Courier Democrat. (Langdon, N.D.) 1891-1920, 1916-03-09
Cavalier County of the Long AGO
compiled byHistorical Committee.)

Gleanings or notes taken from
Editor Doherty's write-up of this
county for the first issue of his paper,
the Cavalier County Courier, which
was published, August 9th. 1885,
and was the first newspaper to be
I printed and published in Cavalier
county:
The editor gives the population of
the county at that time as being
5, 900, with a property valuation of
$500, 600. The county seat boosted
of a general store, a blacksmith shop,
two carpenters and two notary pub
lies. The court house was occupied
and P. McHugh's house was in course
of construction. Places of Importance
in the county. of which the history
committee would like to hear more,
follow: Rockwel]'s place, Elkwood,
Lemon, Olga. Hannah and Linden on
the shores of the Snowflake creek and
Rush Lake. The latter described as
a large and clear sheet of water, two
miles long by two or three in width,
fifteen miles north of Langdon. The
waterways are described as the Big
and Little Pembinas and Snowflake
rivers, running through the northern
part of the county, the Park River to
the south and the Tongue river to the
east. The paper mentions the estab-
lishment of school townships as
occurring in 1884, also of the five
commissioner districts being formed
at that time, each having one re-
preventative: w. j. Doyle, chairman,
f. E. Renaud, James T. Anderson,
George McGregor and John Hope.
The county officers were: Sheriff,
Clearance Hawkes.; register of deeds,
P. McHugh; county treasurer, George
f. Winter; judge of probate and
clerk of court, w. j. Mooney; sur
veyor, w. H. Hull; county corner,
DR.. j j.. Reilly and superintendent
of schools, H. d. ALERT. In the
official directory column the terri
torial officers are shown as being:
Governor Pierce, Secretary of State
Teller, State Auditor Caldwell, At.
torney General Price and Superinten-
dent of Public Instruction Jones.
The paper in its first number
printed the professional cards of Fred
". Hall notary public at Langdon.
DR.. j. j. Reilly at the Hotel deLog
at Olga, D. A. Oakland, notary
public at Milton, J. B. Mcleod, had
a land office at Beaulieu, Ole Romfo,
the postmaster at Romfo was also a
notary public, W. F. Winter was a
land ~conveyancer and notary public
at Olga, H. D. ALERT a notary and
land conveyancer at Hannah, O. M.
Lillaster conducted a similar line of
business at Elkwood, Burnley and
Wheatley, carpenters and builders at
Elkwood, Charles Crawford had the |
only general store in Langdon and
John B. Chale a similar place OF
business at Olga.
In the local columns it is noted
tht wild ducks were plentiful and
both good and fat. The crane which.
Fred W.. Hall had in captivity died,
tie cause being given as poor grub.
A committee of the townspeople was
appointed to see E. J.. Fox relative
to the digestive qualities of sand hill
cranes.
L.. G. Noracing was the U. S. Gus
toms collector at Elkwood. Joseph
Waite was among the first to enroll
as a subscriber to the Courier. Rev.
Mcnamara was holding services each
Sunday in the court house. w. j.
Mooney had just completed cutting a
field of oats on what was the town.
site, the yield stated as being 100
bushels to the acre. Com'r John
Hope harvested a field Of wheat, fifty
acres of which gave an average yield
of IS bushels. Register of Deeds
McHugh had returned from Pemhina,
where he had been attending to the
transcribing of the record. In the
formation of Cavalier county, three !
ranges of townships had been annexed
from Pembina county, the newly or
ganized county of Cavalier at that
time being 81 miles north and south
and So miles east and west.
Here follow other interesting items
The man Wilson who stole Sheriff
Pierce's horse at Bartell, was captur-
ed by Constable O'Brien of Alma,
who brought him to Langdon and left
him in charge of Sheriff Hawkes..
The item goes on to state that
Hawkes. took the man to Pembina to
Jail there being a reward offered for
his capture. Rev. Waite was another
pioneer divine who came to Langdon
in those days once a month to hold
services at the court house.