Origins of North Dakota place names

• Format: Text
• Language: unknown
• Published: North Dakota State Library 2014
• Subjects: Indian; McGrath; Pacific; Stanton; Beaver Creek
• Online Access: http://cdm16921.contentdm.oclc.org/cdm/ref/collection/ndsl-books/id/16693

OLD STANTON: A thriving town with a fine landing on the Missouri at the mouth of the Big Knife River. Old Stanton grew up on land that Thos. McGrath homesteaded in 1882. In the same year his brother, James, was appointed postmaster and next year Thomas McGrath laid out the town. With the coming of the railroad it became a ghost town. In 1898 it was abandoned for the present site of Stanton. (11, p. 195) PICK CITY: Established in 1947 on the west bank of the Missouri River to accommodate the Garrison Dam workers. Named for Gen. Lewis A. Pick, Chief of the Army Engineers and co-author of the Pick-Sloan, plan for Missouri River development. (12, 6/10/53; 61, 3/27/47) REPUBLIC: A Northern Pacific Railroad spur, two miles east of Zap to the Zap Collieries; constructed in 1922. Named for the Republic Coal Co. of Minneapolis, Minn., owners of the mine here. (73) REE: In 1909, The Expansion Lumber & Merc. Co., established a bTanch lumber yard on the NWI/i, Sec. 4-147-88 of the Fort Berthold Indian Reservation, the site once was an Arikara Indian village. A post office named STOELTINGTON for Benjamin Stoeltington, the local lumber yard manager, was established Dec. 2, 1908 with C. B. Heinemeyer, postmaster. An elevator and store were soon erected. Th post office name was changed to Ree on Aug. 27, 1909 with Henry G. Klindsworth, postmaster. Ree is short for Arikara. With the coming of the N.P.R.R. into the region south of it, Ree was abandoned. The post office was discontinued Oct. 15, 1929 and mail sent to Beulah. The Beaver Creek Store known locally as Ree, on the 1935 map of the reservation indicates it was then in SW*4 Sec. 5-146-88, about one and one-half miles from the site of the old town, inundated now by the Garrison Dam. (8, p. 47; 19, vol. 22, no. 1 & 2, p. 39; 80) RONDA: An inland post office established May 27, 1907 with John Kaufmann, postmaster; discontinued Sept. 15, 1913 and mail sent to Bowish. Origin of name not known. (80) SLATON: A post office established Jan. 29, 1885 in the home of the postmaster, James B. Slaton; discontinued April 14, 1891 and mail sent to Causey. (80) SOFIA: A rural post office established Jan. 25, 1906 with David D. Mitchell, postmaster; discontinued Dec. 10, 1913 and mail sent to Goldenvalley. Origin of name not known. (80) STANTON: Lewis and Clark found a Mandan Indian village on this site in Oct., 1804 with the name Mah-har-ha. On the first bench over- 192 Scanned with a Zeutschel Zeta book scanner at 300 dpi. Edited with Multi-Page TIFF Editor.