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| H.R. Bill 814 makes St. Vincent's case |
Did you know that at one time, St. Vincent was a port-of-entry?
After you read the original bill requesting that the town be made an official port (at left), you'll understand the logic; it actually makes sense for the time.
As of 1916, it was still a port. I'm not sure when it was discontinued, nor in what capacity it served as one. Since the town wasn't right on the border itself (like Noyes) my guess is that it wasn't used for a crossing point, but functioned solely as a conduit for the border trade, or customs.
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| In 1883, it becomes reality - St. Vincent becomes a (sub)port-of-entry |
I found out this much: A deputy collector resided at St. Vincent during the time frame it was a port-of-entry.
With further research, I learned there was a Customs House in St. Vincent at some point, and not only was there a Deputy Collector of Customs, but at least two other positions there, also.
For example, in 1887, those on-duty were: Adelard Guernon, Collector; Nelson E. Nelson, Deputy Collector; and Alfred F. Storey, Deputy Collector, Clerk & Inspector.
In 1887, there was no 'district of Dakota'; in fact, even the Pembina Customs was listed under the 'district' of Minnesota. But between then and 1916, that changed...
"The border crossing station at Noyes was established in 1905, after having been previously located in the nearby town of St. Vincent." - MN/DOT Historic Roadside DevelopmentThe district of Dakota, to include all of the States of North and South Dakota and the county of Kittson in the State of Minnesota, with district headquarteres at Pembina, in which Pembina, Noyes, St. Vincent, Portal, St. John, Hannah, Neche, Ambrose, Souris, Walhalla, Sarles, Sherwood, Hansboro, Crosby, and Antler are ports of entry...
This is terrific research! I would love to know when St. Vincent ceased to be a port-of-entry. Thanks for all the good work, Trish. Jill Johnson
ReplyDeleteJill, I just updated this - St. Vincent quit being the port in 1905 when it was moved to Noyes...
DeleteI am intriqued at finding the name St. Vincent for the port-of-entry in the area where my ancestors moved to from St. Vincent Twp., Grey Co., Ontario, Canada in the 1880s. Three brothers moved there. Wm. Ovis McFarlane and his wife Sarah, nee Lovett's land claim was in Pembina Co. near Bowesmont; John & Jessie, nee Deegan,McFarlane settled near the Red River in Kittson Co., MN but gave up their claim and moved SW to Wyoming; and Neil & Agnes,nee Manning, McFarlane were flooded out on their farm at Drayton ND and moved N to Bowesmont to join his brother's family where both families lost everything when they were flooded out in 1897. They sold up and moved well away from the Red River, still in MN, after that. Thought you might like to hear the history of one of the area families, even though life turned out to be tragic for them in those early days. Marilynn Crow,a McFarlane descendant of the brother who stayed in St. Vincent Twp., Ontario, Canada
ReplyDeleteThank you for sharing that, Marilyn. I loved it! I knew there were many who came and went, that could not stay for one reason or another. And after the flood of 1897, who could blame them! That was one of the worst...Again, thank you so much for sharing...If you want to find out more about that flood that drove those relatives from our land, be sure and check out my posts about the 1897 flood - just search for 1897 using the search box at the top of the blog, and you'll find the posts...
ReplyDelete