Maida (also Seven Lakes) is an

unincorporated community An unincorporated area is a region that is not governed by a local municipal corporation. Widespread unincorporated communities and areas are a distinguishing feature of the United States and Canada. Most other countries of the world either have ...

in northern

Cavalier County Cavalier County is a county in the U.S. state of North Dakota. It is south of the Canada–US border with Manitoba. As of the 2020 census, the population was 3,704. Its county seat is Langdon. The city of Cavalier is in nearby Pembina County ...

North Dakota North Dakota () is a U.S. state in the Upper Midwest, named after the indigenous Dakota Sioux. North Dakota is bordered by the Canadian provinces of Saskatchewan and Manitoba to the north and by the U.S. states of Minnesota to the east, So ...

, United States. It lies along

North Dakota Highway 1 North Dakota Highway 1 (ND 1) is a major north–south highway in North Dakota. It runs from Manitoba Highway 31 in Maida to South Dakota Highway 37 south of Ludden. It is in length. Route description ND 1 enters North Dakota as a continu ...

, north of the city of Langdon, the

county seat A county seat is an administrative center, seat of government, or capital city of a county or civil parish. The term is in use in Canada, China, Hungary, Romania, Taiwan, and the United States. The equivalent term shire town is used in the US st ...

of Cavalier County. Its elevation is 1,562 feet (476 m). Maida serves as a port of entry between

Canada Canada is a country in North America. Its ten provinces and three territories extend from the Atlantic Ocean to the Pacific Ocean and northward into the Arctic Ocean, covering over , making it the world's second-largest country by tot ...

and the United States. Various possibilities have been suggested for the etymology of the name "Maida": *A book read by Charles Howatt, the first postmaster *Suggested by two Canadian bankers from a dog in a novel by

Sir Walter Scott Sir Walter Scott, 1st Baronet (15 August 1771 – 21 September 1832), was a Scottish novelist, poet, playwright and historian. Many of his works remain classics of European and Scottish literature, notably the novels '' Ivanhoe'', '' Rob Roy' ...

*A clipping of "maiden" name for a haymeadow Maida's

post office A post office is a public facility and a retailer that provides mail services, such as accepting letters and parcels, providing post office boxes, and selling postage stamps, packaging, and stationery. Post offices may offer additional ser ...

was established in September 1884 and became a Rural Branch of Langdon in April 1967; the community still has its own ZIP code of 58255. The Maida post office has closed. Maida was an attraction every Wednesday, Friday, and Saturday night, thanks to Jack's Bar; at times the community of just a handful would turn into hundreds. After 46 years in operation Jack's Bar closed in 2010 to make room for a new border crossing. Now the once booming town sits empty with only two residents.

References

Unincorporated communities in Cavalier County, North Dakota Unincorporated communities in North Dakota Populated places established in 1884 1884 establishments in Dakota Territory {{NorthDakota-geo-stub

See also

References