USA > North Dakota > Early history of North Dakota: essential outlines of American history > Part 41
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The Lake Superior & Puget Sound Townsite Company was organized as a Northern Pacific auxiliary, and was supposed to embrace all of the available sites
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between Lake Superior and Puget Sound. Brainerd, at the crossing of the Mississippi, had yielded its harvest of gold to that company, and the crossing of the Red River and the Missouri were next in turn.
A land office had been established at Pembina in 1870, and settlement was expected to rush for the fair land of the Red River Valley about to be opened. Only an Indian title remained to be extinguished. A few Scandinavians from Goodhue County, Minn., had gone ahead of the surveys, and had located on the Red River, the Maple and the Sheyenne. There were three or four at what is now Fargo. The land at Moorhead had been deeded and there was a stage station there kept by Maj. Wm. Woods. The land deeded at that point was owned by J. B. Smith, having been entered by him under the preemption act. The land at Fargo was not subject to entry, the Indian title not having been extinguished. An attempt, however, was made to enter by scrip.
In 1869 it was the purpose of the Northern Pacific directors to cross the river at or near what is now Grandin, striking the Missouri River at the Big Bend, and following up that steam to Fort Benton. And in accordance with that plan the location of the bridge across the Red River was staked at Elin River, or Grandin, and a settlement of townsite speculators gathered at that point. The plan, however, was changed in the spring of 1870, and a fake line was staked to a point near Moorhead, known as Oakport. Here a bright little village of tem- porary structures sprang up.
When the location of the crossing was definitely located Mr. Andrew Holes was employed to make settlement on the farm where James Holes long resided, and was dispatched to purchase the land embracing the townsite of Moorhead, which he succeeded in doing. In the meantime the several settlers were bought off at an expense of $1,000 to $1,500 each and on the night of June 25, 1871, George G. Beardsley was engaged in making improvements on the several quarter sections which the townsite company intended to scrip, and J. B. Power, then a clerk in the surveyor general's office in St. Paul, was sent to Pembina to make the scrip locations for Fargo.
By the 5th of July, 1871, the townsite settlers who had been watching oppor- tunity and the movements of the Puget Sound company people for a year or more had learned the facts and made a rush for Fargo. G. J. Keeney, Patrick Davitt, S. G. Roberts, Andrew McHench, Charles Roberts, J. Lowell, Harry Fuller, George G. Sanborn and others made homestead locations on the grounds which the townsite company had undertaken to scrip. The Indian claim having been extinguished later, it was held that the settlers had preference over the scrip locations, and the townsite company withdrew its claims, and left the settlers in undisturbed possession of the even sections, while the odd fell to them through the railroad grant. John E. Haggart, Newton Whitman and others filed on agri- cultural claims in the vicinity and became substantial farmers. James Holes secured the claim settled upon by Andrew Holes and became the first in North Dakota to engage in agriculture for a living. He opened up the first farm in North Dakota aside from the small tracts in the Pembina settlement or in connec- tion with the Hudson's Bay Company posts.
Moorhead was named for W. G. Moorhead of the Northern Pacific directory, and Fargo for Hon. W. G. Fargo of the Wells-Fargo Express Company.
At that time St. Paul had about fifteen thousand population and Minneapolis
HOTEL
MAIN STREET, BISMARCK, 1872-3 The place was then called Edwinton
A
INDIAN TRAVOIS
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ten thousand, and it was believed that Moorhead and Fargo would make towns of equal importance. They were located by Thomas H. Canfield, as agent of the Puget Sound Company, aided by George B. Wright, a civil engineer in the employ of the Northern Pacific Railroad Company, and the point of crossing the river was determined by them.
After Fargo attention was centered on the Northern Pacific crossing of the Missouri. John J. Jackman, who had been with the surveying party, knew the exact location of the proposed crossing. He induced James J. Hill to finance a scheme to obtain the townsite at that point. He formed a party consisting of himself, John H. Richards, George G. Sanborn, Emer N. Corey and Maj. William Woods, and they made a race for the location with the representatives of the Puget Sound Company, who had learned of their purpose. Jackman won, and settled on the claim selected for the townsite. The other parties took adjoining land, forcing the Puget Sound Company entirely away from the land they intended to enter. Other parties contested the location and some five years litiga- tion followed, resulting in the final entry of the land by the corporate authorities for the benefit of the occupants, and the Puget Sound Company was again defeated. As the result of a compromise the Northern Pacific Company agreed to establish their shops at Bismarck, but failed to make good their contract.
On reaching the Missouri River a false line crossing that stream at the mouth of the Heart River was located. Camp Greene had been established on the west side of the Missouri River by the military authorities ; on the east side, at "Pleas- ant Point," opposite Camp Greene, a thriving little city was built called Carleton City, which continued as a place for saloons and worse institutions for some years, to catch the soldier trade from Fort A. Lincoln, which was subsequently estab- lished.
To further mislead as to the proposed location of the crossing of the Missouri River, the road was actually graded to a place called Burleigh City, nearly a mile south of Bismarck, and graded some distance on the flat because Doctor Burleigh's contract called for grading to the Missouri River.
In 1873 the grade was changed to follow the bench and the road was completed to the point where eight years later the road crossed the Missouri River.
Bismarck was surveyed in the interest of the Lake Superior & Puget Sound Townsite Company in May, 1872, and in order to make sure of holding the prop- erty they employed, through George W. Sweet, attorney, men to make location on then unsurveyed public land. The plat was filed February 9, 1874, in the office of the register of deeds in Burleigh County.
Soon after the survey was commenced, and before its completion, Sweet, as the agent of the said company, commenced to sell lots by the numbers indicated upon the plat filed, a certified copy of which is presented in the case. The parties purchasing immediately commenced the erection of buildings upon their lots, for dwellings and business purposes.
On the Ist of January following thirty buildings had been erected upon the site so selected, and were then occupied. During the year 1873 about one hundred buildings of various kinds were built. The population steadily increased, build- ings continued to be erected until, at the date of the hearing before the local officers, May 15, 1875, the number of inhabitants of said city was estimated at
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nine hundred, and the improvements made were valued at from one to two hun- dred thousand dollars.
October 27, 1874, John Bowen, probate judge of Burleigh County, filed a declaratory statement for the N. 1/2 of said section 4, in trust for the use and benefit of the inhabitants of the City of Bismarck.
January 14, 1875, said city was duly incorporated by an act of the Legislature of Dakota Territory, and the following described tracts were included in its corporate limits, to wit : The N. W. 1/4 and the W. 1/2 of the N. E. 1/4 of section 4, the N. 1/2 of section 5, and that portion of section 6 which lies east of the Missouri River, T. 138 N., R. 89 W., the N. 1/2 of section 31, lying east of said river, and all of the S. 1/2 of sections 32 and 33 of T. 139 N., R. 80 W., in said territory.
May 15, 1875, John A. McLean, mayor of the City of Bismarck, made an application at the local office to enter, in behalf of the inhabitants of said city, the N. W. 14 and W. 1/2 of N. E. 1/4 of section 4, N. E. 1/4 of N. E. 1/4 of section 5, T. 138 N., R. 80 W., and the S. 1/2 of S. E. 1/4 and S. 1/2 of S. W. 1/4 of section 32, T. 139 N., R. 80 W., Dakota Territory.
This application was objected to by Edmund Hackett et al., on the ground that they have rights to said tracts by reason of their preemption settlements thereon and for other reasons.
Assistant Secretary Chandler, before whom the townsite case went on appeal, in closing his review of the case, held:
I am of the opinion that where a specific tract of land is designated and chosen, a part of which is surveyed into lots, blocks and streets, which, together with its exterior boundaries, are marked by stakes of proper monuments, and said acts are followed by settlement, improvements and occupation within a reasonable time, such tract must be considered as selected within the meaning of the law, and thereby excluded from preemption filing.
I am also of the opinion that this selection may be made before or after actual settlement, and by persons associated together for that purpose, or drawn together by a common interest.
Before entry can be made of the land, it must appear that the selection was made in good faith, not for the purpose of speculation, and has been settled upon and occupied for purposes of trade, and not agriculture.
The site of the present City of Bismarck was selected because it was antici- pated that at this point the Northern Pacific Railroad would cross the Missouri River. To this fact is to be attributed its rapid growth and development.
On this account, the parties who now claim, as preemptors, the lands upon which this city is built, were attracted there. They were fully cognizant of this fact when their settlements and improvements were made. You very properly rejected the entries of Hackett and Proctor, each of whom purchased, or con- tracted to purchase, lots of the L. S. & P. S. L. Co., after the survey was com- menced or completed, and before they made settlement upon the tracts now claimed by them.
The fact that said company sought by illegal means to obtain title to the tract originally selected by it as a townsite in no way affects the rights of the occupants, in whose behalf application is now made to enter said land.
They made their settlement and improvements in good faith, and are entitled to the protection which the law provides.
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The corporate authorities having included more land in their application than was originally selected as a townsite, the question arises as to what lands they are now entitled to enter for that purpose. I am of the opinion that their entry must be limited to such contiguous tracts as were included in their corporate limits, and at the date of incorporation were free from valid claims under the preemption or homestead laws. By the act of incorporation, the authority of the probate judge to act for and in behalf of the occupants of said townsite was superseded by the officers therein named, when qualified.
Neither the act of incorporation nor the application of the corporate authori- ties includes the E. 1/2 of the N. E. 1/4 of section 4, a part of the tract originally selected. This tract is therefore excluded from said townsite. Valid rights had attached to the N. E. 14 of N. E. 1/4 of section 5, township 138 N., range 80 W., and the S. 1/2 of S. E. 14 and the S. 1/2 of S. W. 14 of section 32, township 139 N., range 80 W., at the date of the incorporation of said city, and not being originally selected as a part of said townsite, were improperly included in the application of the corporate authorities, and will be awarded to the parties entitled therein. The corporate authorities will therefore be restricted in their entry to the N. W. 1/4 and the W. 1/2 of the N. E. 1/4 of section 4 aforesaid, subject to the right of way of the Northern Pacific Railroad Company. These are the only tracts which can properly be considered as settled upon and occupied for townsite purposes under the testimony as presented, and are awarded to the corporate authorities of said city.
I have carefully considered the testimony as to the rights of the respective claimants to the other tracts included in the application of the corporate authori- ties, and those included in this contest, and am of the opinion that they should be awarded to the parties hereinafter named, upon their showing full compliance with the law, and hereby direct that the awards be so made, and that all other filings and entries on said tracts, and those awarded to the corporate authorities, be canceled.
The E. 1/2 of the N. E. 1/4 of section 4, township 138 N., range 80 W., to Erastus A. Williams.
The N. E. 14 of N. E. 1/4 of section 5, township 138 N., range 80 W., to the Northern Pacific R. R. Co.
The S. W. 1/4 of section 32, township 139 N., range 80 W., to J. J. Jackman.
The N. 1/2 of the S. E. 1/4 of section 32, township 139 N., range 80 W., to John Plummer.
The S. 1/2 of the S. E. 1/4 of section 32, township 139 N., range 80 W., to Dennis Hannefin.
FORT ABRAHAM LINCOLN ESTABLISHED
On July 2, 1864, Congress passed an act granting right of way through the Indian country to the Northern Pacific Railroad Company, entitled "An Act granting lands to aid in the construction of a railroad and telegraph line from Lake Superior to Puget Sound on the Pacific Coast, by the northern route."
In 1871 orders were sent from the headquarters of the Department of Dakota to Col. David S. Stanley, commanding at Fort Rice, to fit out an expedition to accompany the engineers of the proposed railroad on a surveying tour to the Vol. 1-22
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Yellowstone River. In accordance with these orders troops began to concentrate at the fort, and on September 6, 1871, the engineering party, under military escort, arrived overland from Fort Abercrombie. They were Gen. Thomas L. Rosser, assistant chief engineer, accompanied by Messrs. Meigs and Eastman, and several surveyors and their assistants.
On the morning of September 9, 1871, at 9 o'clock, the expedition left Fort Rice and wound out over the hills, the regimental band escorting the column to the foot of the hills. The military escort consisted of 500 men, a detachment of artillery with two Gatling guns, fifty mounted Indian scouts under command of Lieutenant Turnock, and a train of 100 wagons, the whole under command of General Whistler, Twenty-second Infantry.
The first courier from the expedition arrived at Fort Rice on October 14, 1871, and on the day following all the troops returned and went into camp outside the fort, except Company D of the Seventeenth, under Captain Clarke, and the engi- neering party who marched on down the Little Heart River to its mouth, in order to ascertain the advantages afforded by that point of crossing. On the afternoon of the 17th they were met and escorted into the fort by the post band. The engi- neers reported that the expedition had been a great success. That the route surveyed from the Little Heart River to the Yellowstone was practicable, and that the railroad would be built. The day ended with a grand military ball, given by the ladies of the fort, in honor of the civilian and military guests.
The spring of 1872 brought much work to the troops at Fort Rice in the way of similar expeditions on a small scale. Company after company was detailed to act as escort to the engineers who were engaged in running new lines of survey to the westward. This duty was extremely dangerous, as the Sioux, believing that these proceedings were in violation of treaty obligations, lost no opportunity to attack the expeditions.
In April, 1872, a supply camp was established for the convenience of the engineers-some three miles below the site of Fort Abraham Lincoln, at the mouth of the Little Heart River. The new post was christened Camp Greene, and K Company of the Seventeenth, under command of Lieutenant Greene, with Lieutenant Cairns and Doctor Slaughter as post surgeon, were sent up from Forf Rice to occupy the post. It was then thought that Camp Greene was to be the permanent post, then designed to be built at the crossing of the Missouri River. by the railroad; but the following order establishing Fort A. Lincoln was soon afterwards issued from department headquarters:
HEADQUARTERS DEPARTMENT OF DAKOTA
ST. PAUL, April 16, 1872.
Special Orders No. 65.
A board of officers is hereby appointed to select and recommend for adoption a site for the location of a new post to be constructed on the west bank of the Missouri, at or in the immediate vicinity of the point where the Northern Pacific Railroad will cross the river.
Detail for the board-Col. D. S. Stanley, Twenty-second Infanty ; Capt. J. W. Scully, A. Q. M., U. S. A .; Capt. D. W. Heap, Corps of Engineers, U. S. A .; Acting Assistant Surgeon B. F. Slaughter, U. S. A.
*
COLONEL HARRY BROWNSON AND CLERKS, BISMARCK AGENT, NORTHERN PACIFIC RAILROAD, 1873. COLONEL BROWNSON SEATED
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EXTENSION OF THE NORTHERN PACIFIC WEST FROM FARGO
The extension of the Northern Pacific Railroad west of the Red River of the North was begun in the early months of 1872, and was completed to the Missouri River June 5, 1873. Colonel William B. Gaw, the engineer in charge in 1872, told a representative of the road: "I have got the longest straight line of road in the world; I begin at the Red River and run west, four degrees north, fifty- four miles without a curve."
On September 18, 1873, the Northern Pacific Railroad Co., failed, and its bonds, which were receivable at par in payment of lands within its land grant, forty miles north and forty miles south of its track, steadily sank in price until they touched 8 cents on the dollar. The building of the road in 1872, gradually attracted the attention of immigrants and a steady wave began to cross the Red River. They made preemption, homestead and timber culture claims on the Government sec- tions both north and south in the land grant limits. At the same time, holders of bonds of the road bought the lands in the same limits and many farms of large and small dimensions were opened and worked, and in the fall of 1878 all the land as far west as range 55 was bought. Many selections had been made in ranges 56, 57 and 58, in Barnes County, and others steadily pressed westward through the ranges until the James River in range 64 was reached in 1879. Large bodies of lands were bought of the road by non-resident holders of its bonds. Among those may very properly be named Governor Abner Coburn and his brother, of Maine; Cooper Brothers, Henry and William Lloyd, of Pennsylvania ; Williams, Deacon & Co., of London, and many others, including Pence and Snyder, of Minneapolis, who bought large tracts in what is now Foster and Ransom counties, respectively the northern and southern limits of the grant. Immigrants also from the eastern states pressed in and settled on the Government sections from the northern to the southern limits, and Addison Leech, Mr. Plath, W. W. McIlvain, D. H. Buttz, his brother John and M. L. Engle bought lands of the road in Cass and Ransom counties and began to cultivate them. Large numbers of others also besides those named did so.
In 1880 the Fargo & Southwestern Railroad was built from Fargo to the James River, eighty-eight miles, and LaMoure was made its terminus, while Davenport, Leonard, Sheldon, Lisbon and Englevale became thriving centers along its route. A year later, in 1881, the Jamestown & Northern was built to a point in Foster County forty-three miles north. Carrington was platted and rapidly grew into a thriving town while Pingree, Edmunds and Melville along its route became trade and postoffice centers for districts near them. Many farms were opened by men who bought lands of the road and others secured claims on Gov- ernment sections and have lived there since; Wm. M. and Wm. A. Bartholomew, James Buchanan, Murphy Brothers, Wm. Farquhar and many others, while the Casey & Carrington Land Company opened up its farm, quite as large and important as any other large farming interest in the state.
In 1883 the Sanborn, Cooperstown & Turtle Mountain Road was built to a point thirty-six miles north, where Cooper Brothers had bought from the road a large body of lands, and Cooperstown sprang into existence and became the county seat of Griggs County. The same rapid settlement followed along this route. Odell, Dazey and Hannaford became centers of traffic. In 1882 the
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James River Valley Road from Jamestown to LaMoure was built and by short extensions met the C. & N. W. and C., M. & St. P. railroads which had built from the south, and a spur track was built from Carrington to Sykeston, where Mr. Richard Sykes had bought lands and opened several large farms in Wells County. All these roads bearing separate corporate names were built as branches of the Northern Pacific and were projected by the impulse given by the rapid influx of immigrants that followed the settlement and cultivation of the lands along the main line in 1879-80.
The wave of immigration spent its force in the spring of 1883, and some idea of its extent may be formed from the following figures of Stutsman, Foster, Wells and Eddy counties, and equally strong, if not yet stronger figures could be given of the counties along the lines of the other branches if they were at hand, as the wave swept steadily and evenly over the rolling prairies west of the Red River Valley. In the census of 1880, the County of Stutsman had a population of 1,007; of this number Jamestown had 392. In the census of 1885 the county had 5,632, and of these Jamestown had 2,382.
In 1880 the present counties of Foster, Wells and Eddy had not over twenty- five settlers within their borders. In the census taken in 1885 these three counties had a population of 1,932. In 1880 there were no farms worked in these three counties. In 1885 there were 392. Some of them, notably those of Carrington & Casey and Richard Sykes were large ones, the rest varied from 160 to 640 acres.
The class of settlers who formed the wave that culminated in 1883, were generally of an excellent quality. The states of Pennsylvania, Illinois, Michigan, Wisconsin and Iowa furnished a good share of those from the eastern states. Many came from Canada, some from England and Scotland. Many townships in all the counties forming the James River Valley received colonies from Poland, others from Sweden, Norway and Denmark.
THE GREAT NORTHERN RAILROAD
Following the grant of land to the three Pacific railroads, Congress granted to the State of Minnesota ten sections of land per mile to aid in the construction of certain lines of railroad in that state, including the main lines of the Great Northern Railroad. The state had also granted certain swamp lands and a sub- sidy in bonds to aid in the construction. After the construction of the main line to Breckenridge, which it reached in October, 1871, beating the Northern Pacific in the race for the Red River Valley by 272 months, and the construction of the St. Cloud line to Sauk Rapids, which it reached in 1865, the road became bankrupt and passed into the control of a syndicate organized by James J. Hill, to whom the grant was finally transferred by the State of Minnesota. The construction of the St. Cloud line was commenced in 1862, when ten miles was built from St. Paul to Minneapolis, and it was completed to Sauk Rapids in 1865. The Breckenridge line was commenced in 1867 and was completed, as stated, to Breckenridge in October, 1871. The St. Cloud line was extended from Barnesville to Fisher's Landing in 1877, and December 2, 1878, the track layers joined the rails of the Canadian Pacific, giving a through line to Winnipeg, the connection having been made from Breckenridge to Barnesville. In 1880 the road was extended from Crookston to Grand Forks, and from thence on west to the
Photo by Sweet, Minneapolis
VIEW OF MINOT IN 1887
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VIEW OF MINOT IN 1893 A settlement of tents
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Pacific Coast by successive stages. This system was at first known as the St. Paul & Pacific, then as the St. Paul, Minneapolis & Manitoba, taking its present name, The Great Northern, in 1890.
The land grant of the Northern Pacific doubled when the road crossed the Red River; that of the Great Northern ceased when the road left the limits of Minnesota. The Northern Pacific pushed rapidly westward, relying upon its through traffic to build up its business and take care of its bonded indebtedness ; the Great Northern relied upon the resources of the country, building spurs and branch lines, reaching out for business, sending out agents to bring in people to possess the land. Practically all of the lands along its line were free lands, while half of the lands along the Northern Pacific were not subject to homestead entry. In the early days the Northern Pacific was built and operated with reck- less extravagance; the Great Northern was noted from the beginning for its economical administration, and since its management passed into the hands of James J. Hill, who developed and built up its several systems, it has had no set- back of any nature, and today the stocks of that company are quoted higher than any other stocks of any class on the market, the New York quotation being for Saturday, November 10, 1906, 3221/2; in railroad stocks the Northern Pacific stood next, at 220, higher than any other, excepting the Great Northern alone. The Northern Pacific has done much for the development of the country through which it passes; the Great Northern has done more.
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