NEW Book: Pembina County @ 150

Jim Benjaminson shared today:  

Well, its getting closer to reality - "Sagas of Pembina County, 1867-2017" is at the printers.  A 148 page, fully indexed compilation of stories written for county newspapers in 2017-2018 with added material and historical photographs.  We'll let you know when it's ready!

Pembina County at 150: Historical Automobile Dealers

Where Have All The Car Dealers Gone?
by Jim Benjaminson


Gregory Ford's announcement last week that they are giving up their Ford Motor Company franchise after 58 years of sales brings to a close a long history of Ford sales in Cavalier —stretching all the way back to 1906. As Gregory's fold their tent for new car sales, Pembina County is left with just two automobile retailers – Soeby Motors (also Ford dealers) in Walhalla and the recently opened Birchwood Motors (GM dealers) in Cavalier.

Several years ago, the late Maxine (Fiedler) Least approached me during the annual Pioneer Machinery Show at the Pembina County Museum and asked if I had ever compiled a list of the implement dealers that had done business in Pembina County. Maxine's father was one of the principals in Fiedler & Moe, a John Deere agency in Cavalier. I had to admit that I hadn't but since our conversation I've made it a practice to note the names of various automobile and implement dealers—a random collection of notes that is far from complete – but continues to grow. The automobile and farm equipment business has changed over these past 111 years. In the old days nearly every community had an “agent” selling the latest car or tractor of some sort. In memory of Maxine and all those who have been involved in selling cars, trucks, tractors and motorcycles here is an incomplete history.


Pembina County's first Ford agency was granted to James Lang of Cavalier in 1906. His appointment named him “agent for Pembina County”. The first Fords sold, three identical 14-horsepower Model N “Light Tourings” arrived by rail in Cavalier that March and were sold to merchants D. E. Schweitzer, Charles Burgess and banker Ed Stong. They were not, however, the first automobiles sold in Cavalier but were the seventh, eighth and ninth automobiles in the city. Two years later (the same year the Model T Ford debuted) Lang and business partner Thomas G. McConnell formed the “Cavalier Garage & Automobile Company”, doing business out of a large brick building on the corner of East Main and Division Streets. Their business announcement stated they would continue selling Fords and “other favorite autos” in addition to handling “auto fixtures and supplies” and “do all kinds of repairing” plus add an “auto livery business”.

James Lang has the distinction of placing the first ad for an automobile in the Cavalier Chronicle in the June 26, 1908 issue. Found on page 4 the ad featured a line drawing of two Ford runabouts – the ad ran for the next six issues without change. Lang also gets credit for placing the second automobile ad in the paper, beginning with the March 19, 1909 issue, advertising both a $500 Maxwell and an $850 Ford, this ad running for twelve weeks. Lang was a busy man as he, along with partner George Horn, started the Cavalier electric light plant. By 1916 the local Ford dealership was taken over by G. A. Westline and Peter Freschett. Two years later Westline and Freschett were out of the Ford business, being replaced by Akra's Thorwaldson Brothers who would run the business until the mid 1930's, Westline took on the Essex line in 1919 while Freschette later picked up Pontiac and Oakland.

Trivia [answers at bottom]

• How many automobiles were in Cavalier in 1905?
• What year did the new hotel in Glasston open? 
• What year did Cavalier remove the hitching posts from Main Street?

Following the end of World War Two S & T Motors opened a Ford agency in Cavalier on September 18, 1946. Owned by Bob Tomlinson of Devils Lake and Clarence Smerud of Minneapolis, a new brick building was built to house their facilities. Tomlinson soon left the business which operated until 1958 when Mr. Smerud passed away unexpectedly. The agency was then sold to Oliver Gregory who took over the business April 1st, 1959. A new dealership facility was built on the south of edge of Cavalier, opening in 1962 where the business is still located.

Soeby Ford of Walhalla, which can proudly claim the distinction of being the oldest dealership in Pembina County traces its roots back to 1926 when C. K. Soeby acquired the Oakland and Pontiac car and International truck franchise. C. K. Soeby became a Ford dealer in 1930, passing the business along to his son Jack in 1948 who in turn passed it on to his sons in 1986. Another long time Walhalla dealer was A. O. Tetrault, whose Walhalla Motor Company held the Ford franchise in 1926, a year that would see a first in the delivery of new Fords when the first load of “completely built up” Ford cars arrived—previously dealers had to install items such as lights, wheels, tires and fenders before delivery could be made to a retail customer.

Harold Morrison and Freeman Levi built a new building “two blocks south of the post office” under the name of Cavalier Implement, selling Case farm equipment in May of 1944. By 1952 they added the Pontiac and Willys line of automobiles using the business name Cavalier Motor & Implement. Discontinuing selling farm equipment and moving to a new location on the west edge of Cavalier the new building was lost to fire Christmas Eve, 1959. Rebuilding on the same spot and re-named Cavalier Motors, it had the distinction of being named “Studebaker's newest dealer” in 1960. The business, which continued to sell Pontiac, was sold to Olson Motors in 1962. Down the street, Page Oil Company, which had been selling Oldsmobiles since 1941, took on the Rambler line in time to introduce the 1959 models.

Like S & T Motors several other dealerships were opened in Cavalier following WWII. Melsted-Olson Motors built a new brick building one block further south of the new S & T building, selling Chevrolet cars and trucks as well as Massey-Harris farm equipment. Kuball & Andrews, which had been in operation since before the war (Ole Andrews having been a Chrysler dealer since 1927), continued to sell Dodge and Plymouth cars in addition to Lehr's “Big Boy” tractors. Utilizing a Chrysler engine, Dodge truck 5-speed transmission and 2 speed differential, the “Big Boy” sold for $2,136 in 1948 and had a “road gear” good for 22 miles per hour. Letzring Motor & Implement which had previously sold Hudson and Terraplanes in Neche was also selling Chrysler products along with Allis-Chalmers tractors in Cavalier. Kuball's sold the Dodge-Plymouth agency to Erwin Herzog in May of 1956. Twenty years later Erwin sold the business to his son Tim, who later sold the business to Swanson Motors in September of 1999. Jack McPherson began selling Kaiser automobiles in 1950 and its companion compact car Henry J in 1952. A post war start-up company, Kaiser-Fraser dealers also included Andre Gratton at Walhalla and Hughes & Shaver at St. Thomas.


Auto and implement dealers weren't just centered in the larger towns of the county. Robert Halcrow, whose address was Nowesta, was an agent for the Lambert automobile in 1913; he is noted as having “brought a cow to town in a box wagon behind his auto”. It's claimed he made the eleven mile trip to town “in one hour and went home considerably faster”. In later years Halcrow Ford would be one of Drayton's leading automobile dealers. Drayton's early pioneer car dealer R. J. Moore began handling the E-M-F line in 1912 - named after the three principals of the company, Everitt, Metzger and Flanders - detractors claimed the initials stood for “Every Man's Failure” or “Every Morning Fixit”. It was later absorbed by Studebaker.

Over at Hamilton C. A. Morton's Auto Livery advertised they were agents for the Vulcan, Buick and Marathon brands and had “one 25-horsepower Marathon touring car used a little for demonstrating which will sell at a nice reduction." Any of the cars on hand could be bought “on one years time with first-class security at 7 percent interest.” By 1921 E. K. Evenson was selling Fords at both Hamilton and Neche. H. C. Thomson of Bowesmont was also selling the popular Ford line. George Paxman had been the Hamilton Ford agent as well as the Overland and Willys-Knight dealer. A disastrous fire July 7, 1918 destroyed the Paxman building but 5 new Overland cars were saved. At Hensel, H. J. Norman & Son were also selling Fords while Graham & Ross sold Republic trucks. In later years Frank Gillis would handle the International line in Hensel, eventually selling out to Art Anderson. Other International dealers included Glenn Morrison in Cavalier, and Neche Farm Equipment in that city.

Crystal's Bradley & Hunter were sales agent for the Racine, Wisconsin built Mitchell in 1912 while the Crystal Auto Company was selling Hudsons by the car load, adding the Studebaker line in 1917 and Essex, Overland and Willys Knight two years later. A man by the name of Bymaster later took over the Crystal Mitchell agency. G. G. Thompson of Pembina was also selling Mitchell's in 1912, with his territory carrying over to St. Vincent, Minnesota. By 1915 Thompson was a Maxwell dealer. At Mountain S. F. Steinolfson was selling Ford's while G. M. Benjaminson (his name was always misspelled as C. M. Benjaminson in newspaper ads) was selling Pontiac's and Oakland's in Gardar. Peter Freschette, earlier Cavalier's Ford dealer also took on the Pontiac-Oakland line in 1927.

As small town America dwindled several dealerships continued to run successful businesses. Louis Byron Motors sold Pontiacs after the war and were long-time Chrysler-Plymouth dealers in Mountain. Likewise, Dietrich Motors in Crystal sold DeSoto's and Plymouths while Christopher Motors at Pembina, which dated back to the 1920's sold Chevrolets well into the 1960's.

Among the more noted implement dealers have been Cavalier's Fiedler & Moe (John-Deere), Pembina's Meagher Brothers (Massey-Harris), Glenn Morrison (International Harvester), Hamilton's Frank White & Ernest Einarson (Minneapolis-Moline), and J. J. Myers, Mountain (Holt combines).

At least three Pembina County residents saw the demand for motorcycles, with B. S. Thorwaldson of Akra (a partner in Thorwaldson Brothers at Cavalier) selling the 11-horsepower Harley-Davidson Twin, Martin Brothers of Hamilton handling the Indian line (ride it to work and ride it for fun) and Svold's August Vivatson offering Wagner Motorcycles at prices ranging from $160 to $200.

There was always something special about going to “show day” - when the new models were introduced to the public. Coffee, doughnuts, trinkets, colorful brochures and new cars. What could be better? Sadly there's not as many places to go anymore.

Trivia answers

5

1904

1905

Pembina County at 150: The Painter & the Pugilist

Jim Benjaminson is a local historian from Pembina County, North Dakota.  This year is the sesquicentennial of Pembina County, and in celebration of that, Jim has been writing a column for the Pembina New Era entitled, "Pembina County at 150".  The column has been running a few months now, and recently I invited Jim to serialize his fascinating history columns here on the blog. He graciously agreed.  This is the first one...




The Painter & the Pugilist: Two Former County Residents You've Probably Never Heard Of

Simply put, Birdeen Gibson was an artist. Born in Oregon in 1913 but growing up in Neche, the daughter of Augusta “Gussie” (Hughes) Gibson graduated in a class of 21 from Neche High School in the spring of 1931. Times were tough and jobs were scarce but Birdeen managed to make a little money by making sketches using India ink on white paper. Her favorite subjects – Lincoln and sailing ships. A March 1934 family letter told of her selling “the largest size (4x5) for 35 cents” , with smaller drawings selling for 25 or 30 cents. It was mentioned “she's sold 18 now.”

Unable to afford to go to college, her art work came to the attention of Dr. Ernie Coon of the University of North Dakota. In a February 28, 1934 letter Birdeen wrote Dr. Coon's wife, Jennie, stating “I want to let you know how greatly I appreciate your taking an interest in me”. Dr. Coon had spoken with a UND art professor who said he felt there was a possibility of getting her “a CWA job”. Skilled as a typist and in shorthand, Birdeen owned a typewriter (which had been purchased for her by her mother), skills that would soon prove to come in handy. She continued “I have entered two different art contests conducted by the Federal Art School in Minneapolis. Both times I received a part scholarship but the entire course is too expensive for me, so I have been unable to take advantage of it.” Another portion of her letter mentioned the ink drawings she had been selling and thanked the Coons for their interest in her.

Birdeen's sister Sally wrote the Coons that “Birdeen is certainly a nice girl in every way. She's quiet, but once you get to know her, she's very likeable”.

Sorority Girl - Delta Phi Delta
Birdeen Gibson's school portrait
[UND/1939]

By September 1934, Birdeen, along with her mother and brother Ray, traveled to Minneapolis where Birdeen would continue on to Waterloo, Iowa. She had been told “there was a man there giving lessons on painting—a professor—who wanted to see what talent she had before he would accept her as a student”. That man was Count Odon de Szaak of Pest, Hungary. How much time Birdeen spent with him is unknown. Birdeen enrolled in the art program at UND working for “room and board” doing “Federal work, getting an education and her living besides” utilizing her typing and shorthand skills. She would graduate from the University with the spring class of 1939.

A photograph—and picture she painted of herself—graced the front page of the Dakota Student (UND) newspaper of April 28, 1939. The caption read “Birdeen Gibson saw herself as others see her when in eight hours before a mirror she made this self-portrait. Produced in her home in Neche, N.D., this painting is but one of a series of her works, some of which have been on exhibition in London and Paris. A senior, majoring in art, Miss Gibson has studied under the famed Count Odon de Szaak of Des Moines, Iowa.” The 1940 census records that she was working as a secretary in Neche. When her brother left for the West Coast to work for Boeing, she apparently moved west as well. Little is known of her activities except that she married a man named Donald Cisney on July 22, 1950. Birdeen had no children and passed away at the age of 66 August 30, 1979.

Although her name may not be well known, as least one of her paintings is. She is one of many artists who have painted “Christ Knocking on the Door”. An Internet search reveals many different versions, yet none of Birdeen's were found during research for this story. There are at least three of her “Christ Knocking on the Door” paintings in the immediate area. One is displayed in the dining area of the Cavalier Methodist “Chocolate” Church. Another hangs in the sanctuary of Drayton's Methodist Episcopal Church—a church built of Drayton produced brick in 1905 that also has a unique “disappearing” wall. A third painting hangs in the Presbyterian Church at Calvin, North Dakota.

How many other similar paintings exist is unknown. Do any of her sketches still exist? And what other works of art did she produce during her lifetime? Truly a woman of mystery!

Our second subject is also a man of mystery – much more so than Birdeen Gibson. James Barry claimed to have been born in St. Vincent, Minnesota but called Drayton home. Or was he born in Culbertson, Montana – or did he live in Chicago, East Grand Forks or Petaluma, California? Perhaps we should mention that Jim Barry wasn't his real name. At various times in his life he claimed his real name was Louis Edgar Rogers; at other times it was Hugh Edgar Rogers. And his birth date – was it August 12, 1886 – or August 7, 1887 or August 10, 1887? At one point in an interview that appeared in the Bismarck Tribune May 28, 1916, he claimed “Jim Barry isn't my name at all, and I'm not Italian as everyone believes. My real name is Hugh Edgar Rogers. My father was Jarvis A. Rogers, from County Antrim, Belfast. My mother was a full-blooded Sioux Indian (there are claims she was French-Canadian Metis). They've always said I was from Chicago, when, as a matter of fact, I've hardly ever been there over night. I lived at Drayton, N.D., with my folks, including six other brothers. I'm the youngest and the smallest of them all.”

One thing we know for sure, his father's name was Rogers although he was known simply as “Rog” to most people. And he had been a mail carrier between Grand Forks and Pembina from 1868-71, carrying the mail by sleigh, dogs or on foot during the dead of winter.

Louis Edgar Rogers, aka Jim Barry (1910)

So who is this man of mystery with so many different names and birth dates? A criminal hiding from the law? A man on the run from alimony and child support payments? No – Jim Barry was a pugilist – a prize fighter of some renown.  A man who was the last of the bare knuckle fighters, who John L. Sullivan claimed would one day be heavyweight champion of the world. And he probably would have succeeded had it not been for his battles with gambling, drugs and booze. Sullivan himself was a well-known rounder who took Barry under his wing, teaching him his “tricks” in the ring. There were times when Sullivan's partying “required” him to pawn a championship belt studded with hundreds of diamonds, a belt estimated to be worth $10,000 in the late 1880's. At one point, the belt was rumored to be in Jim Barry's possession when it “disappeared”, not to be found until after Barry's death – minus its diamonds. It's reported that the belt is now owned by the Smithsonian.

Weighing in at 192 pounds and standing 5 feet 10 3/4” tall, Jim Barry had a 42 inch chest and a reach of 73 1/2”. Making his professional debut April 4, 1904, Barry won 25 matches, 18 by knock outs, lost 24 matches, 10 by being knocked out and fought to a draw in 5 matches. A formidable opponent, the Los Angeles Herald in its November 6, 1908 issue reported Barry was scheduled to go 10 rounds with Joe Flynn. Barry, who outweighed Flynn by 20 pounds, placed a $200 bet against Flynn's $160 that he would win the match. The Tonopah, Nevada Daily Bonanza reported “Jim Barry of Chicago had the better of a 10 round bout with Jim Flynn of Pueblo before the Pacific Athletic Club tonight. Barry showed fine form and landed terrible blows to Flynn's body and jaw throughout but was unable to stop the fireman.”

Calling Barry and Al (the California Hercules) Kaufman the “mastodons of pugilism” the L.A. Herald commented in its December 27, 1908 issue that “no human being can stand up under the best punch (that) Barry or Kaufmann is capable of handing out.” In a run-up match as contenders for the world's heavyweight title Kaufman knocked out Barry in the 39th round of a scheduled 45-round fight.

Eyeing the world championship, Denver's Franklin's Paper of October 9, 1909 reported “Jack Johnson the world's champion pugilist, intends to make a grand cleanup of the heavyweights before he meets Jim Jeffries, Stanley Ketchel in October, Al Kaufman (the California Hercules) and “Philadelphia Jack” O'Brien in a return engagement.” The article continued “Jim Barry, the Chicago Slugger, who has been hurling challenges right and left, may also be taken on by the champion”. The same paper in its November 27th edition, reported Johnson defeated Tommy Burns in 12 rounds for the world title. He fought Kaufmann, O'Brien, Barry and Ketchel and “a few others” for the world's title which he now holds. Among that list of fighters was Sam Langford, a Negro many white fighters refused to go up against because of the “color barrier”. Langford held the middleweight crown after defeating all other middleweights when Papke refused to fight him before moving into the heavyweight ranks.

Sam Langford and Jim Barry had a longtime relationship, Barry not being stopped by the color of a man's skin. The two first paired off in September of 1907, fighting each other 16 times, their last match taking place in March of 1913 in Australia, with Langford defeating Barry each time although two matches were called as a draw. Both the Tacoma, Washington Times and Chicago's Day Book reported on the March 1913 fight, the Times terse two sentence article reading “Sam Langford won from Jim Barry in one round. We should worry.” The Day Book's article gave a few more details - “Sam Langford, the Negro heavyweight, knocked out Jim Barry of Chicago in the first round at Brisbane, Australia.”

Traveling to Australia for a series of five fights in 1912 for promoter Hugh McIntosh of Sydney, Jim Barry defeated Bill Lang, former heavyweight champion of Australia in one round; it would be his only Australian win. On the return trip home, Barry was arrested when the S.S. Zealandia docked in Vancouver, British Columbia. Charged with assault it was reported Barry had “lost at cards and then started a rough house.”

The March 15, 1913 fight with Sam Langford brought a temporary halt to Barry's boxing career – he wouldn't return to the ring again until June 30, 1916. Little is known of his activities during that time period except for discovery of an “emergency passport” issued by the U.S. Embassy in London. In it Barry claimed to have left the United States in December of 1912—the December 10th Tacoma Times reported him “visiting in Tacoma” having recently returned from “the Antipodes and is now ready to meet anybody in the ring.” His “visit” to Tacoma was to act as referee at a “smoker”. Three months later he would fight Langford in Australia. How or why he ended up in England is unknown. It is known Barry entered a New York hospital upon his return to the U.S. for treatment for cocaine addiction —at the time cocaine and other hard drugs were legal to possess and use.

The Ogden, Utah Standard of May 8, 1916 revealed “Jim Barry, who was a worry to all the heavyweights 5 or 6 years ago, is now planning a return to the fight game. Barry has the reputation of having fought Sam Langford with varying results, 16 different times. He is now in training earnestly and thinks he will soon be in trim to cross bats with Coffey, Al Weinert or Moran.”. On June 6th Barry stepped into the ring against “Battling” Lavinsky – and lost. He would go up against “Sailor Jack” Carroll in July, Jim Smith in August and Billy Miske in September. All with the same dreadful results.

His final fight came in March of 1917, against another black fighter, Sam McVea. Only this fight would take place in Colon, Panama. Stepping into the ring with McVea March 11th, he was “floored for the count” in the sixth round. The next days Panama Star & Herald had a different story to reveal about Jim Barry. Barry had been shot and killed in the Lobby Hotel in Colon by a gambler known as C. Jerrett, aka “Tex” Martin.

According to news reports “Martin accosted Barry in the Lobby Hotel bar and Barry pushed him back, saying he didn't want anything to do with him. (There had been an altercation between them in Panama City the previous day, stemming from a disagreement over a gambling debt.) Martin then pulled a Colt 44 and shot Barry three times. Barry staggered out of the bar and fell dead. Martin was quickly arrested after the shooting and later stood trial for murder. Apparently it was found that Martin had been threatened by Barry, was acting in self-defense, and was released”. Martin was later reported to have been killed in San Antonio, Texas.

Thus ended the career of Jim Barry, aka Louis Rogers, aka Hugh Rogers. Find-a-Grave lists him being buried in the Drayton Cemetery. Cemetery records compiled by the Red River Valley Historical Society do not list any Rogers or Jim Barry as being buried anywhere in Pembina County. Even in death, Jim Barry is still a man of mystery.

Pembina County Trivia

1. Who was the first recorded farmer in what is now Pembina County?
2. Where was this farm located?
3. What year was the O’Brien Hotel in Neche built?

Answers

1. The first known farmer in what is now Pembina County was Charles Bottineau.
2. Bottineau's farm was located on land now farmed by the Horsley Family of Neche.
3. The O'Brien Hotel in Neche was built in 1895 at a cost of $14,000. It’s known today as the L&M Bar.  

Six Shots in the Night

Huron City (1883 Plat Map) Source:  HistoricMapWorks.com

I've written about Huron City a few times here before; and of course Charles Walker wrote about it, making it come alive, in his books Sheriff Charley Brown, and Bordertowns.  This time, I'm sharing another essay about it written by Jim Benjaminson, that was recently featured in the Pembina Historical Society newsletter.

Huron City is long gone now, but once it was a lively conclave nestled along the border...
_______________

Since the earliest days of settlement in what would become Pembina County, many little communities sprang up over the years, many have totally disappeared. Communities such as Hyde Park, Bruce, and Tyner have all but disappeared – leaving behind only the graveyards holding the remains of those early pioneers. Other communities such as Svold, Hallson and Leyden still have a presence, if you know where to look.

During the course of the past years, I’ve given several presentations and each time I’ve asked those in attendance, “Do you know where Huron City was?” Only one person – Ken Gardner – ever raised his hand to reply in the affirmative. Although most of its history has been lost to time, Huron City played a role in Pembina County’s history – most of it, not for the better.

Huron City, Pembina County, Dakota Territory, was located in the extreme northeast corner of the county tucked against the International Boundary to the north, adjoining the Hudson’s Bay company town of West Lynn and the Red River to the east, about two miles north of Pembina.

Newspaper ad for the Half Way House hotel in Huron City

Located on property owned by James H. White, the town-site of Huron City was platted prior to a public auction held September 4, 1879. Advertisements promoting the land sale touted the fact Huron City would be the “terminus of the St. Paul, Minneapolis, and Manitoba Railroad and the Manitoba Southern Railroad”, as well as being located on the main wagon road from Winnipeg where a new “International Bridge” would be built, connecting the two railroads.

The fledgling city already boasted Jim White’s saloon. The saloon was unique in that the building actually straddled the border – a red line painted on the floor indicated whether you were on the Canadian side of the border or the U.S. It was here that a Texas train robber was employed as a bartender – an outlaw who would die in a shoot-out in the Pembina post office in November of 1878 while resisting arrest by a deputy U.S. Marshal, who also died as a result of the affair.

White offered “100 business and residential lots – with no use restrictions”. Sale terms included cash payment of 10% of the sale price the day of the sale, with an additional 40% due within one week. The remaining balance could be paid off within one year at “normal rates”. Paying cash for the entire amount the day of the sale got the buyer a 10% discount. The Pembina Pioneer reported sales were good.

Closeup of Huron City platted streets; note 'Wharf St' in NE part of map...

Unlike many of the previously mentioned neighborhood communities, Huron City was platted into lots and streets – Anna Street, Elizabeth Street, Matheson Street, Huron Street and May Street running at an angle (southwest to northeast) with cross streets of First Street, 2nd Street, Third, Fourth and Fifth Streets (only 2nd street was marked with a numerical number, others were spelled out in full) and Wharf Street – leading to the river and presumably a river boat landing.

Article in the October 20, 1892
edition of the Winnipeg Tribune

In addition to White’s saloon, Dan Rogers was the proprietor of the International Hotel, which along with an attached residence, burned to the ground September 4, 1885. For the “sporting crowd”, there were also two houses of ill-repute, one run by Pearl Gould, the other by Nellie Dunn¹. Both establishments closed their doors after an incident the night of October 19, 1892 when a party of men from Emerson attempted to enter Pearl Gould’s but were refused entry. Pearl and her “soiled doves” retreated to the safety of Nellie’s, where the same parties were also refused entry. During the ensuing fracas, an Emerson hotel keeper named John Wagner was shot and killed.

Nellie Dunn was arrested and brought before a Grand Jury at Pembina. Although there was some question as to whether Nellie had actually fired the fatal shot, the jury determined Wagner’s death was justifiable homicide due to threats he had made to harm Nellie. Following the not guilty verdict, Nellie, Pearl and the other “ladies of the evening” were advised it might be advisable for them to return to Canada. Local papers remarked that the Gould name was “more than familiar” to law enforcement in Pembina County.

Although little more is known about Huron City, it remains a unique experiment is establishing a thriving community. Within a few square miles of land encompassing what is now North Dakota, Minnesota, and Manitoba, seven communities were established - Pembina, Huron City, West Lynn, Emerson, St. Vincent, Noyes, and Interapolis. Six had established residences and businesses; five still exist.

Interapolis, Minnesota, which would have been directly across the Red River from Huron City, never materialized. Huron City, Pembina County, Dakota Territory is unique in that it was documented in Pembina County Atlas’ as late as 1909, long after it had faded away to nothing more than a fleeting memory.

¹ - A sidelight to the Nellie Dunn story. After she was "invited" to leave the U.S., she ended up in Spokane, Washington, in February 1893; still plying her trade, where she "shot and killed her boyfriend". The locals weren't as understanding as Pembina -- they took Nellie out and lynched her.

UPDATE 13 August 2020:  From fellow local historian and author, Jim Benjaminson, "...the story I did on Huron City - about Nellie Dunn being hung in Spokane, Washington is false. Nellie 'removed' to Winnipeg after the affair in Huron City and continued to work as a prostitute. The story of her hanging came from an eastern Canadian newspaper...I found Winnipeg papers that made mention of her after the date of the supposed hanging."

Norval Baptie Revisited

Click HERE to see this recent video about Norval Baptie...

I have written about Norval Baptie before, but at the time it was short and sweet due to limited research resources.

But since then, much more has been written about Baptie, a Bathgate native.  This write-up for instance - I couldn't do any better than that!

1920s postard promoting Norval Baptie ice folly, or 'tank show'...

The “Birdman” of Hamilton

'Birdman' Beachey,  putting on flying show at the Hamilton Fair

[Reprinted with permission]

When Orville and Wilbur Wright first took to the air in 1903, no one could imagine the future aviation would hold for the world. For people living on the flat prairies of North Dakota it would be seven more years before anyone would witness the daring exploits of a “birdman” when Archibald “Arch” Hoxsey gave the first demonstration flight in the state at the Grand Forks fairground July 19, 1910.

First North Dakota flight at Grand Forks Fair, 1910

Hoxsey had met Orville Wright in March of ’10, when Orville opened a school for aspiring aviators in Montgomery, Alabama. It was here Hoxsey learned to fly and joined other pilots in the Wright Exhibition Team, a troupe of flyers scheduled to give flying exhibitions around the country. These flyers would be the first to fly the new Wright Brothers Model B aircraft. Hoxsey’s Grand Forks flight was witnessed by an estimated 10,000 people as he flew 2,500 feet in the air during his 22-minute flight. Hoxsey’s flying career—and his life, at age 26—came to an end that same December during an exhibition flight in Los Angeles when his plane plummeted from a height of 7,000 feet. Hoxsey could not only claim being the first aviator to fly in North Dakota but to also carrying the first (former) United States president when he took Theodore Roosevelt airborne two months earlier in St. Louis.

Residents of Pembina County who had not been present at the Grand Forks exhibition would have to wait an additional three years before the first recorded airplane flight took place in the county. Hillary Beachey—billed as the “World’s Greatest Aviator”—was booked to make an appearance at the 1913 Hamilton Fair. Ads in the Cavalier Chronicle reading “see the dizzy, death-defying aeroplane flights by daredevil aviators every afternoon” drew large crowds to the fairgrounds. After the fair, the Chronicle reported “the program of attractions was perhaps larger and better by far than that of any previous fair held in the county. Perhaps the chief among these were the several flights of Hillary Beachey in his Aero Plane.”

Monitor Steam Engine: EXPLOSION!

The steam engine has not yet been restored in this photograph and the
seat is visible. [An unrelated piece of machinery is in the background.]

In 1893, when steam was king down on the farm, an engine exploded, killing both man and animal.  This happened across the river from St. Vincent not far outside Pembina.

After the original incident, the damaged engine was buried on the spot of the accident - a field on the Frank Moris farm near Pembina. Seventy-four years later, the late Ben Fisher of Bowesmont, ND, dug up the steam engine in 1967 and restored it to its present condition.

After the restoration in 1967...

The engine is now owned by Dr. Roland Larter of Hallock, MN and is on loan to the Pembina County Historical Museum, Cavalier, N.D.

An excellent engraving of the Canton Monitor portable steam 
engine, made by C. Aultman & Company,  Canton, Ohio...

The Pembina engine is more accurately described as a Canton Monitor portable steam engine. Describing the Canton Monitor, an Album (aka industrial encyclopedia) published back during the 1890s says it is 'cheaper and better than any power operated by horses.' It continues . . .

Historical Home: Up in Flames

June 6/7, 2013 Fire:  All that is left of a once stately home...
[Photo Credit:  Jamie Rustad Meagher]

All that is left now is a pile of bricks, supplied to the home's original builder by the Pembina Brick Company.  Made from Red River Valley clay, the bricks were a distinctive yellow, part of what made this once stately home so striking and special.

Charles & Isabella Cavileer sold the land the house was built on to James & Barbara Webb in May 1880.  The Webbs built the house, but the date it was completed is unknown.  It became the home to many families down through the years - Judge Edward Conmy & his family among them.

Another early image of the J.G. Webb home
[Photo Credit:  State Historical Society of North Dakota]

The photograph above was taken in the late 1800s. It shows the house's west side, facing Cavileer Street.  Not too far to the east (back) is the tree line and bank down to the Pembina River.

This photo shows the house from the north side.  In the mid 1890s, a bicycle craze swept the nation.

Around 1895/96, Pembina formed a cycling club¹, whose members pose in this photo in front of the home.  The small building in the right rear of the house is likely a carriage house where a buggy was kept along with the horse that pulled it. A carriage house was the garage of the 19th century for those that could afford such things.

The only references I could find thus far, to James G. Webb - the likely original owner of the home - was one where he was once up for Postmaster in Pembina, but in less than a month, the position was rescinded.² The Cavileer family continued in that role instead. The other reference was from a few years earlier in the 1880 U.S. Census, which listed him and his family living at the Winchester House hotel as 'boarders' at the time, and his profession as 'Merchant'. They bought the land that same year. By the time the house was built, the Webb family were evidently prosperous enough to not only build their own home, but to build one that made quite a statement.  It continued to be a point of pride in the town, to the day it burned down...


[Images Courtesy of Jamie Rustad Meagher]
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¹ - Cycling clubs sprang up in valley communities including St. Thomas, Forest River, Jamestown, Fargo, Elbow Lake (where women organized a “Bloomers Cycling Club”), Drayton, Larimore, Minto, Towner, Hillsboro, Pembina, Dickinson, Church’s Ferry, Park River, Grafton, Gilby, Epworth, Neche, Lakota, and Buffalo, North Dakota, as well as Crookston, Moorhead, and East Grand Forks, Minnesota, where members also ordered uniforms. [From The 1890s Bicycling Craze in the Red River Valley, by Dr. Ron Spreng, Minnesota Historical Society Minnesota History Quarterly, Summer 1995]

² - See

James G. Webb's appointment as U.S. Postmaster at Pembina,
as well as the rescinding of that appointment a month later...

Mercy Wheat Campaign

I don't know details on how farmers around my hometown area (Kittson County and Pembina County) contributed to the efforts described as the Mercy Wheat Campaign, but it's likely they did. It was  characterized as involving the entire region known as the Red River Valley of the North, the farmers in it called to supply the over 155,000,000 bushels¹ of wheat to war-torn Europe and Asia after WWII.

Mercy Wheat wasn't as secret as Ferry Command at the time, but in collective memory, it's almost as elusive.  And what is so impressive about this effort was, it was citizen-driven, not government-sponsored, implemented before the Marshall Plan...

In April 1946, Arnold Amundson of Climax, Minn., led a procession of 140 farmers to the local elevator as a national kickoff for Mercy Wheat, a program by the United Nations to deliver grain to war-starved Poland. Farmers were hanging onto on to their grain, so the government offered them a 30-cent-per-bushel bonus to deliver it. NYC Mayor and UNRRA Director Fiorello La Guardia encouraged farmers to grow even more wheat to feed the countries ravaged by the war.
- From Twentieth Century in Review, Fargo Forum
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¹ - Trivia:  The Farmers Union Grain Terminal Association (GTA or FUGTA), a cooperative grain marketing organization of Midwestern farmers, began operations on June 1, 1938. Its origins, however, go back much farther into the nineteenth century with farmers' rebellions against low prices, mis-grading of grain, false weights, buyer collaboration, and excessive dockage and transportation costs, which resulted in their first attempts at cooperative action...The post-World War II era saw GTA make international news through its contribution of 16 million of the (ultimately) over 80 million bushels provided by the United States in the Mercy Wheat Campaign for war-ravaged Europe.

- From Minnesota Historical Society's GTA Corporation Records Collection

Ephemera: Promotion of Progress

The image above is from an envelope I have in my possession. It is in the upper left-hand corner representing the return address of Charles Johnson of Pembina. I haven't been able to find out much about Mr. Johnson, but do see him listed in the Pembina County Pioneer Daughters Collection of the Elwyn B. Robinson Department of Special Collections, Chester Fritz Library, at UND.

To me, it shows the ambition of not only Mr. Johnson, but the dreams of the communities he represents themselves. At the time of the late 19th/early 20th century, things were changing fast, and hopes were high...

Captured Moments

Marion Johnson Strong Spink, Sister of Louis Philip Strong, born Scipio, New York, May 26, 1874, married Benjamin E. Spink [Neche, ND - Circa 1902]



Genevieve Mullins Strong and Elaine Marion Strong, twin daughters of Louis Philip Strong and Julia Mullins Strong, born October 26, 1898 [Neche, ND - Circa 1901]




Julia Ann Strong, taken alone - a rather striking pose, very natural, which is probably what she was going for. Very nice... [Neche, ND - Circa 1900]





Julia Ann Strong and son Otis, [Neche, ND - Circa 1900]

From Who's Who and Why: A Biographical Dictionary of Men and Women of Canada and Newfoundland

Profile: Frank A. Wardwell

A native of Maine, born December 23, 1843, of American parentage, the career of Frank A. Wardwell of Pembina, has been an eventful one, and his reminiscences of adventures on land and sea, would make a chapter of interesting reading both for young and old.

After an academic and normal school education, he went to sea, at the age of seventeen, and was before the mast for seven years. Then he served three years in the United States Navy, and when he came ashore, bade farewell to the Atlantic coast, and cast his lot with the adventurous pioneers to whom the Red River Valley gave promise of an inland empire of inexhaustible resources and destined to become the home of a vast population whose prosperity and progress would challenge the admiration of the world.

This image of the first school house in
ND was located in Pembina -  (1876)
Photo Courtesy of:
State Historical Society of North Dakota

In June 1872 he came to the land of the Dakotas and took a homestead at Hawley. He remained there five years and braved all the hardships that fall In the lot of the pioneer whose faith in the future is often stronger than his strength to endure them. He went to Pembina to teach school being the first teacher in the first public school building erected in this state. This school house was built in Pembina in 1875. He has always made Pembina his home, for the past thirty-one years he has been the editor of the Pembina Pioneer Express, which was established in 1879. "Deacon Wardwell," as he was known to the newspaper fraternity, was one of the truly good men among the editors of the state. From 1881 to 1889 he was treasurer of Pembina county. He was married January 23, 1878, and from that union there were eleven children, four girls and seven boys, of whom four were inm the service of our country overseas.

Mr. Wardwell has ever been interested in the upbuilding of North Dakota and has wielded an influence for good in the community in which he has lived for so many years. He was much interested In the organization of the Historical Association of North Dakota and for a number of years has been director in the Association.

Source: 1919 North Dakota Blue Book

Profile: Jud LaMoure

Judson LaMoure was the Nestor of the public men of Dakota - [140] years ago he was a public official, serving as sub-agent to the Brule Sioux; 137 years ago, he made his first appearance in a Dakota legislature. His service in the legislature, was almost continuous from that time until his death, which occurred in March, 1918. He represented the Pembina district in the state senate, from the time of the creation of the state. He was one of the early pioneers, who experienced every phase of the development of this country, from the wilderness state, and he had a notable part in the shaping of the affairs of the territory and the state. His influence, which was considerable in the earliest territorial times, never waned, and he was known as one of the big men of the senate, and therefore of the state. Judson LaMoure was born in Freighsburgh, Quebec, March 27, 1839. His education was completed with two years in the Academy of native town, and he came to the American west when he was twenty years of age. When he arrived at Davenport, Iowa, March 2, 1859, he was very close to the confines of civilization, and he remained on the frontier until th march of progress carried civilization to the vanishing point on this continent. In 1860 he joined the rush of gold seekers to Pike's Peak, but did not find it the El Dorado he was looking for. In the fall of that year, he came into Dakota Territory and settled in Union county, and for years was engaged much of the time in the transportation business with H.D. Cooge and Company. He became familiar with the Indians and received an appointment as sub-agent, was stationed on the Missouri, at the mouth of the White Earth river. His career was at once adventurous and educational, and he became a man of influence. In 1870 he gave up his connection with the Indians and moved to Pembina county, where he opened a farm, and his ability presently called him to public life. His legislative career included a term in the territorial assembly in 1872 and in 1876 he was elected to the council. In 1889 he was elected to the state senate, and re-elected at every succeeding senate election until he retired from active political life at the close of the twelfth legislative assembly. In the Republican party, with which he affiliated, Senator LaMoure was always a power, and one of the big figures at all party gatherings and conventions. He was chairman for many years of the committee on appropriations and regarded as one of the best informed men in North Dakota affairs, and most influential in shaping legislative policy. Senator LaMoure went into the mercantile business in Pembina in 1878, and also had business interests in Neche. He was a thorough believer in adequate educational facilities for the children of the state, and was at all time watchful of the work of the common schools, and of the higher educational institutions. 

He was married to Miss Minnie Ella Nelson, December 3, 1874. They had six children. Mrs. LaMoure died at Nisswa, Minnesota, September 22, 1911; and Senator LaMoure died in Florida, March 16, 1918.

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In 1893, State Senator Judson Lamoure sponsored an appropriation bill for $500 through the North Dakota State Legislature to purchase and maintain the Pembina Metis Cemetery. Unfortunately, it was never implemented and the site fell into the hands of a private landowner. Source:  Ruth Swan's The History of the Pembina Métis Cemetery : Inter-Ethnic Perspectives on a Sacred Site 

In 1873, Judson LaMoure led a rescue party into a horrific blizzard to find and save a group of laundry women and small children accidentally left behind by George Armstrong Custer when the 7th Cavalry apparently got lost in a whiteout. Source: Yankton Daily Press (April 11, 1994)

Hamilton Fair Loses Carnival

Pembina County Fair - Hamilton, ND

Photo by:  Bruce Wendt

When I was growing up in St. Vincent, we attended the Kittson County Fair in Hallock, and the St. Vincent fair itself in the fall, but we also looked forward to the Hamilton fair, with its harness racing. My Dad and I would attend the races together and have a grand old time cheering them on, Dad taking the opportunity of sharing about his father having seen the great Dan Patch in his time.

Now things are winding down, sadly. Populations grow smaller in the rural areas, and the results are that the fairs are slowly fading...

Hamilton, N.D. -- In the heyday of the Pembina County Fair, about two dozen carnival rides filled up the fairground midway. The Ferris Wheel. The Tilt-A-Whirl. The Octopus.

Neil Fleming saw it all in his 55 years as fair organizer: from food to farm animals, clown shows, girlie shows, freak shows.

"It was really something," he reminisces.

The aroma of funnel cakes, the barnyard odor of fattened farm animals, the resplendent beauty of fancy quilts will still exist at the three-day fair July 10-12. But for the first time in 115 years, there will be no carnival rides on the quarter-mile-long midway.