Lars Holm and a Mr. Knutson had been through township 132-61 in the fall of 1881 and had seen the land, so in 1882 they and some of their friends decided to take claims there. Peter Jorgenson and Lars Holm came over from Minnesota in March to look up claims. There was a bad storm on the way, so it was April 4^th by the time they reached their locations.  The section lines had not been run by the surveyors, so to get the approximate corners of the land they wished they took a string measure and ran a line in from the corner of the township. While this did not come out exactly it was close enough for practical purposes. On this trip they had come down from their stopping place over in La Moure County with two old oxen and a stone-boat. On their return they found that Cottonwood Creek was in flood, and after a search for a crossing place they decided to get across the best they could, so Holm rode one of the oxen and Jorgenson stuck to the stone-boat. They were both soused and covered with ice when they got across, so they gathered some willow brush and thawed themselves out in the shanty where they were staying. Mrs. Jorgensen says that was a sample of what the people had to contend with in those early days.

Miss Carrie Swenson came into Dickey County in the spring of 1883.  She was born in Norway but had been in the dressmaking business for three years in Fargo and Jamestown. Mr. A. E. Howe was engaged to Miss Swenson and as they were from the same community in Norway they were old acquaintances. In 1882 Mr. Howe and Peter Berg went down to Dickey County and selected some land, and Miss Swenson made filing for the homestead of Mr. Howe in the spring of 1883. They secured an ox team and a wagon, with some furniture including a New Home sewing machine, and went over to the homestead on the northeast of 24-132-61. While the shanty was being built Miss Swenson stayed with the Jorgensen's on the river bottom about two miles from the Howe claim. The men built a good solid sod house and barn, papering the house with newspapers. Fresh weeds were used for rugs in the summer time.

After the buildings were completed Mr. Howe went over to Fargo to collect some money that was due Miss Swenson and remained there to work while Miss Swenson stayed at the homestead.  Gunder Ostrom told her that as long as she was to stay at home while Mr. Howe was away she was to have a good gun for self-defence and should learn to use it. He loaded up the gun and showed her how to use it, and though she was afraid to fire she did so when Ostrum pinched her arm. This shot gave her confidence and her first attempt at game shooting resulted in the death of a gopher. On the day Mr. Howe returned from Fargo she shot a wild goose and a large mallard duck. On other occasions she killed many wild ducks on the river near the home.

When Mr. Howe returned to the homestead he borrowed a wagon and drove to Ellendale where he bought some lumber for the claim shanty and a winters supply of groceries, and a cow which cost him $45.00. He offered $1.00 for a hen but didn't get it. Some time after this both he and Miss Swenson made another trip to Ellendale for a license and then went to I.aMoure and got married. This was in December and there was a little party given them at the home.

The winter of 1883-84 was spent on the claim wintering stock. There was some trouble from the stock rubbing on the walls of the sod house.  They liked to stick their horns into the sod and rub, but it was hard on the house. The garter snakes liked to get in the walls of the building, especially in behind the newspapers that were pegged to the walls inside. There seemed to be a great many of these creatures on the river bottom on the Howe place.

The Howe place was for many years called a "stopping place" as most every one going along the valley would stop at Howe's. There was some one there almost every night, some were there even the night of their wedding.  These guests were careful not to make any trouble in any way. especially the Finlanders who stopped frequently. The Howe neighbors at that time were:Walter Watts on the present Hanson place, Mrs. Larkin and her son Ray (who was later a physician), Mrs. Connor and her two sons, George and Will, on the present Julian Arndt place. Mr. Tangen on the present Carl Nelson place, S. S. Thompson and George Thompson, and the Ford family on the hill west of Carl Nelson's. The Lewis family came later. Mrs.  Lewis was a sister of Mrs. Jorgensen and of the Thompson brothers. Stromness lived on the east side of the river, and when his wife was frozen the first place he went to look for her was at the Howe place. Gus Strutz was another neighbor at that time.   Knutson had located on Section 14. 

The Jorgensen's had come out in 1882. Mr. Jorgenson was out to the claim getting the shanty ready and Mrs. Jorgenson had written to him that she was coming but the mail had to go to Grand Rapids so he did not get the letter and Mrs. Jorgenson found no one to meet her when she arrived in Ellendale, so after waiting two days she caught a ride out to the claim and met Mr. Jorgenson on his way to Ellendale who had to go to Frederick to get a stove. Mrs. Jorgenson went on and stayed at her brother-in-law's for a few days.   They went to their shanty to live before their car of goods came, and could have had their land surveyed that spring but Mr. T. F.  Marshall's party of surveyors came along while Mr. Jorgenson was in Ellen-dale waiting for the car of goods so they had to wait until fall for the survey.  This surveying party consisted of five or six men and they wanted something to eat at the Jorgenson place, but Mrs. Jorgenson had no dishes as everything was still in the car to arrive at Ellendale. However, she managed to feed them in the spider that she had. Then it was a question where to sleep them. There were some women and children from the neighbors at the Jorgensen's and they had to be taken care of so there was nothing extra.  But Mrs. Jorgenson had washed up a lot of grain sacks and dried them on the grass in the yard. Some one of the survey party suggested that they use these for bedding and it was done, so the men camped on the floor of the shanty.

Wilson Wright and Albert Bowen also came here in the spring of 1882.  Bowen took his claim on 6, 132-60 and Wright got onto East 1/2 Section 12 (South 1/2 of NE 1/4, North East of NE 1/4, and North East of SE 1/4, Section 12.) The idea of cutting it up in these fractions was to bewilder other settlers who might want to take a part of the section. He wanted to hold the land till his sister could file on it. Perhaps, too, he was selecting the best 40s of the section.

The post office was established there about 1885. It was there before the first school. It was continued till about 1903 or 1904. It was moved from Section 12 to Section 2 on a pre-emption. Jessie Wright ran the post office as her father was carrier and could not hold both offices. At this time he was bringing the mail from LaMoure. Later the post office was moved back to W right's residence for a while, then it went to Thompson's, and it was finally discontinued with the establishment of a mail route from Fullerton,-Rural Route 1.

Mr. M. G. Mattson was among those who came in 1883. He arrived on the 18^th of May. The next year he filed a contest on a piece of ground which some railroad man had entered. This fellow did not defend the case and Mr. Mattson got the entry. This land,-the South half of the North half of Section 2,-has been Mr. Mattson's home ever since. It has never been mortgaged though he had to burn straw two winters and hay one winter and has been hungry enough to eat his boots. He has raised a family of nine children.

Jake Mattson came in 1883 and made his home in Section 1. That summer when he was out breaking with a bunch of other fellows they made a deal with him for $5.00 to stay and take care of all the teams while they went away to celebrate the Fourth. There was nothing left at the camp to cat but they promised to bring something back in the afternoon. he did not see them again till the afternoon of the fifth. In the meantime lie had caught a stray cow on the prairie and had got some milk to live on. 

Fred and Charles Anderson came in about 1882 and stayed a long time in the township. Arndt lived a long time in the township. Mr. Thompson on the Southeast 10 was another old timer. He was elected sheriff of Dickey County in 1900 and had already served as County Commissioner. The family later moved to Canada. There were twelve children in the family.  Mrs. Thompson was a sister of Mrs. Jorgenson. Mrs. J. Jacobson is still on Section 1 in the old home township.

The Carl Arndt family were German. They came in about 1883, and there are several of the boys left in the township. Charley is on Section 9, Northwest 1/4, August on Southeast 6; and Julius on 35. Mr. Wilkinson and a Mr. Lucke were old timers but the exact date of their coming is lost. Otto Lucke still lives in the township.

In the earlier years many of the settlers were short of money with which to buy fuel. Substitutes were tried. Dried manure and twisted slough grass were the most common of these. When twisted the long coarse grass from the low ground would give out a good deal of heat. A filling of the stove would keep the house warm for an hour if it was not too large. 

Many bad prairie fires went over the prairies in the early days before cultivated lands and fire breaks checked them. They would sweep over the narrow channel of the James River for the grass was high and the water channel narrow. Mr. Watts in 131-60 lost 200 sheep in a fire about 1900.  Some one burning a fire guard let the fire get away. It crowded the sheep down the bank, smothering those that were not burned.

Mrs. Jorgenson says that the worst fire was in 1883; the grass was so long and dry that it made a terrible fire. The hay and grain was very nearly burned for Mr. Mattson was away and she could not do much. The fire was sweeping close with only three little furrows to stop it. There was a place outside the plowed strip where the cattle had been picketed at night where the grass was short. As the fire rolled closer Mrs. Jorgenson was in despair and said "Oh Lord, you will have to save it, I can do nothing," and the wind changed and the fire died down in the short grass and stopped at the furrows.

The first school was established in the fall of 1885 when a school building was built on Section 11 (The Southeast quarter). Jessie Wright was the first teacher. The pupils were Clara Wright; Gina and Albert Holm; Arthur, Willie, and Dora Thompson; Lena and Mamie Jorgenson; Luella Watts; and Mary Rhode.

Ministers had been coming out to see the people. Mr. Hill, the first, came either from Ft. Ransom or Lisbon, probably the latter. The first baptism was performed by Mr. Hill in April 1884. The children were Tilda Jorgenson, Ida Thompson, and Gilbert Holm. There was no regular preaching service till the school house was built, but when Mr. Hill came out he would have preaching services in the houses. When the school house was ready they had regular church and Sunday School services, the church congregation being organized in 1884. The church was organized in the fall of 1889 as St. Ansgar congregation, Howga Synod (Norwegian Lutheran). 

The Sunday school was organized in 1885, C. W. Carter being the organizer. It was a dry season and at one of the services the people were praying for rain. There were about forty people there and they got the rain before they got home. Rev. Rogne was a fine minister. One time he came out on snow shoes to hold services. The church was built in 1914 and a cemetery was established there at the same time.

Mr. Holm located on the Southwest quarter of Section 12. He made a mistake in locating his land, for while it was a fine laying tract, it was unfortunately at the bottom of the mouth of a ravine where the mineral matter had been washed down from the hills and had accumulated on the flat so that the crops did not do well. Mr. Holm was misled by the fine grass on the flat when he was picking out his land. Mr. Holm died about 1897 and the rest of the family is now scattered, most of them being in Canada. 

The Jorgenson family lived in a sod house for ten and a half years before they got a frame house. The Holm family built a frame house the first year. Wright built a frame shanty the first year he was on his land and a larger house the second season.   He hauled the lumber out from Ellendale. 

There were no doctors within many miles and Mrs. Jorgenson was in much demand in assisting the stork settle up the country. She was called from as far as Grand Rapids and Fullerton and in all probably helped over a hundred babies to get a start in life. At this date (1925) Mrs. Jorgenson is 76 years of age.

At the election in 1889 every vote in Wright Township was against saloons.

There are more of the original settlers and their descendents living in Wright than in any other town in the county, among whom may be named the Nelsons,-B. L. and his brother Carl and their descendents; Otto Lucke; August Arndt; Anton Barsten; J. N. Jacobson; J. A. Johnson; and of those who have come in later, G. W. Julian and S. E. Montgomery. Many improvements are noticeable, like fine homes, commodious barns and good fences. The farmers of Wright have always kept the best stock procurable and their Shorthorn cattle are hard to beat anywhere.

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