page_title: Antler, North Dakota
section_title: History
hierarchical_section_title: Antler, North Dakota / History
caption_attribution_description: 2nd view of the customs house in Antler, North Dakota showing U.S. and Canadian flags.
context_page_description: Antler is a city in Bottineau County in the State of North Dakota. The population was 27 at the 2010 census. Antler was founded in 1905.
context_section_description: Antler was established as a rural post office base in 1898. The developed town moved to its present location in 1902 to be closer to the Great Northern Railway to the south. The town was formally platted and founded in 1905, and reached a population of 342 by the 1910 Census. The population declined to 101 by the 1980 Census, and just 47 as of the 2000 census.
  Antler High School closed in 1976. The Antler Grade School was set to close in 1981. Fearing the end of their town, Rick Jorgensen and Harley "Bud" Kissner thought of ways to bring in newcomers with school-age children to the town with the intent of keeping the school open. Rick thought of the idea to give away land and Bud volunteered some of his 640-acre (2.6 km²) farm to modern homesteaders. The deal was to stay for 5 years and enroll the children in the Antler elementary school. Rick drew up a newspaper ad while a wire service spread the story. The story made national network news aired twice on NBC evening edition with the first story stating the reason was to increase the population and the second story about its role in reopening of the town's schools by the land giveaway. Rick received letters from all over including international letters from Germany and Australia. The plan worked for just a few years and the grade school closed in 1987, with 6 families receiving plots of 5 or 9 acres (36,000 m²).
caption: Views of the old customs house in Antler
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