site, was dedicated in 1914 and is said to have been the first open
air theater to make use of the natural curve of a stream to separate
the stage from the auditorium. The initial performance given here, _A
Pageant of the Northwest_, was written by students of the Sock and
Buskin Society (now the Dakota Playmakers) under the direction of Prof.
Frederick Koch, who is distinguished for his work in American folk
drama.
The banks of English Coulee have fostered both drama and romance.
College sweethearts spend their evenings by this stream, admiring the
reflection of the moon in the water. The custom is known locally as
"coulee-banking."
Thirteen social fraternities, including 11 national groups, are
represented at the university, and there are 10 sororities, 9 of them
national. The houses along Fraternity Row on University Avenue and the
other streets near the campus present the architecture of many nations
and periods. A French chateau shouldering a stucco cottage, a graceful
Georgian Colonial residence standing between an English country house
and an Italian mansion, and houses of Spanish and English design form a
quaint architectural democracy that is, perhaps, a fitting background
for the social life of a student body representing various nations.
12. WESLEY COLLEGE, N. of University Ave. opposite the University of
North Dakota, is the first of the Methodist schools in the United
States designated by that name and the first church school to affiliate
with a State university. Its residence halls are open to students of
all church affiliations, as are the classes in religion, music, and
expression. Work in any department of Wesley College is credited toward
university degrees.
The campus contains four buildings, Corwin, Larimore, Sayre, and
Robertson Halls, constructed of white brick with trimmings of white
glazed terra cotta in Grecian style. Robertson Hall, the newest
building, contains the administrative offices, school of religion,
and expression department. This building, costing $40,000, was
made possible by the contribution of an alumnus, John M. Hancock,
and his family of Hartsdale, N. Y., and was completely furnished by
Mrs. Hancock. Corwin Hall houses the well-equipped music department.
Larimore Hall, the women's dormitory, is immediately behind Corwin,
while the men's dormitory, Sayre Hall, adjoins Robertson Hall.
POINTS OF INTEREST IN ENVIRONS
North Dakota State Mill and Elevator, =1 m.=; Red River Oxcart
Trail, 1.5 m.; Northern Packing Plant, =1.5 m.=; Grand Forks Silver
Fox Farm, =4 m.= (_see Tour 1_). American Sugar Refining Co. plant,
=2 m.= (_see Minn. Tour 7_).
MINOT
=Railroad Stations:= Great Northern Station, W. end of Central Ave.
across viaduct, for G. N. Ry.; Minneapolis, St. Paul & Sault Ste.
Marie Station, 17 N. Main St., for Soo Ry.
=Bus Stations:= Union Bus Depot, Front at 3rd St. SE., for Checker,
Interstate, and Northern Transportation Co. bus lines; Stearns
Bldg., 2nd St. SW. at 1st Ave., for Minot-Crosby Bus Line.
=Airport:= Municipal airport, 1¼ m. N. of business district on
outskirts of city, E. of US 83, taxi fare 35c, time 10 min.; no
scheduled air service, no public hangars.
=Taxis:= 25c to any point in city, 10c for each additional
passenger.
=City Bus Line:= Throughout city, to State Teachers College, fare
10c.
=Traffic Regulations:= Valley St. (US 52), 4th Ave. SE. and SW. (US
2), 2nd St. SW. and NW. (US 83), are through streets. No U-turn on
through streets and no left turns out of alleys. Turns may be made
in either direction at intersections.
=Accommodations:= 10 hotels; municipal tourist camp, Roosevelt
Park, 4th Ave. SE. at 11th St.
=Tourist Information Service:= Association of Commerce, 205-207 1st
Ave. Bldg.
=Theaters and Motion Picture Houses:= McFarland Auditorium, State
Teachers College, 9th Ave. NW., college productions and lyceum
programs; Minot high school auditorium, 2nd Ave. SE. between 1st
and 2nd Sts.; 3 motion picture houses.
=Athletics:= Baseball, football, track, skating, and hockey rinks,
Roosevelt Park Recreation Field.
=Golf:= Municipal 9-hole course SW. edge of city on US 2 (_greens
fee 25c_); Riverside 9-hole course, E. of city limits on US 2
(_greens fee 25c_).
=Tennis:= Courts at Oak Park, W. end 3rd Ave. NW.; Lincoln Park,
4th St. at 5th Ave. NW.; and Roosevelt Park.
=Swimming:= Municipal outdoor pool. Roosevelt Park.
=Skating:= Rinks at 2nd St. and 8th Ave. NE., 1st Ave. at 3rd St.
NW., Lincoln Park, South Hill residential district, and Roosevelt
Park; all floodlighted.
=Curling:= Rink near Fairmount Creamery, 701 4th Ave. SE.
=Annual Events:= Winter Sports Carnival, February, no fixed date;
Northwest State Fair, fairgrounds E. end of 4th Ave. SE., week of
July 4; Homecoming, State Teachers College, October, no fixed date;
_The Messiah_, State Teachers College, December, no fixed date.
[MAP: CITY OF MINOT]
MINOT (1,557 alt., 16,099 pop.) is still young and growing, although
past its fiftieth birthday. Its name (pronounced MY-not) was given it
to honor Henry D. Minot, young Eastern capitalist and college friend of
Theodore Roosevelt. Situated in the deep valley of the Souris (Mouse)
River, the town overflows the level mile-wide flood plain to thrust
itself up the south slope of the valley onto the open prairie. Rough,
well worn block pavement in the business section evolves into smooth,
tree-bowered asphalt avenues lined with fine homes in the residential
districts. The twisting, sluggish river winds through the center of
the city, in some sections its banks scarred with piles of refuse, in
others rimmed by trim lawns.
The hills that rim the Souris at Minot are evidences of the mighty
force of the raging waters that during the glacial period poured from
the melting edge of the great Dakota ice sheet to plow deep valleys
and lay the basis for the town's future prosperity. The products of
the geological past yield valuable returns. One, the rich, fertile bed
of glacial Lake Souris, provides good crops. The other is lignite,
the soft brown peat-like coal that underlies much of the northwestern
portion of the State, and for which Minot is an important shipping
point.
James J. Hill's Great Northern Railway was pushing west through Dakota
Territory in 1887 when it was found necessary to stop near here and
build a bridge across a coulee. Where construction halted there
immediately sprang up a large tent town, which was generally assumed to
be the start of a permanent settlement. The railroad company, however,
had selected a town site to the east, on the Souris River, and when
this became known the exodus was sudden and complete; almost overnight
the tent town was transplanted to the new location. This mushroom-like
appearance, coupled with an almost phenomenal growth to 5,000
population during its first year, earned the new frontier settlement
the title of the Magic City.
The first white man to settle on the ground now incorporated into
the city of Minot was Erik Ramstad, who in May 1885 had come from
Grafton, N. Dak., and settled by squatter's right on a quarter section
bisected by the Souris. Late in the summer of 1886 he relinquished
40 acres south of the river to the town site people, and this land
together with another 40 acres to the south became the original site
of Minot. On July 16, 1887, less than a year after settlement, Minot
was an incorporated city. A few weeks later an entire slate of city
officers was selected in a campaign which set a high standard for many
heated city elections of later years. Principal interest centered
about the candidates for mayor, and with typical frontier camaraderie
the defeated man was the first to sign the bond of office for his
victorious opponent. At its initial meeting the newly elected city
council selected as the city's first police chief William Flumerfelt, a
saloon-keeper.
When Minot's first Christmas arrived, in 1887, not a church graced the
town. To observe the season a Christmas tree was set up in Jack Doyle's
saloon, which stood on the site of the present Woolworth store at the
corner of Central Avenue and Main Street. Most of the town turned out
for the celebration, gifts were hung on the tree, and everyone was
given candy.
Many early residents were buried in a cemetery in southwest Minot,
although no markers remain. This burial place on one occasion almost
saw the interment of a person who, by virtue of being very much alive,
was quite undeserving of inclusion here. It happened that a local
character known as Spider had gone to his reward, and "the boys" had
taken over his obsequies, stopping on the way to the cemetery to
fortify themselves at a saloon. Reaching the grave, they attempted to
lower the coffin, but one end dropped down and the other caught on the
side of the grave. John J. Powers, a well-known rancher, was selected
to straighten the coffin, but in getting down he was caught between it
and the wall of the grave. Disregarding his protests, the high-spirited
pallbearers proceeded to shovel in dirt, and he was covered except for
his head and shoulders when passersby, hearing his cries, arrived on
the scene and effected a rescue.
It was events like this that earned Minot the name of a wild town; and,
considering the type of people who flocked into the new city--transient
railroad workers and hangers-on, horse and cattle thieves who at that
time infested the west and northwest sections of the State, gamblers
who saw opportunity in the new settlement, and criminals who had
escaped across the boundary from Canada--it is hardly remarkable that
the town soon had a reputation for lawlessness and iniquity. Many
pioneer residents of Minot still remember a certain railway passenger
conductor who would call the name of the station, "MINOT, this is
M-I-N-O-T, end of the line. Prepare to meet your God!"
In spite of the disreputable element, many dependable citizens selected
the boom town for their permanent homes, and to them the development of
the city has been due. As early as 1887 Marshall McClure was publishing
the first newspaper, the weekly Minot _Rustler-Tribune_. The city had
its first wooden sidewalk in 1888, and the same year Main Street was
lighted with kerosene lamps. The city council passed an ordinance
against speeding with horses, the limit being set at eight miles per
hour. Apparently the council of that day believed that actions speak
louder than words, for on one occasion it adjourned to go out in a body
to grub stumps and fix a road that needed repair. In 1889 this same
progressive body voted that the city pay 50 cents per barrel for the
first 10 barrels of water delivered at any fire in the city. The first
fire wagon was John Strommen's dray, which was used to haul water every
time an alarm was turned in.
Burlington (_see Tour 7_), the first community in the Souris region,
had confidently expected that the Great Northern would be routed past
its door, but instead the road chose the Minot site. The Magic City
thereupon set out to deprive its rival of the county seat as well.
Arrangements were made for the railroad company to sidetrack an old
freight car at Lonetree 28 miles west of Minot. Telegraph wires were
strung into it, and the roadmaster presented an affidavit to the county
commissioners stating that a station had been opened. Burlington
protested: Lonetree belonged in the Burlington precinct, it claimed,
and there were not enough residents to open the polls. The railroad
installed two operators, a station agent and a helper; Lonetree was
declared a precinct, and it is said that railroad crews as far west as
Glasgow, Mont., voted. Minot became the county seat.
Settlers rushed into "Imperial Ward" County when it was surveyed and
opened to homesteading in 1896. The origin of the county's nickname
is apparent from the following description in Colonel Lounsberry's
_Record_: "... a small sized empire of 5,000 square miles rich in soil,
clays, coal, and the energy of its people, immigration unequaled,
steady and firm like the flow of a river." Land entries at Minot during
the first nine months of 1905 were said to be greater than at any other
U. S. land office in the country. Homesteaders slept on the floor of
the office to avoid losing their turn in filing for land.
Imperial Ward remained intact until 1910, when its ample acres were
carved into Renville, Burke, Mountrail, and present Ward Counties.
Deer, antelope, prairie and timber wolves, foxes, mink, otter, beaver,
ducks, and geese provided early settlers of the Minot area with food,
furs, and sport. In the winter, when water holes were opened in the
frozen river for stock, fish would come up to the openings in such
numbers that they could easily be speared with pitchforks, and it was
not uncommon at these watering places to see fish frozen and stacked up
like cordwood.
Since the Souris winds through Minot for a distance of eight miles,
its overflow can cause great damage, and several times there have been
severe floods. The worst occurred in 1882, 1904, 1916, 1923, and 1927.
The 1904 flood took the town by surprise, as there were no telephones
in the territory upstream from Minot by which the alarm could be given,
and small houses were torn from their foundations as the crest of the
flood hit the city. Railroad tracks were under water and traffic on the
Great Northern and Soo was at a standstill. The flood continued for
about three weeks, and children rejoiced as school was discontinued.
People went about their business in boats, using their front porches
for piers. Many north side residents moved in with friends living on
the higher south side.
In recent years dikes have been built to keep the Souris within
bounds, and Federal works on the river above the city, the subsistence
homestead project at Burlington, and the Upper Souris migratory
waterfowl project (_see Tour 7_) have constructed dams which enable
engineers to control the flow of water.
While the Great Northern was responsible for Minot's origin and early
growth, several factors have shared in the city's later development.
Extension of the railroad westward added to the trade territory, all
of which is agricultural, and the city became the logical wholesale
distribution point for northwest North Dakota. The arrival of the
Soo in 1893 tapped untouched areas southeast and northwest, again
enlarging the trade region. The first bus line in the State began
operation between Minot and Bismarck in 1922. Truck and bus lines
now radiate from Minot to serve the many outlying communities not on
the transcontinental railroads. The city is a center for an area of
22,500 square miles, extending north to the Canadian line and west
into Montana. In 1930 Minot had the second largest volume of wholesale
business in the State, with transactions totaling $18,500,000.
Its location in an extensive agricultural area has established Minot
as a farm market. During both pre-war and post-war periods of heavy
crop yields and high prices, Minot boomed as a grain shipping point.
Two flour mills have been a factor in maintaining cash grain prices
at higher levels than in other communities. Processing of dairy and
poultry products has become an important industry, and a cash livestock
market has brought additional returns and marketing facilities in the
past few years. A plant of the poultry cooperative maintained by the
North Dakota Farmers Union is situated in Minot. The recent droughts
lessened grain marketing, but pushed forward in another direction the
production and stability of diversified farm products, as indicated
by the expansion of one and the erection of another creamery and
processing plant.
Like other cities, Minot has felt the depression period, but outwardly
there remains only one prominent scar--"Sparrow Hotel," the steel
skeleton of a 10-story hotel building. Begun in 1929, construction was
halted by the market crash of that year, and the framework now houses
only a multitude of twittering, chirping sparrows.
Its rail facilities have helped to make Minot a natural shipping
point for the great quantities of lignite mined in this vicinity. The
Truax-Traer Company, with headquarters here, is one of the largest
lignite strip mining companies in the United States, and operates the
three largest strip mines in the State.
Out of the _Rustler-Tribune_, which reported Minot's earliest events,
there grew the Minot _Optic Reporter_, which is now the Minot _Daily
News_. The _Democrat_, a political publication, has grown into the
_Dakota State Journal_, and the weekly Ward County _Independent_ is
also published in Minot. A radio station, KLPM, maintains studios in
the Fair Block on South Main Street.
With improved transportation facilities and good roads, Minot has
become a medical center for the northwest section of the State. Two
large hospitals, two smaller private hospitals, and medical and dental
clinics are maintained.
POINTS OF INTEREST
1. MINOT STATE TEACHERS COLLEGE, 9th Ave. NW. between 2nd and 8th Sts.,
with an average quarterly enrollment of 525, is the largest normal
school in the State. It is an accredited four-year college with a
teachers training school in connection.
Its 70-acre campus, 60 acres of which were donated by Erik Ramstad,
Minot's first settler, lies at the foot of the hills bordering the
Souris valley on the N. and contains six brick buildings of modern
construction, including a main educational building with auditorium
and gymnasium, two dormitories, two training school buildings, a
powerhouse, and a floodlighted athletic field.
The college offers a two-year standard teachers course as prescribed by
State law, a two-year junior college course, and a four-year curriculum
leading to a B.A. degree in education. In the training school a model
primary, grade, and high school is maintained, enabling prospective
teachers to secure actual experience in their profession. Many children
in the northwest section of the city attend the college school.
2. WARD COUNTY COURTHOUSE, 3rd St. SE. between 3rd and 4th Aves., was
dedicated May 31, 1930. It is said to be the first North Dakota public
building of modern design. A motto inscribed upon the front elevation
reads: "Let Us Develop the Resources of Our Land, Call Forth Its Power,
Build Upon Its Institutions and Promote All Its Great Interests."
This austere spacious structure, designed by Tolz, King and Day
of Minneapolis, and erected at a cost of $450,000; succeeded an
old-fashioned brick courthouse built in 1891 and razed in 1928. The old
courthouse, built after Minot had won the county seat from Burlington,
was by no means adequate, but the commissioners feared to submit the
question of a new courthouse to a vote, since the county as a whole
was not reconciled to Minot's county seat victory. As the law allowed
repairs without popular approval, the commissioners "repaired" the
$8,000 courthouse to the extent of a new $25,000 addition.
3. PUBLIC LIBRARY (_open 9-9, except July and Aug., 9-6_), 101-107 2nd
Ave. SE., is a buff brick Carnegie institution containing more than
18,000 volumes.
4. ROOSEVELT PARK (_swimming pool, playgrounds, picnic grounds,
athletic field, tennis courts, tourist camp_), E. end of 4th Ave. SE.,
on the S. bank of the Souris River, is an 85-acre tract beautified
by rustic bridges, lagoons, flower beds, and sunken gardens. A Zoo
containing many species of foreign and domestic animals attracts
thousands of visitors annually.
In the park is a bronze EQUESTRIAN STATUE OF THEODORE ROOSEVELT,
depicting him as a Rough Rider. The base of the statue is a
reproduction of the Badlands formations along the Little Missouri River
where Roosevelt once lived. This memorial, designed by A. Phimister
Proctor of New York and presented to the city in 1924 by Dr. Henry
Waldo Coe, pioneer North Dakota physician and life-long friend of
Roosevelt, is dedicated to the school children who contributed the cost
of the base.
COE DRIVE, a scenic two-mile route through the woods bordering a loop
of the Souris River, connects with a mile drive through Roosevelt Park.
It is reached by driving one block into the park from the entrance and
turning right.
5. OAK PARK, W. end of 3rd Ave. NW., has more than 50 acres of wooded
land. Provided with tennis courts, wading pool, and picnic tables, it
is a favorite spot for Sunday picnickers from the surrounding country.
6. ROSEHILL CEMETERY, 3rd St. SE. at 11th Ave., contains the nine-foot
marble WORLD WAR MEMORIAL SHAFT and the DAUGHTERS OF UNION VETERANS OF
THE CIVIL WAR MEMORIAL.
POINTS OF INTEREST IN ENVIRONS
Burlington underground lignite mines, =8 m.=; Burlington
Subsistence Homestead Project, =8 m.=; Velva lignite strip mine,
=32 m.= (_see Tour 7_).
PLAYGROUNDS
FORT ABRAHAM LINCOLN STATE PARK
=Entrance:= 4.5 m. S. of Mandan on graveled road (_see Tour 8_).
=Points of interest in park:= Fort McKeen, Slant Indian Village,
site of old Fort Abraham Lincoln.
=Regulations:= Park open during daylight hours only; parking cars
on highway prohibited.
The 750 acres of Fort Abraham Lincoln State Park lie on the west bluffs
of the Missouri River, encompassing three sites of historical and
archeological interest--a Mandan Indian village and two old military
posts. The park is being developed by the State Historical Society of
North Dakota in cooperation with the National Park Service.
As the roadway enters the park, the bluffs rise steeply to the right,
while below on the left is spread a beautiful view of the Missouri
winding away to the distant hills, tracing the outlines of Sibley
Island, the Heart River below, flowing into the Missouri, and Bismarck
and the capitol set against the background of the valley rising on the
other side of the river.
Fort McKeen is on the river bluffs, and the Indian village is below on
the river bank, slightly higher than Fort Abraham Lincoln, the cavalry
post, on the broad ancient plain near the mouth of the Heart.
Left as the highway enters the park is a crude log palisade that guards
the old SLANT VILLAGE. Before these prairies saw the invasion of the
white men, perhaps two centuries ago, a group of Mandan Indians,
seeking a new location in their advance up the Missouri Valley,
selected this narrow point of land which had such excellent natural
protection. On the east was the Heart River and on the south a deep
coulee. Along the exposed sides the Indians built a palisade and dug a
moat to secure their little town.
Depressions in the earth show that the settlement contained 68 lodges.
Five have been restored by the park administration, four of them
homes and the other the large ceremonial lodge. All have been placed
as nearly as possible on their original sites, and in some cases the
locations made by park workers were so accurate that remains of the
old lodges were found in excavating for the restoration work. The five
lodges have been carefully reproduced in every detail. (A general
description of the construction and equipment of the typical Indian
earth lodge will be found under INDIANS AND THEIR PREDECESSORS.)
Crude tools such as the inhabitants of this town used in domestic and
agricultural work are on display in one lodge. Hoes and shovels were
flat bones fastened to wooden handles, and brooms were bunches of brush
bound together. A short post with a hollowed center served as a mortar,
a club about the size of a baseball bat as a pestle, and with this
apparatus corn was ground for meal.
Furnishings in the lodge include the horse corrals, beds, and altars
which were part of the domestic scene. There are specimens of dog and
horse travois, and an Indian bullboat, made by stretching a green
buffalo hide over a wooden frame and drying it. The result resembled
nothing so much as an ungainly washtub, but the awkward-looking craft
would carry two or three persons quite safely across the treacherous
currents of the Missouri.