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A brief description of many Emmons County settlements and links to larger and/or currently active places. It attempts to chronicle 69 known settlements in the county. A large percentage are rural post offices; a few had their own buildings, many were housed in country stores, most were located in the home of the postmasters, but a precious few continued to thrive and grow. Many of the below descriptions are from North Dakota Place Names by Douglas Wick and Origins of North Dakota Place Names by Mary Ann Barnes Williams but the information is not limited to those publications. Pictures of Small North Dakota Towns has contemporary pictures of these Emmons County Towns: Grassner, Hague, Hazelton, Hazen, Hope, Hull, and Kintyre. TOWNS F-K You Are Here TOWNS L-Z Fremont - Freemont. This was a farm post office established February 3, 1906 with Willie C. Noble as Postmaster. It was located in Section 2-133-74, fourteen miles east of Temvik. The origin of the name is unknown, although it probably traces to John Charles Fremont (1813-1890), the famous soldier, explorer, and politician who was the first Republican candidate for President in 1856. The order for the FREMONT post office was rescinded September 6, 1906
Gayton - Gayton Landing. A rural community about twenty miles NW of Linton and just east of the Missouri River port of Gayton Landing. Both were named for James Bennett Gayton (1833-1909), who came here from Ohio in 1868, and was the first white settler in the country. He was a county commissioner and a delegate to the ND Constitutional Convention in 1889. The PO was established August 2, 1881 with John L Kennedy PM.
A stage line from Bismarck to Winona was begun by a rancher, Peter Shier (1856-1925). His Dinner Ranch was the midway stopping point on the line. A population of 15 was reported in 1890, the site included a school, post office, stage station, and ferry service to Cannon Ball. The post office was closed November 15, 1915. The site is now under Lake Oahe.
Glanavon (Glennavon). This was a rural post office established January 17, 1903 with Martha Whitney as Postmaster on the ranch owned by her husband, Ben W. Whitney. It was located in the northwest quarter of section 28-129-78, one mile north of the South Dakota border on the east bank of the Missouri River. The name is of Scottish origin, but its meaning is unknown. The post office closed November 2, 1907 with mail to Winona.
Glencoe. This was a rural community named by pioneer settlers for Glencoe, Argyllshire, Scotland. It was located primarily in Section 6-136-78 and Sections 1 & 12-136-79 in Emmons County, although the well known and still existing Glencoe Church is just north of the main settlement in the southeast quarter of section 32-137-78, Telfer Township in Burleigh County. [Note: Glencoe Cemetery. The post office was established May 2, 1883 with Cyrus M. Robinson as Postmaster, and it moved several times within the community until closing November 29, 1930 with mail to Bismarck. A population of 18 was reported in 1890. The site once boasted of a store, dance hall, hotel, school, and church, but the settlement is now largely abandoned.
Godkin. What became TEMVIK was first called GODKIN, which according to folklore resulted from a 1904 conversation between either two local settlers, or two railroad crewmen. One is said to have asked, "Who could possibly see much of a future at this desolate location?", and the other answered in broken English, "God kin." When the post office was established the following year, it was called BROFY. The rival townsites of LARVIK and TEMPELTON began here, with a merger in 1911 as TEMVIK.
Grassna. See Grassna History
Hague. See Hague History
Hampton. This was a rural post office established October 4, 1888 with Mills Beach [Beech] as Postmaster. It was located in the northeast quarter of section 6-133-78, thirteen miles west of Temvik on the east bank of the Missouri River, and named for Hampton, Iowa, which was named for Hampton Roads, Virginia, which was named for the Earl of Southampton. In 1893 the post office moved one mile northeast to the home of new Postmaster Hiram Fuller in the southwest quarter of section 32-134-78. It closed August 15, 1906, being replaced on that date by the Hartford post office.
Hartford. This was a rural post office established August 15, 1906 with Ellen Chamley as Postmaster. It was located in Section 32-134-78, twelve miles west of Temvik, and adjacent to the old Hampton post office which it replaced on this date. The new name was coined from J. H. Hart who unsuccessfully tried to promote a townsite here, and "ford", apparently to note its location on the east bank of the Missouri River. The HARTFORD name was adopted because of confusion with Hampden in Ramsey County. The post office closed December 31, 1918 with mail to Livona. Daniel C. Monford was appointed as Postmaster on July 3, 1919 in an attempt to reestablish this office, but the order was quickly rescinded. Hazelton. See Hazelton History Page Hazen. This place is shown on a circa 1905 state map as a station on the Milwaukee Road Railroad, at or very near the site of Hague. There is nothing to indicate that this was a prior name for Hague, and HAZEN is probably a cartographer's error. Hebbard. This place appears on several pre-1900 maps in Section 14-136-76, about eight miles northeast of Hazelton. It is thought to have been a planned townsite on either the Northern Pacific Railroad or Soo Line Railroad, but the site was bypassed and failed to develop. No one of this name ever resided in the area, indicating that it was probably named for a railroad official. Hoe. This was a farm post office established April 30, 1907 with Orson Ott as Postmaster, although his wife Verna usually performed the duties. It was located in the Ott's sod house in the southwest quarter of section 18-134-77, eight miles southwest of Hazelton, and Allie Linderman was the mail carrier. It was discontinued December 31, 1907 with mail to Hazelton. Some historians believe that it was never in operation, yet the Emmons County Record of January 9, 1908 mentions its discontinuance, which would seem to indicate that it had been in operation. Folklore says that the name was chosen after local settlers were unable to agree on a name, and agreed to name it for the common gardening tool as a compromise.
Hull. This rural community was started about 1887 by Dutch settlers from Hull, Iowa. It is located in the northwest quarter of section 6-129-75, Elzas Township and southwest quarter of section 31-130-75, about seven miles west of Hague. The post office, in Section 6-129-75, was established December 18, 1888 with George Pekelder as Postmaster, and it closed June 13, 1892 with mail to Westfield. [Editor Note: From the U.S., Appointments of U. S. Postmasters, 1832-1971, John Pekelder was appointed Postmaster for Hull on 7 February 1889.] It reopened July 12, 1892 with Peter G. Rooks as Postmaster, and closed June 30, 1954 with mail to Hague. Its population has generally been about 40 throughout its existence. Kertzman. This post office was first authorized as KERTZMAN on March 6, 1919 with Gail Wade as Postmaster, but she declined the appointment. John S. Schott was named as Postmaster on July 3, 1919, but the name was entered as KERTZMAN. It was located in the northeast quarter of section 28-136-76, two miles south of the Dana siding, and closed June 15, 1922 with mail to Hazelton. It is thought that the name was intended to honor the Kurtz family of this area, but the apparent error coincides with the family name of John C. Kertzman (1893-1967), who came here in 1911, served on the Dana school board, and in 1937 was named "North Dakota Corn King". Many local sources insist that this post office was named for him, although when it was established Mr. Kertzman was a young, virtually unknown farmer in the area. Kintyre. See Kintyre History
Kuntz.
A rural community seventeen miles East North East of Linton was founded in 1914 when plans were made to erect a rural Roman Catholic Church, and during the 1920's several country stores operated at this site. The church was named St. Michael's and the community is often called by this name. Tthe more commonly used name of Kuntz honors pioneer merchants Leo and Christian Kuntz.
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