Trails to the Past of North Dakota is excepting any donations of genealogy materials that you may have such as marriage announcements, news articles, old obituaries, births, (you do not need the birth certificate) just the information, and biographies. If you have any of these items please contact me Marie Miller the North Dakota State Administrator.
Emmons County was created by the 1879 territorial legislature and named for James Emmons (1845-1919), a steamboat operator and early Bismarck merchant and entrepreneur. It was organized on November 9, 1883. Williamsport was the county seat from 1883 until 1899, when Linton became the county seat
The cities of Emmons County are Braddock, Hague, Hazelton, Linton, Strasburg, with unincorporated communities being those of Emmonsburg, Glencoe, Kintyre, Temvik, Williamsport, Winchester and Winona. The Townships are those of Campbell, and the defunct townships of Buchanan Valley, Hazelton, Lincoln, McCulley and Tell.
The history of the towns that presently exist in Emmons County begins with Braddock. It is the oldest existing town in the county (established in 1898). That same year, Braddock had the distinction of becoming the first town in Emmons County to receive train service. In 1899, Linton was plotted for the sole purpose of creating a geographically centralized government. The town was named for George Lynn. By 1901, Linton had reached a population of 118 and within two years the population had jumped to 245 residents. Linton was incorporated as a village in 1906 and incorporated as a town in 1914. Tirsbol was established in 1902 ten miles south of Linton. However, it eventually became the center of the German immigrant community and was renamed Strasburg. Also in 1902, the town of Hague was established southeast of Strasburg. The last currently existing town to be incorporated is Hazelton. At the time, the Northern Pacific Railroad was trying to start hundreds of new towns along their tracks to compete with the Burlington Northern Railroad. The railroad decided to plot the town on land near Williamsport owned by a man named John Roop. Hazelton was named after Hazel, John Roop's daughter.
Although no longer in existence, Winona was the oldest town created in Emmons County. Winona was established in 1874 with the name "Devil's Colony". The town was built to serve the soldiers at Fort Yates as well as the few farmers in the area. During the 1880s it was the largest town between Bismarck, North Dakota and Pierre, South Dakota. The first school in the county was built there in 1884 and the county's first newspaper was published there in 1885. By 1894, the population of the town peaked at over 200. However, the creation of Linton spelled the beginning of the end for Winona and it was gone by the early 1900s.
The town of Williamsport was established in 1883 by a group of people from Ashland, Ohio and was the first county seat of government. The creation of Linton and Hazelton drained the population from Williamsport and it was subsequently abandoned in 1903.
Other towns no longer in existence include Emmonsburg which was located west of Linton, in Beaver Bay, on the Missouri River. It was established in 1888 and abandoned in 1912. Glencoe was also established in 1883 in the northwest corner of the county, but it was abandoned in 1930. Winchester was established in 1884 along Beaver Creek west of Linton, but was completely abandoned by 1909. Westfield was established in 1888 in the center of the Dutch colony. It was named for Westfield, Iowa but was never incorporated. Godkin was established in 1902, six miles north of Linton. Its name was later changed to Temvik, combining the last names of early settlers - the Tempel brothers and Ed Larvik. By 1925 its population peaked to over 200, but the effects of the 1930s Great Depression and being bypassed by the construction of U.S. Highway 83 led to its downfall. Its post office was abandoned in 1968. The final town of note is Kintyre. Settled by Swedes and Norwegians in the 1880s; it was established in 1908 and subsequently abandoned.
Adjacent Counties
Burleigh County (north)
Kidder County (northeast)
Logan County (east)
McIntosh County (southeast)
Campbell County, South Dakota (south)
Sioux County (west)
Morton County (northwest)
