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1916 Killdeer Map Township 145 Range 95 Map Township 147 Range 96 Map |
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Thought by some that Kildeer and Killdeer are the same, but spelled differently, they are confirmed in history records to be two different places although physically in the same area. Kildeer was a post office which was established on 8 February 1911 with Ida Tift as Postmaster on the homestead of Ida and her husband Isaac. Specifically it was located in Township 147, Range 96, Section 24, Southeast Quarter. Living with them were Ida's children from a previous marriage to William O'Neil. Ida is buried in Aitkin County, Minnesota; as is Isaac. This Kildeer is eleven miles northwest of present day Killdeer. The post office closed 31 October 1911 with mail to Oakdale.
Both names were for the nearby Killdeer Mountains, the scene of a famous Indian battle in 1864. Geologist Dr. John Bluemle explains the Killdeer Mountains are actually two large, flat-topped buttes; covering an area of 115 square miles and rise from 700 to 1,000 feet above the surrounding plains and that the entire elevated Killdeer Mountain region is about nine miles long and six miles wide with the highest elevation in the area is 3,314 feet (192 feet lower than the highest point in North Dakota (White Butte; Slope County badlands)). The Sioux called the place Tah-kah-o-kuty, or place where they kill the deer. Others say the name came from the Killdeer bird. The city of Killdeer was founded in 1914 in the Northwest Quarter of Section 23 in Township 145 Range 95. It was the terminus of the Northern Pacific Railroad branch line built northwest from Mandan. A post office was established later on 7 April 1915 with Mrs. George (Grace) Norred as Postmaster. It incorporated as a village in 1915 with J. F. "Jack" Whetstone as President of the Village Board. The townsite attracted many settlers from nearby Manning and Oakdale, and was called "The Fawn City. It has grown recently as primarily a result of the oil industry. 1916 Video of Killdeer Area Rural and town shots, i.e., cattle herded into town then Northern Pacific rail cars. Created by Frithjof Holmboe in 1916 Downloaded from Digital Horizons, Life on the Northern Plains Visit them for images of North Dakota history. MP4 Version - 1916 Video of Killdeer Area AVI Version - 1916 Video of Killdeer Area Killdeer Mountain Roundup  Contemporary Killdeer Killdeer Website Killdeer Facebook Page Killdeer Cemetery Website Killdeer Cemetery - This Website |