, and they de­ monstrated practical methods of farming on larger tracts of land than those handled in older States. Most of the bonanza farms have been split up and sold to in­ dividual farmers; the largest individual holding today does not exceed 7,000 acres. With all this raising of grain there arose a demand for a means of processing it nearer home. Two grist mills were built in the county in 1881, one at Colfax by Mathias and Rudolph and the other at Wahpeton by Busch & Co. The two plants were heartily welcomed; no longer was it necessary to spend several days hauling grain to Elizabeth, Minn., to have it ground into flour. The owners of the mill at Colfax received a $1,000 bonus from the village for establishing the plant. Mills were also established at Mooreton in 1883, Hankinson in 1890, and Lidgerwood (date not known). The mill at Wahpeton was acquired by Braun Brothers & Eckes and is still serving a wide territory in Richland County and Minnesota under the name of Math Braun & Co. With all the hustle and bustle of pioneering, the settlers found time to go to church. The first Protestant church services at the head of the Red River were held at Breckenridge. The church-going people of Wahpeton joined those of Breck­ enridge in worship in a railroad coach, if one was available; if it was not, the services were held in the depot, the congregation sitting on planks supported by beer kegs. About 30 usually attended. For several years no regular pastor was assigned to the settlement of the two towns. The Rev. Mr. Lyons, a missionary, preached oc­ casionally in the early 70's. Then came the Rev. Messrs. Thomas, Smith, and Webber as resident pastors. None, however, remained very long. Congregations were small, and although even saloon keepers contributed, the members were not able to support a pastor. 20 A HISTORY OF RICHLAND COUNTY AND THE CITY OF WAHPETON

During the intervals when there were no church services the religious work of the community was carried on by the Bible class of the Sunday school with Mrs. W. J. Blanding as its leader. Mrs. Blanding began a Sunday school library in Wahpeton by persuading the people of her former church in Lancaster, Wis., to send out their old books. From this school developed the First Congregational - church of Wahpeton, organized in 1881. This was the first Protestant church in I Richland County and the first Congregational church in North Dakota. The con­ gregation erected a building the same year. It is thought that the first preaching services of the group were held about 1875 at the first public school in Wahpeton, at what is now Second Avenue and First Street. Services were also held in the members' homes. Those active in the Congregational group in Wahpeton at that time were the Blanding, Taylor, Woodsum, Root, Spink, Male, Moore, and Rich families. Rev. M. S. Hall, the first pastor, was succeeded in 1882 by Rev. Edward D. Curtis, who was followed in 1883 by Rev. G. B. Barnes. Mr. Barnes served the congregation for five years and later on for another period of several years. Speeding settlement of the county, in 1882 came a second railroad, the Northern Pacific, Fergus and Black Hills Railway—later a branch of the Northern Pacific —built due west from Wahpeton. The first engine crossed the bridge between Breckenridge and Wahpeton on October 14. The road tapped a very fertile section and was responsible for developing the shipping points of Stevenson and Farming- ton and the towns of Mooreton (1882), and Barney (1890). With all this development Wahpeton was growing rapidly, and early in 1882 —the year in which G. P. Garred established The Times, the town's second news­ paper—became the first organized town in Richland County. On January 20 a call for election of temporary officers, to serve until regular election, was published in the Richland County Gazette, and on February 1 S. H. Fowler was elected chairman, P. H. Hackett, town clerk, P. J. McCumber (who later long served as U. S. Senator from North Dakota) justice of the peace, H. H. Royer, marshall, Freeman Orcutt, treasurer, and Michael Schmitt, J. W. Blanding, George P. Garred, and J. W. Flayward, trustees. The temporary board met February 7, and the new board held its first meeting May 2. The first permanent village officers were John Nelson, president of the board; Pius Henger, Michael Schmitt, F. W. Hunkel, and J. W. Hay ward, trustees; Smith A. D. Silva, marshall; C. D. Rittenhouse, clerk; and Mr. McCumber, justice of the peace. G. W. Nichols and M. Shott were appointed members of the board of health. No mention is made in the minutes as to who was elected treasurer. It was also early in 1882 that the first courthouse was completed, being built on block 31, donated by Mr. Rich. The county officials did not enjoy their new offices very long, however, as the building burned on March 23, 1883, and many county records were destroyed. A new building with fireproof vaults was erected the same year, and used until 1912, when it was razed to make way for the present courthouse. The year 1883 saw the founding of a new town, Wyndmere, 24 miles west of Wahpeton, and the arrival of a third railroad, the Fargo and Southern, later a branch of the Chicago, Milwaukee and St. Paul Railway, built along the Red and Bois de Sioux Rivers from Fargo to Ortonville, Minn. It was the intention of the pro­ moters of the railroad to extend it from Fargo to Winnipeg, but their plans never materialized. When construction of the road reached Wahpeton, the crossing of the line of the St. Paul, Minneapolis and Manitoba Railway was bitterly contested. This was the first so-called railroad-crossing war in the county, a type of war not uncom­ mon in the early days of railroad building in the West. The first scheduled train made a round trip from Fargo to Ortonville July 4, 1884, and within a few years the towns of Christine, Abercrombie, Tyler, and Fairmount, and several shipping A HISTORY OF RICHLAND COUNTY AND THE CITY OF WAHPETON 21 points developed on the 50 miles of the route within the county. With the rapid transportation brought by the railroads came the development locally of one very important link in present day life and business—the telephone. In September 1884 W. S. Judd installed the first rural telephone system in the county, The line ran from his Fairview Farm, southwest of Wahpeton, to a booth in the New York Store at Wahpeton. His object in building it was to get daily market reports for grain-buying activities at his elevator on the farm. Wahpeton's growth continued in 1885 with the installation of the first water­ works system in the county. The work was done under a franchise granted to the Wahpeton Water Company, with E. R. Davenport acting as supervisor and engineer. It was in this same year that the last reminder of Fort Abercrombie and the military occupation of the area was removed. The Federal Government had Col. N. N. Tyler move the bodies from the 73 graves at the cemetery at Fort Aber­ crombie to the grounds at Fort Abraham Lincoln. In 1886 two more railroads were built through the county—the main line of the Soo Railway and the branch line of the Great Northern from Campbell to Aberdeen, S. Dak. The roads nearly parallel each other from the eastern border of the county to Hankinson, where they cross. This point was the scene of another railroad-crossing war, and led to Hankinson's carrying for a time the nickname Fort Hankinson. From Hankinson the main line of the Soo branches northwest through Mantador, founded in 1886, and continues on to Minot, while another line of the Soo continues west and northwest to Bismarck. The Great Northern branch to Aberdeen parallels the Soo across the county. Lidgerwood, on this line, is another town founded in 1886. This year of railroad building also brought the establishment of another news­ paper, the Wahpeton Globe, published by H. W. Troy, and known briefly as the Dakota Globe. Fred Falley, long time editor, served as secretarv of state for North Dakota from 1896 to 1900. The next year, 1887, saw the laying of still more rails in the county; the segment of the Great Northern Railway between Wahpeton and Moorhead, Minn., was built by the Moorhead and South Eastern Railway. In 1891 it became the property of the St. Paul, Minneapolis, and Manitoba Railway Company, and still later was acquired by the Great Northern. Its right-of-way extends for only a few miles in Richland County—from Wahpeton to a point about 9 miles north, where it crosses the Red River into Minnesota—but over it travel mail and passenger trains bound for the Pacific coast. Period of Development. 1890- 1915 While the period from 1879 to 1890 had been one of rapid settlement, that from 1890 to the outbreak of the World War tended to be one of inward growth and development. In 1891-92 the Methodist Church built and opened at Wahpeton the Red River Valley University, under the presidency of Rev. M. V. B. Knox. Enrollment, 80 the first year, by 1898 had risen to 141. In 1905 after 12 years of successful operation the school was merged with the State university of Grand Forks under the title of Wesley College. Company I, First North Dakota Infantry was formed and developed during these years. It was organized May 3, 1897 at Wahpeton by Capt. C. L. Brockway, and January 26., 1892 William R. Purdon and William B. Aspinwall were commis­ sioned First and Second Lieutenants. Some of the well-known members of the 22 A HISTORY OF RICHLAND COUNTY AND THE CITY OF WAHPETON company at that time were Robert T. Barber, Mark I. Forkner, Fred L. Bowman, Robert Hughes, Robert Lunday, and Karl Mikkelson. Numbering about 82 and known as Company I, First North Dakota United States Volunteers, the Company served for 18 months in the Philippines in the Spanish-American War, during which time it took part in 18 engagements, with the loss of George Schneller, killed in action. Otto Boehler was awarded the Congressional Medal of Honor for dis­ tinguished service as a scout. The company has kept up its organization since the Philippine campaign, and now has its own armory at Wahpeton. This period saw the establishment in Richland County of two important State educational institutions. The consitution had made provision for the State School of Science in 1889 by an allocation of 40,000 acres of land, but it was not until 1903 that the legislature passed the act establishing it. In 1905 the buildings of the Red River Valley University were purchased for its use, and in 1922 its program was en­ larged to make it the center of trades instruction for the State. Today its trades educational program receives wide recognition outside North Dakota. The brick administration, trades, men's dormitory, gymnasium, and chemistry buildings are grouped in an oval on the 30-acre campus—one of the beauty spots of the city. Students attend from almost every county in the State and from border­ ing States as well. During the 1935-36 term the enrollment was 563, and about one-third that number were refused admittance for the short term because of in­ adequate facilities. The faculty numbers 26. The State School of Science combines three distinct schools: the Junior College, the School of Trades and Industries, and the Business School. After the student develops ability in handling tools and doing typical shop jobs, he spends a great deal of time in production work. Modern equipment is used, making it possible to handle production work on the same basis as in commercial shops. Fundamentally, the Trade School is a group of shops in which students go immediately to work in their crafts, and continue in them until they become proficient. Seventeen trade courses are offered, including airplane construction. One room of the aviation de­ partment is large enough to accomodate assembled planes, and a landing field permits planes to be brought to the school for repairs and tuning. Near the entrance to the grounds of the State School of Science, on a tapering pedestal of rough-hewn granite, eight feet high, is a life-size bust of the Norwegian poet-dramatist, Henrik Ibsen. It is the work of his noted fellow countryman Jacob Fjelde, and was presented to Wahpeton and Richland County by the Norwegian people of the county on Norwegian Independence Day, May 17, 1912. In 1904—the year after the legislature established the State School of Science— Congress appropriated funds for the forming of a school at Wahpeton for the Indian children of northern Minnesota, northern South Dakota, and North Dakota. A committee, appointed by the city council of Wahpeton, acted with Senator P. J. McCumber in selecting a tract of 140 acres of farm land and 35 acres of lots on the northwest edge of the city. Additions have brought the total acreage owned by the school to approximately 260 acres. The plant today has a set of 40 buildings, in­ cluding boys' and girls' dormitories, mess hall, laundry, residences, barns, and storehouses, with an inventory value of approximately $367,000, an amount that does not include furnishings, equipment, and livestock. The attractive campus has well-kept lawns, tennis courts, football field, and playgrounds. The school opened Feb. 1, 1909 with Oscar H. Lipps as first superintendent. By June 30 the enrollment was 77, and today 304 attend, with a staff of employees and a faculty totaling 39. Vocational education is stressed at the school. Since most of the children come from reservations where farming and stock raising are the principal occupations, the girls are given instruction in home economics as part of A HISTORY OF RICHLAND COUNTY AND THE CITY OF WAHPETON 23

their school work, and the boys are taught modern farming methods. Instruction in dairying is given in connection with one of the finest herds of Holstein cattle in the Indian service. Mr. Carl Stevens, appointed August 1, 1925, is the present superintendent (1938). Fair One of the events of 1906 that had a far reaching effect on the agricultural, horticultural and live stock interests of the county was the organization of the Richland County Fair Association. At that time comparativley little corn was grown in the county, there were very few fruit trees or little cultivated fruit of any kind and most of the live stock was of a grade quality. It was thought that if properly encouraged these three branches of farming would show exceptional development and it was with this in mind that the as­ sociation was organized with R. N. Ink, as president; R. J. Hughes, as secretary; and H. J. Hagen, as treasurer. Land was acquired in the southwest section of Wahpeton by the association through contributions from citizens of the county, and a levy made by the county commissioners for fair purposes. Barns, cattle and hog pens, display buildings, grand stand, race track, and other structures were erected to exhibit the live stock, poultry, agricultural products, home canning, sewing, school and other interesting items. For many years the Richland County Fair was held annually and did a great deal to raise the standards of farm products, and bring about better conditions upon our farms; but as years passed, interest in the fair began to drop until the venture was finally abandoned in 193 The growth and development of Wahpeton and Breckenridge led to the es­ tablishment in 1907 of the only street railway ever operated in Richland County. It was built under a franchise granted to F. L. Strum, Frank Eberly, H. J. Connolly, R. J. Flughes, and J. P. Reeder, who in cooperation with others in Breckenridge formed the Wahpeton-Breckenridge Street Railway Company. The line, about a mile long, connected the main streets of the two towns. For a number of years it was a very profitable venture, but patronage decreased with the advent of the automobile, and by 1925 the income did not warrant further operation. In 1907 R. J. Hughes, who had bought the Richland Gazette from E. K. Morrell in 1902 joioed Fred Falley, owner of the Wahpeton Globe, in organizing the Globe- Gazette Printing Company and consoiidating the two newspapers under the title, Globe-Gazette. This reduced the number of newspapers in Wahpeton to two. From 1886 to 1907 there had been three. P>ed Falley died suddenly about six months after the consolidation. Not the least of the inaugurations of the period was the extension of the lines of the Ottertail Power Company from its hydroelectric plant at Dayton Hollow near Fergus Falls to the city of Wahpeton. As the company expanded, other towns of the county were connected to the lines: Fairmount in 1913, Hankinson in 1916, Abercrombie, Barney, Dwight, Great Bend, Mooreton, and Wyndmere in 1921, Lidgerwood in 1922, Christine and Walcott in 1927, Mantador in 1928, and Gal- chutt in 1933. In addition to the miles of distribution lines in the towns served, there are 187 miles of transmission lines in the county and an additional 62 miles of farm lines. In 1923 steam plants were built or acquired at Hoot Lake in Min­ nesota and at various points in North Dakota—Jamestown, Washburn, Devils Lake, and Wahpeton. Two supplemental plants at Appleton, Minn., and Langdon, N. Dak., are equipped with Diesel engines. The steam plant at Wahpeton is rated the highest in generating capacity in 24 A HISTORY OF RICHLAND COUNTY AND THE CITY OF WAHPETON the company's system. It is built in a natural park setting on the Red River, one mile north of Wahpeton, where a sufficient water supply is available and railroad facilities adequate. The first unit of the plant was placed in service in 1927. During 1935, 842 cars of North Dakota lignite were burned, and 21,130,000 kilowat hours generated. The head office of the company is at Fergus Falls, Minn. The close of the 1890-1915 period saw two other important developments. In 1913 the Soo Line from Fairmount through the southern part of the county to Veblen, S. Dak., was built; and in the following year the present Richland County courthouse, a picture of which has been placed in an art gallery in Washington in a collection of noted public buildings of the Nation, was dedicated. The domed building, 75 by 115 feet in size and constructed of Kettle River sandstone and Bedford limestone, is situated in spacious, landscaped lawns on the site of the first courthouse, erected in 1882.

Rad 10 The introduction of radio, or wireless as it was first called, to Richland County came in 1914 when one of the first amateur broadcasting stations in North Dakota was built by H. T. Hintgen and Ray Hintgen of the Wahpeton Electric Company, at 224 Dakota Ave., Wahpeton. The station operated for eight years under the call letters of 9CWM. Between 1914 and 1923 the interest in this new method of communication was equally as great here as in other parts of the nation. Newspapers and magazines were devoting considerable space to the new invention and its subsequent improve­ ments. The names of Marconi and DeForest were familiar to almost everyone and their experiments in broadcasting and refinement of mechanism, and their later discoveries, were front page news. Radio brought so many new words and expres­ sions it became necessary for dictionary publishers to print special sections in their new editions to take care of the inquiry that was being made by the layman for the meaning of radio terms used in the periodicals and in general conversation. The result of the interest in radio brought about the building of many receiving sets before the manufacturing companies became organized and able to get into production. Richland County was no exception, and during this period hundreds of home­ made sets were assembled. Electrical supply houses installed radio parts depart­ ments to meet the demand. In 1923 the Wahpeton Electric Company received the authorization of the Federal Radio Commission for a franchise to operate a 50 watt commercial broad­ casting station at Wahpeton, with station call letters of WMAW. This was the second broadcasting station to be granted a franchise in North Dakota, WDAY of Fargo being the first. The Wahpeton station was operated until 1925, when it was dismantled, and most of the equipment was sold to other stations. World War, Expansion, Drouth, Recovery 1916- 1938 Almost as if in preparation for the great conflict to come, Company I July 25, 1916 entered Federal service for patrol duty on the Rio Grande—a service made necessary by unsettled conditions in Mexico. Here it served from August 1916 to February 1917 with a strength of about 90 men. When on the night of Sept. 30, 1917 more than 4,000 Richland County citizens assembled at the depot to bid the company "good-bye" as it left for service in the World War, it had been increased A HISTORY OF RICHLAND COUNTY AND THE CITY OF WAHPETON 25 to 154. While the county had a population only slightly in excess of 20,000, the total enlistments during the war were 1,018. In addition, the Red Cross chapters of the county produced knitted articles, hospital supplies, refugee garments, surgi­ cal dressings, etc., to a total of 103,517 items, and the Liberty loans were oversub­ scribed. Those from Richland County who died or were killed in the war were: John P. Bauer Ralph Helmer Henry Peterson John A. Becker William Jasmer William Prelvitz Harry V. Brown Edgar Johnson Gerhard Radloff Ward E. Bullis John H. Jones Randolph Rohweller Clarence Carey Alfred J. Lockman Harry Ross Fred O. Cooper George J. Lugert Oscar E. Rustad Ralph M. Early Nickalai A. Martinson Herman Schmidt Stanislas Eberhard Martin J. Mikkelson George W. Snook, Jr. Edwin Erickson Lawrence Miller Frank FI. Solberg Hans Evenson Leo Muckvitch Helmer Sorbel William Faust August Nagel Milton C. Stevenson Olaf Fiske Leo Nebraske George Swiggum Henry Hafner Albert F. Nelson Vernon Terril John Hafner Frank Nelson Martin Thompson Oscar C. Hagen James H. Nelson Buel M. Wetherbee Henry Hanson Harry E. Nypen Willie Willprecht Herman Helgeson Adolph R. Pechlat Harold Wolfe The war period saw the removal of the Lidgerwood Broadaxe to Wahpeton in 1916, to be issued as the Richland County Farmer, with John Andrews, editor. Andrews was succeeded by Thos. H. Moodie who in partnership with B. W. Condit bought the paper in 1926. Because of its importance to the Nation, then engaged in the World War, Richland County's bumper crop of 1918 was an outstanding event. The men, women, and children left on the farms had plowed and seeded nearly every avail­ able tract with food grains, and with ample rain and sunshine the growing season had been ideal. Business men not eligible for military service closed their stores and offices early, drove out to the farms, and worked until dark to help gather one of the greatest crops in the history of the county. Yields of 25 to 35 bushels of wheat to the acre were common, with other grains in proportion, and the quality was excellent. The years of the World War and those immediately following were boom era in business, and the result was felt in public improvements. One of the most out­ standing of these was the inauguration in 1918 of street paving in Wahpeton. Many stories are told of the trials of those who used the main street in the spring or dur­ ing wet periods in the years before it was paved—at times even empty wagons became mired. The first paving was laid on eight blocks on Dakota Avenue and seven on Seventh Street. At present (1938) nearly every street in the city is paved. Another notable addition to public improvements was the building of the Leach Public Library, a gift of Mr. and Mrs. O. A. Leach, residents of Wahpeton since 1896. Mr. Leach was president of the Citizens National Bank for many years, was mayor for four years, and is now president of the Leach and Gamble Company, wholesale grocers, while Mrs. Leach is prominent in church, club, and welfare work. The building, constructed in 1923 of light-colored brick with sandstone trimming, is situated in a landscaped plot opposite Richland County's courthouse. The acious and well-appointed library rooms hold 14,000 volumes. Conspicuous among public works of these years was the erection in 1927 of the \^F 26 A HISTORY OF RICHLAND COUNTY AND THE CITY OF WAHPETON

Richland County World War Memorial, which stands at the southeast corner of the courthouse lawn. It is a lifelike bronze statute of an American doughboy in full military equipment, in the posture of "going over the top." Known as "Over the Top to Victory", the figure, resting upon a lofty granite base, is poised as if stepping over a barbed-wire entanglement—rifle in left hand, right hand raised above the head, and fingers extended in signaling. It was made by the Ameri­ can Art Bronze Foundry of Chicago, 111. at a cost of $9,700. On the southeast side of the base are three bronze panels carrying the names of the 1,018 officers and men of Richland County who served in the World War. Those who were killed in action or who died in service are designated by gold stars. E. D. Lum & Sons in 1927 purchased the Richland County Farmer and the Wahpeton Globe and combined them into the Richland County Farmer-Globe. This is now (1938) the only newspaper being published in the city. In 1929 the convent and academy of the Sisters of the Order of St. Francis, the mother house of the organization in the United States was built at Hankinson. The order was established in Germany in 1241 A. D. In Renaissance style, the building is of mat-face tapestry brick, trimmed with gray Bedford stone. It is 72 by 175 feet, the academy section being 50 feet high and the convent 42 feet. The academy occupies the west section of the building and serves as a boarding school and a local parochial school for the parish of St. Philip's Church. Another public improvement of the post-war period was Wahpeton's new school. The third schoolhouse built by Wahpeton was a brick building on the block between Second and Third Streets and Third and Fourth Avenues North. As school at­ tendance grew, wings were added at the east and west ends, and by 1927 this piecemeal construction had produced a plant no longer adequate or safe. The new building dedicated in 1930 is designed for the housing of only the kindergarten, grade, and junior high school students. An arrangement whereby the auditorium and gymnasium join but separate the kindergarten and grade departments from the junior high school has proved satisfactory, and has been studied by school boards of other cities planning new schools. The builders of Wahpeton's first steel bridge did not anticipate the tremendous increase in traffic the automobile would bring. In 1930 the highway departments of Minnesota and North Dakota cooperated in building a stronger and broader structure, each state paying one half the cost of $60,000. The boom years of the early post-war period were followed by a prolonged business depression and disastrous drought years, affecting the entire Nation and causing widespread economic distress. During this time many sections of Richland County experienced a complete crop failure for the first time. In addition to the lack of moisture, these years brought hot winds, rust, grasshoppers, and unusual wind erosion. To meet the situation the Federal Government instituted programs of soil conservation and rehabilitation. In the Plains States dams were built on the streams to hold the drainage water in the area; shelter belts were planted to prevent wind erosion; and diversification and proper rotation of crops were urged. Work projects on roads, rural schoolhouse repairs, and dam construction provided work for farmers whose cash incomes were insufficient to carry them through the period. Under the Agricultural Adjustment Administration a total of almost two million dollars was paid Richland County farmers for reduction of operations in an effort to raise prices by decreasing surpluses. Two important work projects conducted in the county from 1933 to 1938 have been those on the Sheyenne River and Chahinkapa Parks. The Sheyenne River Park development, conducted as a Federal land utilization project, is a two-county project giving work relief to the farmers of Ransom and Richland Counties and A HISTORY OF RICHLAND COUNTY AND THE CITY OF WAHPETON 27 the people of neighboring towns. The park is intended to serve as a refuge for game and wild animal life and as a recreational center for the southeastern section of the State. The 2,618-acres tract is on the Sheyenne River where the stream winds across the border between Ransom and Richland Counties, the area in Ransom County being 1,166 acres and t^at in Richland 1,452. The surface of the park varies from the level land along the banks of the Sheyenne River to the gently rolling slopes bordering that stream. Excellent stands of native trees and shrubs, including oak, elm, ash, basswood, ironwood cottonwood, poplar, chokecherry, June berry, and plum, are found in the park. The area lies in the old Sheyenne Delta, and in places wind erosion has produced interesting sand dunes, which have increased in numbers and extent during recent drought years. Several small creeks wind their way through the area on their way to join the Sheyenne. This section was once a favorite feeding ground for buffalo, and here the early Indians established their summer hunting camps. Deer, beaver, and other native wild animals are returning under the protection now provided. Pic­ nic grounds and camp sites are being built through the park. The plans for develop­ ment include the building of an improved road through the park; a dam on the Sheyenne and several small dams on the creeks to provide swimming pools and pos­ sibly fish ponds; foot-trails to interesting spots not accessible by auto; overnight cabins, bath houses, shelters, concession buildings, outside camp stoves, tables, ben­ ches, foot-bridges of native timber to span the creeks, and a large community build­ ing, suitable for meetings of 4-H Clubs, Homemakers Clubs, and other organizations. Forest development will be an important factor in beautifying the area; conifer and broad-leaved trees as well as shrubs are to be planted. To date (1938) the Federal Government had expended $255,925 for the purchase of land and for development.

Wahpeton Chronology 1869 Wahpeton is founded by Morgan T. Rich, and called Richville. Rich's first home is a dugout near the entrance of present Chahinkapa park. 1871 First post office is established with Folsom Dow as postmaster. Name is changed to Chahinkapa. William Root joins Rich, filing on land adjoining Rich's on the south. Rich erects first residence in town at northeast corner of Dakota Avenue on the river bank. Rich opens ferry service across Bois de Sioux river. 1872 St. Paul & Pacific Railway extends line west to Breckenridge, Minn., across the river from Chahinkapa. This results in building of flatboats on the Red River for freighting. 1873 Chahinkapa is renamed Wahpeton. Richland County is organized and Wahpeton selected as county seat. 1874 Jacob Movrin and Joseph Sittarich erect first store building. County officers establish themselves in the second business building, which is erected this year. Margaret Chezik, daughter of Mr. and Mrs. Albert Chezik, first white child in Wahpeton, is born. 1875 First schoolhouse, near 1st St. and 2nd Ave., is built. 1876 Ferry is replaced by first bridge across Bois de Sioux. 1880 St. Paul & Pacific Railway extends branch west through Wahpeton and north­ west through county; period of rapid settlement begins. 1881 P'irst flour mills in county are built at Colfax and Wahpeton. 28 A HISTORY OF RICHLAND COUNTY AND THE CITY OF WAHPETON Congregational church, first Protestant church in Richland county is organiz­ ed. 1882 First courthouse is built. Wadena-Oakes branch of Northern Pacific Railway is built through Wahpeton. Wahpeton is organized as city and first officials elected. 1883 Fargo & Southern Railway is built through Wahpeton. 1884 First rural telephone line is installed from Wahpeton to W. S. Judd farm. 1885 City builds first waterworks system. 1887 Great Northern Railway builds line connecting Wahpeton with Fargo. 1889 John Miller, Richland County resident, becomes first Governor of North Dakota. 1892 Red River Valley University is opened at Wahpeton. 1897 Company I, 1st North Dakota Infantry, is organized at Wahpeton. 1899 Porter J. McCumber, early Wahpeton resident, becomes U. S. Senator. 1903 State School of Science is established at Wahpeton. 1904 U. S. Indian School is established at Wahpeton. 1907 Franchise is granted to Wahpeton-Breckenridge company for only street railway ever operated in county. 1914 New courthouse is dedicated. 1918 First paving is laid on Dakota Ave. and 7th St. 1923 City library is erected, the gift of Mr. and Mrs. O. A. Leach. 1927 World War memorial is erected on courthouse lawn. 1929 New grade and junior high school is erected in Wahpeton. Severe drought begins in Northwest. 1930 New concrete bridge is constructed across Bois de Sioux. 1933 Work is begun on Chahinkapa Park development. 1937 Chahinkapa Park is dedicated.

A history of the development of Chahinkapa Park and a description of the World's largest record book, used as a visitor's register in this Park, will be found in an illustrated booklet entitled "Beautiful Chahinkapa Park", for sale at 25c per copy by the Chahinkapa Park Souvenir Store, Wahpeton, N. D.

CIOBI OA/cnr, North Dakota State Library 604 E Boulevard Avenue ^maicK, NO 58505-GBUO