County History in Brief

Riviere aux Roseau the French traders named it - our Roseau River. 

The first white men to enter the region we now know as Minnesota were Raddison and Groseilliers who were the first to leave an account of their travels. They established facts about the Northwest previously unknown - that Indians lived here with a vastly different culture from their own, that the Northwest could begin a whole new business enterprise in fur trapping, and that the Natives need spiritual help of the Jesuits.

The prime furs they returned with from their first journey in 1648 was confiscated by the governor of New France. Unable to secure a license to return to the west, they defected to the British with whom they helped form the great Hudson's Bay Company in 1690.

Belgian priest, Father Louis Hennepin, traveling with explorer La Salle in 1680, left the main party at the confluence of the Wisconsin and Mississippi Rivers. He traveled north with two companions. A band of Sioux Indians captured him and took him to their main camp at Mills Lacs Lake. Daniel Greysolon, Sieur de Luth, happened to be trading in the area and hastened to Mille Lacs Lake.  He rescued Father Hennepin, and safely returned him to Montreal.

French control of the fur trade ended in the last half of the eighteenth century. Zebulon Pike declared in 1805 that they area was under jurisdiction of the United States under the Treaty of Paris of 1783. The American Fur Company under John Jacob Astor had taken over forty posts on the U. S. side of the boundary. However, the golden years of the fur trade were on the wane by 1850.

Following set-up of the fur posts, Roseau county history becomes sparse.

An English surveyor, David Thompson, came to the Northwest at the age of sixteen. He did more to make locations known through his maps, while he also trapped and traded furs. He walked from Grand Portage of the Missouri River, a total of 4,000 miles, in ten months locating posts for the North West Fur Company. The Indian who guided him was Koo-Koo Sint, the star man.

The U. S. gained vast amounts of land to the east and west of the Mississippi with the tr eaties ending the American Revolution and the 1803 Louisiana Purchase 1803.

The earliest deed in the region was drawn up in long hand long before Roseau County existed. It was a deed to L. Riel after the treaty made with the Pembina and Red Lake Bands of Indians and indicated that it was to half-breeds. The land was in Township 164 N 1/2 of the NW quarter, NW quarter of SW quarter of Section 34, at Old Cross River and consisted of 160 acres.

Martin Braaten of Ross was the first to file a claim in what is now Roseau County. There were a number of squatters in the area at the time Mr. Braaten entered O. B. Ekman's land office on June 16th, 1890 to file his claim for NW of section 35, 163- 41 in the town of Sieter. John Krog filed the same day.

In 1885 there were just four settlers in Roseau; ten years later sat a community of 600 people with twenty-five businesses. People drifted in despite having to deal with bull flies and mosquitoes, swamps, and undergrowth, severe winters and short summers, unbroken land and little means of communication.

Seward Wood and Jake Nelson built a shanty in the village of Roseau. On November 1, 1885, Wood became the first actual settler in Roseau Valley and from that time on Pelcher's Cross was known as Wood's place. However, a8s the settlers came in greater numbers and civilization pressed in on him, Mr. Wood left, never to be heard from again.

Two women in 1886 came to the Valley. Mrs. James Nelson, remarried Mr. Charles Meyers of Roseau, and Miss Kathie Nelson, married to Mrs William Warner of Roseau were the first white women to visit the Roseau Valley. In 1887 J. W. Durham brought his wife and family into Roseau, and his daughter who later became Mrs. Art Linder was reported to have been the first white baby to come into the county.

Mr. and Mrs. William Warner and daughter Mabel. Kate was the sister of Jake and James Nelson. The Warners were among the first pioneers. Mabel is Mrs. Elmer Skogen.

Some "firsts" were established in Roseau County prior to its actual organization in 1894:

The first murder in Roseau Valley was Israel Rhyder in November, 1887.

The first mail was carried in 1888 by John Erickson who had a saloon in Roseau and then moved to Fox where he had a store and a post office. Erickson went to Hallock, first one a week and later twice a week by horseback or team to bring the mail. Sutton's store which was also the post office of the region, and Mr. Sutton as the first post master of Jadis (Roseau) initiated the postal system in the county. This store was a half mile north of the present townsite of Roseau. The second post office was Badger, established December 28, 1889 with Elias Irish as post master. It was located at the former I. L. Iverson place. This is the oldest post office in the county which retains its original name.

The first white baby born in what is now Roseau County was Esther Danielson, who became Mrs. Richard Goldener of Conrad. She was born July 11, 1888.

The first wedding in the county took place in December 1889 when Simon Johnson and Ida Nelson were married.

In 1887 the first hotel appeared, called the Half Way House. The proprietor Roswell Waterman, a relative of the late Hube Dieter, built it on the river bank one half mile from the present village of Roseau. The officials for the first court session had accommodations there, and although it was termed primitive as were the buildings of the day, it was commended in an an account for cleanliness and the host for his hospitality.

The first saw mill was established in the county by John and Lewis Norquist and Louis Haglund in the year 1888.

With regard to church activities, most of the services were generally conducted in the homes of the settlers usually drawing large crowds. The first church was built in 1891 (this was not a church in the true sense, but a barn.) It was located one and one-half miles east of the present site of Roseau on the Nils E. Nelson farm. The church was free to all denominations and earned for its founder the lofty title of "Church Nelson." Later this 'church' became too small. Also, language caused a split between the Swedes and Norwegians. A church was built in town. As nearly as can be determined Rev. Askeland was the first ordained resident minister. He had charge of the Lutherans, both the Swedes and the Norwegians.

The first building built exclusively for a church was in Pinecreek in 1894.

The first dance was held at the claim house of John Norquist.

The first country school was the Gust Johnson school built two miles north of Roseau where Mike Holm, Albert Kvee and Mr. Tornquist attended.

Mr. Durham was the teacher in 1890 when he had a class of adults who gathered at the school to learn the English language. In 1893 the position of teacher was taken over by Gustav Erickson. Roseau was still part of Kittson County at the time.

The first court house building was where the Helgeson Mortuary is now located. It was housed there for a very short period of time, moving soon to the building across the street to the west which later became the Webster Hotel and the Budd Hospital. As the Webster Hotel it was the stopping place for the famous stage coach.

The stagecoach was the main mode of transportation during the early years of Roseau County. Running at first from Hallock to Jadis (Roseau), travelers would go in stages from Hallock to Pelan where they would stay the night at the Halfway House. The next day the stagecoach traveled from Pelan to Roseau, stopping in Greenbush and Badger. Later the stage made the run from Stephen to Roseau. The cost of this trip, including the stay at the hotel and meals, was five dollars.

The first legal organization established a voting precinct in 1888 which had headquarters in the Sutton store one half mile north of Main street in Roseau. There were 55 votes polled, all Republican except those of Martin Dieter, Roswell Waterman and J. W. Durham.

The county was surveyed in 1888.  The first township, established in the year 1890, was called Jadis (after the kindly benefactor from Kittson County who assisted settlers to get their citizenship papers). The first officers of the town of Jadis were W. H. Book, J. W. Durham, Iver Torfin, John Terfin, and Amos Ritchey.

Other commercial ventures were now begun in earnest in the general area. After the Sutton store a few more mercantiles were established. Charley Steele and Andrew Danielson opened a store on what became the Dynes farm (the present Allan Magnussen farm). Also a brick making factory was started at this site. Sutton's store served not only as a trading post, but also as the first jail, a council room, post office and carpenter shop.

Following Rhyder's death, F. W. Kraftha of Thief River Falls came to Nelson Park and arranged for the use of the Nelson house at the Rosou Lake Indian Village for a store. During the winter he hired C. P. Warner to do the freighting between Thief River Falls and the Village. He sent Alfred Drechenfeldt (alias Henry Buck) and Willie Cook to operate the store. Willie Cook had the advantage of being able to speak the Chippewa language. Drechenfeldt or Buck as he then called himself, was a younger son of one of the families of the nobility of Russia. To break up a courtship between a servant and him, his father sent him to America.

In the spring the store was discontinued; Willie Cook returned to Thief River Falls; Buck remained in the Roseau Valley for some time and then disappeared. No one knew when he went or how. Some of the settlers had suspicions of foul play concerning his disappearance.

Again the Sutton store scored a first since it also became the first newspaper office. The first paper published in Roseau County was the Roseau Region which started its publication on Tuesday, August 23, 1893 with Volume one, Number one. The editor was Andrew J. Clark. R. J. Bell started publishing the Roseau County Times in July 1895, and A. M. Pearson started The Roseau County Press in Malung in the year of 1905.

J. H. Sanders and Rudolph Jacklin platted the first village in 1892. The first building was on the river bank where the former Methodist church stood.

Mrs. Jacob Sonsteng was the first settler in Roseau County to die of natural causes. She passed away in October of 1888. Mrs. Sonsteng had come from Bachelor's Grove near Niagra, North Dakota, and had forded the Roseau River with all her belongings to settle with her husband in Roseau.

Bendix Holdahl was the first person to be buried in the newly acquired Hope Cemetery a few years after Mrs. Sonsteng died.

Roseau County was created from Kittson County, with a later addition from Beltrami County. The name Roseau County became official after the division of Kittson County. On December 31, 1894 Governor Knute Nelson made the proclamation that the eastern part of Kittson County, consisting of thirty townships would become a new county, which was to be called Roseau County.

The eastern boundary at that time was actually Golden Valley, Mickinock, Malung, Spruce and Spruce Valley townships. The area lying east of this boundary was unorganized territory and a part of Beltrami County. Leaders in the new county had visions of including the Lake of the Woods area and took steps to have it annexed to Roseau County. By petition to Governor David Clough this annexation was completed on February 11, 1896, when the Governor issued the proclamation detaching fifteen townships, equal to 600 square miles and adding them to Roseau County.

In 1894 the tax roll listed 228 names of settlers scattered throughout the area.  In January, 1895, the government of the county was established. County Commissioners were Charles Hedlund, Lars Haglund, Syver Bertilrud, A. O. Skagen, and Hans Erikson. County Officers were: C. A. Moody, Auditor; A. G. Lokken, Treasurer; T. S. Nomeland, Register of Deeds; R. J. Bell, County Attorney; L. P. Dahlquist, County Superintendent; O. B. Ekman, Judge of Probate; J. C. Strom, County Commissioner; W. H. Book, Surveyor; I. Sjobery, Coroner; and I. Torfin, Clerk of Court.

County Officers in 1897-1898 were: A. O. Skagen, Hans Erickson, Jacob Johnson, Lars Haglund, T. E. Haug, O. B. Ekman, Iver Torfin, A. Waag,, A. Lokken, J. W. Durham, R. J. Bell, and L. P. Dahlquist.

In 1903 County Board members were: John C. Spencer, Martin Nelson, Fred Andol, Louis Enstrom, Sivert Bertilrud, and Fred Hanson.

Telephone communications began in the county in 1903 when Stokes and Nereson townships erected their own line to the Garland post office and then south. C. A. Pearson in Malung provided a telephone line for Malung with the central being in the Miller confectionary store.

The first fire department was organized in Roseau in 1903, and in Warroad in 1906. The system was a volunteer program as it remains today. The first firemen in Roseau were J. J. Ross, Archie Alley, Nick Hagen, C. W. Bell, Paul Buran, Henry Carr, John Howe, John Halvorson, Robert Ross and Mike Holm. In all the villages the first effort to combat fire was mostly the buck brigade operation and depended heavily on water from the rivers or lakes, which in the winter time posed many problems. Greenbush erected its tower and take in 1905 and bought 800 feet of hose the next year for fire protection.