Historic Breckenridge

Historic Breckenridge. A Prairie Home on the River. About 1734, traders employed by the Hudson's Bay Fur Trading Company encountered the headwaters of the Red River of the North, at Breckenridge. This historical site marks the convergence of the Otter Tail and Bois de Sioux Rivers to form the Red River of the North., Numerous voyagers and explorers have canoed this river. Stephen Long of the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers along with the Italian explorer Giacomo Beltrami explored the Red River Valley, and made camp nearby this location. They were on an expedition to establish the borderline between Canada and the United States at the 49th parallel., A Dakota Indian village stood on this site, and from 1820 to 1870, the Metis and their famous Red River ox carts camped here. Their travels lead them through many settlements on the journey from Pembina to St. Paul. As the halfway point of the journey, this site became a common tie-up point for ox carts., Breckenridge, Minnesota Territory, was platted in 1857. It was named in recognition of John C. Breckinridge, former Vice President of the United States. The "i" in his name was replaced with an "e" for an unexplained reason. Also in 1857, Fort Abercrombie in Dakota Territory was established downstream from this site., On October 25, 1871, the St. Paul and Pacific Railroad reached Breckenridge and caused a boom. This action joined the Mississippi River with the Red River of the North and opened a trade corridor that stretched all the way into Canada., The first steamboat launch in Breckenridge occurred in 1859. This put Breckenridge at the forefront of steam navigation on the Red River. Steamboats carried goods and settlers downstream to various ports along the river and into Canada. Many steamboats and flatboats were built in Breckenridge and in McCauleyville, a community just north of here. The low water years of 1911 and 1912 stopped commercial navigation on the Red River of the North. Water levels eventually returned, but commercial navigation on the Red River never recovered., Breckenridge; River town, railroad village, agricultural city. A prairie home with a very proud heritage., (Neoma Laken, Project Breckenridge), Captions: , Left to Right: The steamboat Alpha on the Red River. An early bridge between Breckenridge and Wahpeton. The railroad reaches Breckenridge. (Photographs courtesy of NDSU Institute for Regional Studies, Neoma Laken, and Minnesota Historical Society), Postcard showing early river scene. Courtesy of Neoma Laken, Painting of ox cart traveler located in Wilkin County Courthouse. Courtesy of Wilkin County