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Interesting Historic Facts:
Immigrants from 22 European Countries settled in northeastern North Dakota.
They came seeking the free land allowed by the 1862 Homestead Law.
“Pembina” is derived from the Chippewa Indian term for high bush cranberry,
which grew in abundance along the Pembina River.
Pembina County was created by the territorial legislature and organized August 12, 1867. Governor Andrew J. Faulk appointed a commission to organize the first county in
what was to become North Dakota. The area encompassed the present counties of Cavalier, Cass, Traill, Grand Forks, Steele, Pembina, most of Nelson and Walsh,
plus parts of Richland, Barnes, and Ransome. The city of Pembina was the
county seat from 1867-1911 when it was moved to Cavalier.
Cavalier County was created from the western part of Pembina County in 1873 and
named for Charles Cavaleer, a well known fur trader, customs collector, and postmaster. The county was organized on July 8, 1884 and Langdon became the county seat.
Cavalier County population was sparce prior to 1879, but settlement grew rapidly with the construction of the “Manitoba Line” of the Great Northern Railway during the 1880’s.
Towner County was organized in 1883, during Governor Ordways’s territorial administration - 6 years before North Dakota and South Dakota were named. Towner County was formed from a resurvey of Cavalier and Rolette counties and was
named after O.M. Towner, who was a member of the 15th territorial legislature.
Towner County settlement began in 1883 with heavy immigration in 1884
and again in 1894. The early settlers were principally of Scandinavian, Canadian,
English, and French descent. Three townships, Mt. View, Monroe, and Armourdale comprise a settlement of Finnish descent.
The largest single group to settle in Pembina County was the Icelanders who settled in what is now Mountain, Gardar, Hallson, Akra, and Pembina. Other ethnic groups in Pembina County were Irish, English and Scotch from Ontario. Settlement continued with Scandinavians, Germans, Russians, Belgians, Ukranians, along with settlers from other parts of the United States.
Cando, North Dakota in Towner County is the county seat and is known as the
“Duck Hunting Capitol of North Dakota.”
Pembina is the oldest city in The Dakotas. The first people were Native peoples
of the Chippewa bands. Pierre de LaVerendrye explored the area as early as 1738
and is credited with naming our Red River. A fur trading post was established in 1797
and the first permanent settlement started in 1812. In 1823, a survey was done of
the 49th parallel to reveal that Pembina was in the United States and not in Canada.
The city of Walhalla is also one of the earliest settlements in ND and the Upper Midwest. Father Belcourt is credited with establishing the City of Walhalla in 1845 - making it the second city in the state. He moved his church school from Pembina to Walhalla due to severe flooding in Pembina. He named the site St. Joseph, which was changed in 1871 to the present name of Walhalla, which means “Valley of the Gods.”
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