Early History

Early History. Pioneers on the Prairie. , Not much is known of the very early history of Cavalier County. The Sioux are believed to have been the earliest residents. The first known white men to have set foot in Cavalier County were those in the Verendrye expedition, which camped in the Olga area in November of 1738. , In the 1790s, Chippewa from Minnesota and the Great Lakes area moved into the North Dakota Plains for fur trade when companies established fur trading posts along the Red River. In 1798, heavy Sioux attacks caused Chippewa to retreat to Minnesota. However, they returned two years later to trap furs along the Pembina and Red Rivers, and fur trading thrived despite increasing Sioux attacks. In 1808, Sioux attacks had become so prevalent that the fur trade companies withdrew. Chippewa remained in the area and continued to be involved in the fur trade. Fur trade activity continued, but steadily declined, despite the establishment of a fur trading post in Beaulieu in the early 1830s. , The increasing attacks culminated with a large battle between the Sioux and Chippewa west of Olga in 1848. Accounts of the battle differ greatly, but most depict the Chippewa as the victors of the battle. , Beaulieu eventually became the site of a rendezvous of the Chippewa and the Metis. Around the time the Chippewa population and fur trade were declining, the Metis population began moving into what is now Cavalier County. The population was served by a trail running from Winnipeg to Fort Totten and Devils Lake. Trading posts at Olga and Beaulieu served travelers on this trail. The trail was used, not only by area settlers for trade, but is also believed to have been used as a route for buffalo hunting trips by Native Americans due to buffalo skulls found marking the trail. , Cavalier County was created from the western part of Pembina County in 1873 and named by the Territorial Legislature for Charles Cavileer, a well-known fur trader, customs agent, and postmaster. , Over the years, many claim shacks appeared in Cavalier County. Not until 1882, when a church and post office were built, was Olga officially established as the first community in Cavalier County., The Railroad. The arrival of a railroad was the driving force for development of Cavalier County. The uncertainty of the exact path the railroad would take through the county led to many small settlements being established in hopes the railroad would run through them. When the Great Northern Railroad was built from Park River to Langdon in 1887, many thought the route would be further south. Anticipating that the various coulees and ravines would be too difficult to cross, those routes were avoided. However, hard work, grading, and trestles overcame these obstacles, and the lines were placed in the locations shown on the map., In addition to the Great Northern Railway line that ran through Union, Milton, Osnabrock, Easby, Langdon, Dresden, Wales, and ending in Hannah in 1897, Cavalier County saw three other rail lines. A line entering Cavalier County southeast of Weaver and continuing through Munich, Clyde, Calvin, and ending in Sarles was built in 1905. Another line entering Cavalier County south of Nekoma, heading north to Loma, and turning west to continue through Alsen and Calio was also completed in 1905. Finally, a spur line from Canada into Maida was built in 1918. These rail lines played a major role in the growth of the communities located adjacent to them. , For many years, these communities thrived. Residents relied on the rail to bring in supplies, mail, and for transportation. The sound of the train and the sight of the steam plumes were daily occurrences in Cavalier County for many years. In the mid-1930s, the steam engines were replaced by a diesel engine nicknamed "The Galloping Goose." Daily passenger rail service in Cavalier County came to an end on October 31, 1959. Many rail lines are still used today to take Cavalier County grain to market. , Homesteading. The Homestead Act of 1862 provided three ways in which settlers or naturalized citizens could obtain land., 1. Building a dwelling on the land and living in it for five years while making improvements as specified in the homestead regulations., 2. Filing for a Timber Culture Patent which involved planting and caring for trees. , 3. Pre-emption when the claim of a previous settler was taken over and a fee of $1.25 per acre paid for the land. , Much of the land in Cavalier County was acquired through the Homestead Act by early pioneers, although many of the early dwellings were nothing more than claim shacks. Before the railroad came to Cavalier County, acquiring building materials was difficult and many early homes were sod huts. Many early settlers were able to acquire additional land by one partner filing the initial claim with a dwelling, and the other claiming a Timber Culture Patent.