'THE reason for the location of a new town is not always easy to find. The A vaguely geographical point known as "the end of the rails" may determine its location. Somebody's notion, or some shrewd bargaining may determine the spot where a town is to grow. Sometimes a town brings the "rails", but in this newer part of the country the railroad frequently comes first.

The North Western Line was headed up the James River Valley, but the Milwaukee was grading west, and on July 4, 1881, laid its rails to the place which afterwards became the city of Aberdeen.   It had been determined to run a line from this place northward towards Jamestown and the construction was well under way.  Somebody, known perhaps in the records of the railroad, had scouted out the course and had been followed by the surveying party.   These in turn were followed by the graders and track layers.  W. H. Ellis, then a boy of only sixteen, had been employed by the track layers on the line into Aberdeen as a water boy, and in the following year was serving in that capacity when the track was ironed to a point three miles north of Ellendale in the fall of 1881.   Mr. John Nelson, who afterwards located in Hudson township and later bought the old relay station on Bear Creek, was probably the first citizen of the county to work within its boundaries, as he was a member of the grading crew in 1881 which built the grade from Frederick into the present county.  Several people came up over this line to look over the new country in the fall of 1881, although regular train service was not run north of Frederick until 1882.

It was thought that a town would be located at the end of the track, and a Mrs. Mary Bishop came over from Mapleton and made homestead entry on the southeast quarter of Section 26-130-63. Early in March of 1882 people began to flock in and settle near the end of the track in great numbers- A Mr. J. S. Lanney opened a lumber yard, Bill Matthews operated a tent saloon, and Mrs. Bishop started a hotel. But Mrs. Bishop was unable to get a townsite located there, or perhaps was not skillful in dealing with the townsite locators of the Milwaukee.

Mr. C. H. Pryor of the townsite company, through George Kline the surveyor, had an arrangement with some members of the surveying crew that they should secure four claims for themselves on condition that Mr.  Kline should have four forty acre tracts for a townsite. With this understanding E. J. Hermans, F. M. Dann, Herbert Wells and A. S. Jackson squatted on the four corners where the quarters met,-the east quarters of Section 11 and the west quarters of Section 12, and put up their claim shanties of sod construction as nearly as they could locate the four claims from the railroad survey, and spent the winter of 1881-1882 around what afterwards came to be known as the "Center of Ellendale." This was very nearly at the junction point of the two state highways, No. 4 and No. 11.  The men spent most of their time at the shack on the west side of the railroad track, and may be considered the earliest pioneers of the new town.  Early in 1882 the townsite was platted, the survey bearing the date of May 8, 1882, and the plat was filed in the Register's office on August 22, 1882, in the names of Charles H. and Delia Pryor. The original townsite consisted of twelve blocks besides a strip along the railroad west of what is now Railroad Avenue. It extended west to Third Avenue, and from First Street on the south to include Second, Main and Third Streets to Fourth Street on the north. Main Street eighty feet wide ran east and west, with twenty-five foot lots along it, the lots on other streets being fifty feet wide.  A sale of lots was held for the people who were pouring in large numbers, and within forty-eight hours every lot on Main Street for two blocks was sold. The demand for lots was so great that the First Addition was surveyed on November 16, 1882, and the plat was filed by the Pryors on November 21, 1882. This addition was made to include the south side of First Street and two blocks east of the original townsite to Fifth Avenue and two blocks north to Sixth Street. The new town was named for Ellen Merrill, the wife of S. S. Merrill, the General Manager of the Chicago, Milwaukee & St. Paul Railroad.

The first train load of immigrants with their household goods and materials for building, arriving late in April, was taken to the end of the rails and remained there until in early May it was backed down to the new site. Judge Ellis says, "The first woman settler in Ellendale was a Mrs.  Bishop. The first store was opened by Clinton McNeil. The first saloon of the dozen or more that soon followed was owned and operated by Matthews and Demming. The first hotel built by Mrs. Bishop was called the White House. The first building contractor was W. A. Scott. The first postmaster was W. A. Finch, and the first church service was held by Rev. Brown in the newly completed Demming and Mathews saloon. The first lawyer to locate in Ellendale was Mr. Perry from Wisconsin, a venerable, gifted and brilliant lawyer. The first hardware store was built and operated by Frank Dugar. During this spring of 1882, I owned and operated a large tent hotel both at the end of the track and later in Ellendale. The first station agent was Mr. Frank Jarabak, with Ed. N. Leiby as assistant, and the first bank was operated by William H. Becker. For the most part the early settlers lived in very cheaply constructed frame buildings, tents and sod houses."

Tents afforded the most quickly obtained means of shelter and at first boarding houses and hotels were kept in tents. The demand for shelter was so strong that before the roof was on Mrs. Bishop's hotel the house was full of roomers. Mr. S. B. Meacham came on the first train and was clerk for Mrs. Bishop at the Central House for a time. He built a building on the south side of Main Street and his family came in August of that year. Mrs.  Meacham taught the first school in Ellendale as described in another chapter.  The town was very crowded and after the school closed on December 15, the Meachams kept a restaurant and also had a place for lodgers upstairs.  They had brought only two bedsteads so they put hay ticks on the floor as thick as they could lie and rented them for fifty cents a night. In a pinch they added more of these beds between the tables down stairs, piling the extra ticks into the back room in the morning. This building is still standing and is again used as a restaurant by B. W. Higgins.

The railroad built the first wooden building, a small shanty in which to house the telegraph instruments and later a depot which served for thirty years.   Randall's store and the Holbrook Hotel were among the first buildings to be erected.   Some of the incoming settlers spoke of the town as a mud-hole.  The sidewalks were just thin boards laid down end to end, one board wide, and they had the habit of turning up at the ends to catch the feet of pedestrians walking behind any one, and in wet weather of giving the passerby a splash of muddy water.   But the town built up rapidly, so that more room was needed.  On April 3, 1883,  A. L. DeCoster, Alex. D. Flemington and Herbert Wells had a tract of land adjoining the city surveyed and on May 12, of that year filed the plat of the DeCoster, Flemington & Wells Addition.   This added a strip of land on the south and east, and on June 9, 1883, George W. Burchard for the company filed the plat of the Ellendale Land Company's Addition to the City of Ellendale.  This added at large tract in the northeastern part of town extending well over to the north section line.  Judd's Addition, a tract north of the Great Northern track and west of the Sunshine Highway, was platted and the plat filed by J. M. Judd on April 26, 1907, and some other outlying tracts have been added to the city.

This was the first town on a railroad in this entire region and so it became a great distributing point for settler's supplies, and especially for lumber and groceries. The railroad had ties, piling and timber for its own use piled along the right-of-way to the north, and before it took up the rails in 1883 it hauled many cars of settlers' goods up to the end of the track. Soon there was grain to ship out and many cars of buffalo bones were loaded at Ellendale. At one time in these early days there was a great pile of bones along the track north of where the coal house now stands that was higher than the top of a freight car, awaiting shipment to the sugar factories back east.

There were many people coming in to locate on claims and many who located in town. It was quite the custom for everybody to take a claim even though they had a business in the town. Mr. Ellis was employed to take the census of Ellendale in 1883 and he says, "My old notes show a population of 1300 people. I hope the notes reflect the actual facts". His notes probably included many people who were transients,  perhaps half that number would be more nearly the census of actual residents.

On the organization of the county Ellendale was designated the county-seat. The permanent location of the county-seat was submitted to vote and an exciting contest with Keystone resulted in Ellendale's winning with 162 votes to 62 votes for Keystone. This meant a court-house, and in 1883 a very good structure was built at the corner of Main Street and Third Avenue. This building had an appropriate tower on the Main Street end, but a wind-storm blew down the tower and the building was put back into condition without it. This court-house served the county, with some remodeling, until 1912.

The City Hall was located across Third Avenue from the Court-House and a fire department with good apparatus was organized and the fire company was furnished with uniforms.  A photograph of the fire brigade of that time shows J. R. Lacey as Captain, Bert Horton, Wm Lewis, Robert Walker, G. Somerton, J. M. Mangold, Henry Rusco, and Charles Misfeldt as members of the company.

With so many people arriving the hotel and livery business flourished.  When Mrs. Bishop saw that the town was to be located three miles south of her she came into town and built a first class hotel on the corner of Main Street and First Avenue, a site that has always had a hotel since that time.  She named her hotel the Central House, but it was renamed the White House by Mr. George White, a brother of Ex-Governor White, who ran the hotel until June of 1883.   Later this hotel was managed by Ed. N. Leiby and Harvey Rood from June 1884 to June 1885.   The old building was moved up to the corner of Third Street and Fifth Avenue and was used as a three family dwelling house, the Webb Flats, then a store and dwelling house by Mr. E. C. Fuller, and was torn down for its lumber and to make room for a new store in 1928-1929.   The Holbrook House had been built on the corner of Railroad Avenue and Main Street, where the Farmers National Bank later built a brick banking house.   A third hotel was built on the corner of First Avenue and Second Street, known as the Anderson House from its builder, and when first erected it reached to Second Street, but a fire burned off the south end which was never rebuilt.   The building was purchased by Martin & Strane an addition was built on the north end and the hotel was known as the Garfield House.   It is now a rooming house, known for a time as the Commercial Hotel.

Martin & Strane also had a livery barn at the corner of Railroad Avenue and Second Street and did a large business. They had the mail route and stage line to Grand Rapids and later through Yorktown to LaMoure. Martin was a horse dealer. Martin, Strane & Walker had a general store on the corner across Second Street to the south and also sold farm machinery diagonally across Railroad Avenue from their livery. Their livery barn was burned, but another one was built on the same site which met a similar fate a little later, and the Third large barn was built on that location and was used as a feed barn until it was burned in 1927. Another livery barn was operated by Harvey L. Rood farther north on Railroad Avenue, at the corner of Third Street. At a later time the Applequist livery barn was built on First Avenue across from the hotel and further north.

In those early days Dakota Territory was not "dry" and a number of saloons flourished in Ellendale. W. H. Leffingwell tells of building a saloon building at the corner of Main Street and First Avenue, where the First National Bank was located. This building was afterwards used for a grocery store by the Blumer Brothers and is still standing one block south of its original location, and is used as a filling station and chick hatchery.

August Peterson had a blacksmith shop on Third Avenue where a part of the lumber yard is now located. He was building a house to the east of his shop when the big tornado of 1884 struck and blew it down. One of the girls, now Mrs. W. R. Bishop, was ill in bed, in the shanty at the time, and received a thorough drenching from the rain that followed the wind.

In April, 1883, Mrs. VanValkenburg asked Miss Eliza Taylor, (Mrs.  Herbert) to write to Reverend Mr. Haire of Sioux Falls, telling him of the new settlement and asking that a minister be sent to this place. So Rev.  Hartsough came and held services in the new Milwaukee depot. Rev.  Hartsough at that time read and sang the popular hymn, "I Hear Thy, Welcome Voice," which he had just composed and set to music. At the time of these services there were many families living in tents and shanties along the railroad track waiting until weather and roads permitted them to move out to the claims they had selected, among these being Wm. Taylor, and Walter and Richard Webb. These services at the depot were the beginning of the Methodist Church in Ellendale.

The Presbyterian people had organized a society and built the building at the corner of Third Avenue and Fourth Street. This building was badly damaged by the wind storm of 1884, but was rebuilt and served for many years. Other denominations were represented in the city but many of them did not have their church buildings for several years.

The Baptist Society was organized in 1884 in the hall over Bjornstad's old store, where services were held until 1885, when a small church was built. This was replaced by a neat and substantial building in 1888, which was located on the present site but was burned in the great fire of 1916. Mr.  H. H. Sperry was appointed clerk at the first organization and continued as such for twenty-two years, He was succeeded by Mrs. Blanche Higgs who served as clerk until 1910, when she was succeeded by Miss Winifred Tousley.  The first minister was the Rev. Mr. VanWinkle who organized the church.  He was followed by Rev. A. H. Carmen, who was instrumental in building the church which was burned. At the time of the big fire in 1916 all the records of the church were lost. From this fire the Church rebuilt and now occupy a fine pressed-brick church on the old site on Second Street, and the pastor (1929) is Rev. O. H. Hallgrimson, a scholarly and talented young man.

The first person to die in Ellendale and to be buried in its cemetery was Henry Sutton, who came up to this country to regain his health but was too weak to stand pioneer life. He was buried and a headstone was erected to mark his last resting place. The expenses were paid by a few of the generous, big-hearted first settlers, under the leadership of Judge Becker. A pioneer says, "We never knew whose boy he was." The epitaph contains his name, the date of his birth, March 25, 1859, and his death, May 14, 1882; and the two lines; "A stranger in a strange land, far from his native home," and, "May he rest in peace." He was only twenty-three years old, but looked much younger, and he had the sympathy of the whole community.

No cemetery had been established at the time of Henry Sutton's death, so he was buried on the lot on which the old city hall was erected, but this not seeming satisfactory for a burying place he was removed to a place opposite the city school site about where the Evangelical church is now located, from which place his remains were later removed to where the present beautiful cemetery is located. Still later they were moved to a new part of it. This was not a public cemetery for several years. The original owner of that quarter (the northwest of Section 7-129-62) owed Frank Gannon and turned over this land in payment of the debt. The original owner had permitted the corner to be used as a burial place, and Mr. Gannon let it be used as a cemetery after he acquired title. The cemetery was turned over to the Commercial Club of Ellendale by Mr. Gannon on Nov. 11, 1886, and was continued under this management for several years. Lots were sold and used, but the place was rather indifferently kept until in 1905 the cemetery was turned over to the City of Ellendale. Some money had accumulated by this time, so a number of trees were set out and other improvements made. The city made it one of the beauty spots of the entire region and has given it excellent care. In 1926 an addition to the cemetery, now well taken up with family lots because of the older residents having friends lying here, was bought to extend the cemetery clear over to the Great Northern line.  Just beyond the Great Northern track the Catholic Society has a cemetery which promises to become another spot of beauty for the interment of the dead.

In 1883 a public school was started in a house in the south part of town with Miss Eliza Taylor (Mrs. E. J. Herbert) as the first teacher employed.  From these small beginnings the town soon outgrew its school facilities and a very good two-story building for the time was constructed on the block where the city schools have ever since been located. When this new school building was erected, about 1884, it was pretty well out in the country, in fact some people thought it a hardship to send the children that far from home and from neighbors. The old building served as the city's school house until 1915, when the beautiful new brick building was constructed.  In 1886, the school was known as the Ellendale Grade School. C. A. Kent was the Principal, Clara Gilbertson was the Intermediate teacher, and Isora Hall taught the Primary. The school year had thirty-eight weeks, beginning on the first Monday in September.

By 1886 the John A. Spellman Post of the Grand Army of the Republic as No. 84 had been organized and was meeting every Saturday night in the Odd Fellows Hall. This Post was named for a man who lived in Kentner township and was one of the most enterprising citizens of the county. N. B.  Kent was Commander and W. W. Sears the Adjutant of this Post. Ellendale Lodge No. 68 of the Independent Order of Odd Fellows had been established and was meeting every Monday evening in its own hall, with Theodore Northrup as the head and L. H. Wilson as Secretary. The Ellendale Lodge of Masons (then No. 49) was well organized with J. A. Scott as Master and L. I. Randall as Secretary, and was meeting on the first and third Thursday-evenings of every month.

The business directory of Ellendale for 1886 shows the three hotels already mentioned. The White House had been enlarged and renamed the Central House and S. B. Meacham was the proprietor. The Holbrook House was managed by the Holbrook Brothers, and the old Anderson House, renamed the Garfield House was the property of Martin & Strane.

The Meachen Brothers had established a blacksmith shop at the corner of Third Street and First Avenue, where E. W. Meachen and Sons have had a shop until the building was moved to the lot west to make room for the White Eagle filling Station. This shop has been a landmark since the early days. W. A. Faus had another blacksmith shop, and such a shop was operated by Arie & Lacey, making four with the shop of August Peterson.  Mr. J. R. Lacey had come to Ellendale in 1882, and formed a partnership with Oscar B. Arie and built a shop on Second Street just east of the Martin & Strane livery barn. Mr. Arie sold to Mr. Lacey and later Thomas Barta bought in to make the firm Lacey & Barta. In 1915 Mr. Lacey sold his share to Mr. Barta, who continues the business started so long ago, on the same location, but in a different building, as they were burned out in one of the livery barn fires.

Banking seemed to be an attractive business in the early days.   W. H. Becker started the Security Bank on the corner now occupied by the L. S.  Jones store block, with A. A. Handy as cashier.   It is said that Mr. Becker started this bank on a capital of thirty-five dollars of his own money. The Bank of Ellendale was started where the Dunton store is now located and had Mr. A. Hilliard as cashier.  A bank was started on the corner where the Chrysler garage is now located by Pugh, Skuse & Evans, of which Mr.  Evans was the cashier.   Gannon, Smith & Company started a bank in a building located on the fourth lot east of First Avenue on the south side of Main Street, where the bakery is now located, and this bank has survived in the First National Bank, now the only one in Ellendale.  Mr. T. M. Pugh was a member of the Territorial Legislature of 1885, and had to go to Bismarck by way of Aberdeen, St. Paul, Fargo and to Bismarck.  His bank at Ellendale was sold to Cawley & Haseltine and became the Farmers & Merchants Bank.  The First National joined with Mr. Thomas Sefton in the construction of the brick building which now houses the bank and the post office.

The first store of the Randall Brothers was located on one of the lots on which the Opera House stands. The dry goods side of the Randalls store is on the original location and is still owned by the Randall Company. In 1926 Mr. Randall celebrated the forty-fourth anniversary of his first store with many articles sold in those early days loaned him for an exhibit. Mr.  Randall was Senator from Dickey County one term, and has always taken an active part and interest in the town welfare.   He passed away at his home in Ellendale in December, 1928.   Another grocery store of the early days was that of Dunton & Gillis which was located four doors west of the hotel, where Ed's Cafe is now located.   Later Mr. E. F. Dunton secured the business and moved it to the building two doors west of the hotel where he remained until his death in 1919, since which time his wife and son have continued the business.  The building in which the Dunton store is located has undergone several re-modeling's in the interior since it was a banking house but the same fronts are on this building and the Fair Store that are shown in the picture of the town in 1885. Another grocery store was located on Third Street where some old store buildings are still standing. W. H.  Jones, a man who did much in the building up of the city, had a general store on the corner now occupied by the Opera House block. He built the large store building in which Blumer & Son were selling groceries at the time of the big fire, and later located on the corner where the Becker Bank was established and where his son, L. S. Jones, kept a dry goods store until he sold out in 1928. Two other general stores were kept by H. M. Bergendal and A. B. Dugar, names that are familiar to the early settlers. Whitley & Bishop and Vent & Leib were two other firms that have dropped out of the town's business. The keepers of the restaurants of 1886 have passed on except in the memory of old friends; Virgil McMillen, F. H. Jackson, James M. C. Tyner, Robert Woods, and Burch & Romans.

A furniture store on Second Street just east of the Martin, Strane & Walker general store was owned by Bjornstad & Holte, men whose names have been prominent in the busi-ness of Ellendale. The furniture store was moved over onto Main Street, and both Bjornstad men, Nels and Peter, were in business in the building for some time.

The furniture store was burned in 1916 but was rebuilt and the business is still carried on by the sons of N. T. Holte. Nels Bjornstad was in the hardware business and later moved to his farm out in VanMeter township. In 1886 P. H. Bjornstad was in the boot and shoe business with a Mr. Christianson, and in the har-ness business on his own account.  Mr. Bjornstad passed away in 1928, but his sons are still in business in the city. In 1886 there were two hardware stores, kept by Gannon & Suttle and by W. G. Lockhart. In tinware W. A. Faus was the only advertiser, and G. W. Irwin was the wagon maker.

The names of Dr. Wm. E. Duncan and Dr. D. H. Long recall memories of two skillful and kindly physicians. Both of them had homesteads east of Ellendale.   Dr. Long made an extended visit in Ellendale at the home of his daughter, Mrs. B. R. Crabtree, a few years ago but has since passed away.   Later Dr. Wilkins, Dr. M. F. Merchant and Dr. John Stevenson were practicing physicians in Ellendale, and were succeeded by Dr. A. G.  Maercklein and Dr. Roy Lynde.   Dr. Estus Thomas was the dentist, with his office two doors west of the Leader office, and his son Harry E. Thomas is still carrying on the profession in Ellendale.  C. C. Misfeldt was the barber at the Central House.   W. W. Sears was selling fanning mills, and Brown & Malory were a firm of carpenters.   W. H. H. Mallory passed away in 1921, but the family are still residents of Ellendale and his son Ed is a carpenter.  A well known firm of lumber dealers was made up of two brothers, 0.& P. King, who had a lumber yard at the corner of First Avenue and Fourth Street, which later became the Thompson Yards.   Pat King built and occupied the house across the street which is now the residence of Fred Blumer.   Mr. Pat King is now (1929) living in Texas.  Another brother of the early days was John King who was city auditor for many years.   D. E.  Geer was one of the leading real estate dealers, coming to the county as an assistant in the government survey and for many years occupying an office in his own brick block on the south side of Main Street.  He died in December, 1927.

There were two drug stores established early and both of them are still :continued, although under changed management.  Steinau & Lee were located where the Leiby store is now. Mr. Steinau was net a pharmacist but gave more attention to the book and stationery side. Mr. Ed. N. Leiby, after completing his term as County Auditor, bought out Mr. Lee's share and later bought out Mr. Steinau and has continued the business since. E.  F. Bodle bought the drug store of Dr. Osborne on the south side of Main Street where a part of the Holte Store now stands. This was sold to Carl Axtell who took A. R. Amphlett into partnership. This firm had planned to build a new store on the north side of Main Street and had begun operations when the fire of 1916 burned out everything for them, so as a part of the new business block they built a new store. Soon after this Mr. Axtell sold out to his partner and the firm became the Amphlett Drug Company. 

Ellendale Continued

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