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A great portion of this Towner information is resourced in MCHENRY COUNTY, Its History and Its People, 1885-1985, also North Dakota Place Names by Douglas Wick and Origins of North Dakota Place Names by Mary Ann Barnes Williams.
 Towner was founded in 1886 in the Southeast Quarter of Section 10 and the West 1/2 of Section 11 of Township 156, Range 76 [Newport Township] and named for Colonel Oscar Minor Towner (1842-1897), a Confederate veteran of the Civil War who played major roles in the development of Grand Forks and McHenry counties. Towner County is also named in his honor. The post office was established 11 December 1886 with Robert McComb as Postmaster. Towner replaced Scriptown as county seat in 1886, incorporated as a village in 1892, and became a city in 1904. The elevation is 1490, the Zip Code is 58788, and a peak population of 955 was reached in 1950. It bills itself as the "Cattle Capital of North Dakota". In 2018 the population was 535.
From the McHenry County History: "Towner came into being in 1886, the year the Great Northern Railroad reached this
territory. Before that time Newport was the local civic center, about four miles  southwest of what is now Towner. The town got its name from Oscar M. Towner, one of the earliest ranchers in this country who owned the ranch property now owned by Lyle Lunday.
Realizing the possibilities of a town here the firm of S. G. Comstock and A. A. White known as the Northwest Land Company came into early possession of the townsite. They had the town surveyed and platted in August 1886, and that plat was filed in the office of register of deeds, George T. Inkster in May 1887.
There was no local government in Towner until 1892. Nevertheless the town sprang up in the meantime, with three stores established, and a few other buildings erected for use as a courthouse, hotel and livery stable. H. H. Thompson was one of the early store keepers.
According to a record preserved in the city hall safe, the town of Towner was incorporated May 4,1892. The incorporation was brought about by a petition dated March 2, 1892 to the county commissioners. The petition was signed by thirty-six citizens. In the first census taken in 1892 there were forty heads of families recorded and the total population was 152. Approval of the petition for Incorporation of the town as the village of Towner came at the meeting of the county commissioners held April 4, 1892 and they set a date for an election to decide definitely on incorporation. The election date was fixed at April 16, 1892. The outcome of the election for incorporation was 30 in favor and 2 against.
Thereafter in May 3, 1892 a village election was held for the purpose of electing three trustees, one clerk, one marshall, one assessor, one treasurer and one justice of the peace. Elected trustees were Ed. L Conkling, Henry Erickson and S. H. Thompson.
At 8:00 p.m. May 4, 1892 the trustees of the village of Towner met and officially declared the town incorporated. S. H. Thompson was elected president of the board of trustees. The new officers took oath of office at a meeting of the trustees on May 9,1892.
Towner remained incorporated as a village until 1904 when the town had gained such size that its citizens declared
themselves in favor of incorporating the town as a city. The record shows a special meeting of the village council was held May 2, 1904 for the purpose of canvassing the vote for or against the incorporation of the village of Towner as a city. Those present were H. Bagley, chairman and Geo. F. Grogan. The canvass showed that the vote was 55 to nothing for incorporation as a city.
Since that time Towner has continued as a city but instead of the mayor and council form of government there is now the commission form.
Some Early Day Businesses
Mrs. Frisby built a one story frame building and ran a hotel in it. She operated the hotel for a few years, then rented it to a man named Knight who ran it about a year. Mrs. Fisby then sold the hotel to Gus Suke who operated it for several years.
In 1887 Perrin built a store building on Lot 2, Block 3 and ran a hardware store there for about a year, then sold it to John Garner who operated it for several years. Hobe Thompson who was a section foreman on the railraod, built a frame buildng on Lot 19 and ran a restaurant there. Andrew Gilbertson went into the banking business in a one story frame building he built on Lot 5 of that block in about 1888 and continued as a banker until 1927 when he paid off his depositors and closed the bank.
Sevren Ege built a frame blacksmith shop on Lot 18, Block 4 which he operated for about two years and then turned the shop over to his brother, John. He built another building next door on Lot 17 and put in a general mercantile store where he continued as a general merchant for several years.
In 1887 Alan Mitchell who was county
auditor for many terms, built a home in Block 12, Lot 6. In those days there were not many homes built on the original townsite because they had to go about ninety feet for water, while north of the railroad good water was obtained at about eight feet, so there was several additions added to Towner before the original townsite was built up much.
Helge Paulson built a two story frame building on Lot 24, Block 9 he ran a store for many years, living on the upper floor. Steen Paulson built next door on Lot 23 where he ran a general store for about ten years. Col. Ely and Marion Harris built a livery stable on Lots 21 and 22 of that block which they operated for about four years.
Robert Fox and Robert Gorman built a frame building on Lot 3, Block 10 and ran a saloon until the state went dry. That year Andrew Gilbertson built a two story building on Lot 1. The first floor was a general store and the second floor was a rooming house. Mr. Gilbertson later went into the land and banking business and was very successful in each. A man named Sollard came from Minot and built a brick building on Lot 12 and opened up a bank but he only stayed about a year. And Jeame and Erickson built a one story frame building on Lots 10 and 11 where they operated a general store and meat market.
In 1888 the Thompson brothers, Hagen and Lewis, built a one story frame building and ran a general store for several years. Lewis died and Hagen went into the banking business and also became an extensive land owner.
Click on pictures for larger views.
The pictures were provided to the Centennial by Corebelle Brown and John Burns.
Towner Early Pioneer Postmasters
Towner Zion Lutheran Church
Time to Try Towner
"The Cattle Capital"
1965 Towner Association of Commerce
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This book was downloaded from Digital Horizons, Life on the Northern Plains
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