Sheyenne is a city in Eddy 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. The population was 186 at the 2020 census. Sheyenne was founded in 1883. Located in the city are a U.S. post office, a senior citizens' center, and a fire department. A community center and the Log Cabin Museum are located on Main Street (

U.S. Route 281 U.S. Route 281 (US 281) is a north–south United States Numbered Highway. At it is the longest continuous three-digit U.S. Route. The highway's northern terminus is at the International Peace Garden, north of Dunseith, North Dakota, at t ...

). Businesses in the city include a farm implements dealer, a gas station, a hair salon, a taxidermy shop, Open Season Lodge & Event Center, and a bar. On the east end of town there is a park with campsites located on Warsing Dam. Sheyenne is also home to two

Lutheran Lutheranism is one of the largest branches of Protestantism, identifying primarily with the theology of Martin Luther, the 16th-century German monk and Protestant Reformers, reformer whose efforts to reform the theology and practice of the Cathol ...

churches: Grace Lutheran and First Lutheran.

Geography

According to the

United States Census Bureau The United States Census Bureau (USCB), officially the Bureau of the Census, is a principal agency of the U.S. Federal Statistical System, responsible for producing data about the American people and economy. The Census Bureau is part of t ...

, the city has a total area of , all land.

History

The name "Sheyenne" is derived from the nearby

Sheyenne River The Sheyenne River is one of the major tributaries of the Red River of the North, meandering U.S. Geological Survey. National Hydrography Dataset high-resolution flowline dataThe National Map accessed June 8, 2011 across eastern North Dakota, Uni ...

which was named after the

Cheyenne The Cheyenne ( ) are an Indigenous people of the Great Plains. Their Cheyenne language belongs to the Algonquian language family. Today, the Cheyenne people are split into two federally recognized nations: the Southern Cheyenne, who are enr ...

Indians. The first explorers in the area misspelled the name, thus changing the "C" to an "S". Herds of bison once roamed the prairies near the town of Sheyenne. The Sioux tribe were the final Native American tribe to move towards the area. The first white settlers came via the

Northern Pacific Northern Pacific may refer to: * Northern Pacific Airways, an upcoming airline * Northern Pacific Field Hockey Conference, an NCAA Division I conference * Northern Pacific Hockey League, an American Tier III junior ice hockey league * Northern Pac ...

Railroad Company. The earliest mention of the settlement came through the Grand Forks, North Dakota-based paper, ''Normadden''. The

Norwegian language Norwegian ( no, norsk, links=no ) is a North Germanic language spoken mainly in Norway, where it is an official language. Along with Swedish and Danish, Norwegian forms a dialect continuum of more or less mutually intelligible local and regio ...

paper mentioned the building of the section house in 1885 and the setting up of six tents in order to establish a townsite and a depot. The main track was laid on November 28, 1884. The railroad began operation to Sheyenne on August 6, 1885. The main townsite of Sheyenne was obtained by Clarence E. Bennett in 1885, but later came under the jurisdiction of J. W. Richter, who dedicated the townsite in 1892. The first crops grown in the area were common

vegetables Vegetables are parts of plants that are consumed by humans or other animals as food. The original meaning is still commonly used and is applied to plants collectively to refer to all edible plant matter, including the flowers, fruits, stems ...

and as much

wheat Wheat is a grass widely cultivated for its seed, a cereal grain that is a worldwide staple food. The many species of wheat together make up the genus ''Triticum'' ; the most widely grown is common wheat (''T. aestivum''). The archaeologi ...

that the land could take. The main source of meat was hunting on the abundant plains, and the other source was in the

. People streamed into the community from all parts of the United States and

Europe Europe is a large peninsula conventionally considered a continent in its own right because of its great physical size and the weight of its history and traditions. Europe is also considered a subcontinent of Eurasia and it is located entirel ...

. Most European settlers came from

Scandinavia Scandinavia; Sámi languages: /. ( ) is a subregion in Northern Europe, with strong historical, cultural, and linguistic ties between its constituent peoples. In English usage, ''Scandinavia'' most commonly refers to Denmark, Norway, and Swe ...

and

Germany Germany,, officially the Federal Republic of Germany, is a country in Central Europe. It is the second most populous country in Europe after Russia, and the most populous member state of the European Union. Germany is situated betwe ...

. Businesses flourished off railroad workers and farmers.

Fire of 1894

On December 7, 1894 at approximately 4:30 A.M., a fire began in the George Williams Livery Barn and spread to other businesses on Main Street. Williams' billiard room and soft drink shop were the next to be consumed. The blaze then spread to the Westerlund Hotel and the Hugh Peoples General Store. The post office also caught fire, but N.U. Hanson saved all the mail that was on-hand. The fire was determined to be incendiary in origin. George Williams closed his stables at 2:00 A.M. and locked the door. When firemen arrived at the scene, they realized that the door was open, and later it was determined that the fire began in the unused box stall. In the wake of the disaster, the merchants rebuilt and continued serving the Sheyenne area. Sheyenne was home to C.G. Hayes, a farmer by trade who lived South of the townsite. Hayes became a soldier and was stationed at Fort Totten. He became a scout during the

Indian Wars The American Indian Wars, also known as the American Frontier Wars, and the Indian Wars, were fought by European governments and colonists in North America, and later by the United States and Canadian governments and American and Canadian settle ...

in the Northwest. After that, he served under the Seventh Cavalry banner, and was one of the messengers who sent for reinforcements after The

Battle of the Little Bighorn The Battle of the Little Bighorn, known to the Lakota and other Plains Indians as the Battle of the Greasy Grass, and also commonly referred to as Custer's Last Stand, was an armed engagement between combined forces of the Lakota Sioux, Nor ...

. In 1897, Sheyenne began publishing its first newspaper, ''The Sheyenne Star''.

The 1900s

Settlers and immigrants continued to swarm to the area as they came via

boxcar A boxcar is the North American ( AAR) term for a railroad car that is enclosed and generally used to carry freight. The boxcar, while not the simplest freight car design, is considered one of the most versatile since it can carry most ...

and

train In rail transport, a train (from Old French , from Latin , "to pull, to draw") is a series of connected vehicles that run along a railway track and transport people or freight. Trains are typically pulled or pushed by locomotives (often ...

. They also arrived by

cars A car or automobile is a motor vehicle with wheels. Most definitions of ''cars'' say that they run primarily on roads, Car seat, seat one to eight people, have four wheels, and mainly transport private transport#Personal transport, people in ...

and

wagons A wagon or waggon is a heavy four-wheeled vehicle pulled by draught animals or on occasion by humans, used for transporting goods, commodities, agricultural materials, supplies and sometimes people. Wagons are immediately distinguished from ...

. Businesses in Sheyenne included numerous department stores, meat markets, livery stables, a depot, a blacksmith shop operated by Hans Stenberg, Odegaard's Shop, a feed mill, and land companies. Sheyenne had several elevators that stored different local goods. There was a

Ford Ford commonly refers to: * Ford Motor Company, an automobile manufacturer founded by Henry Ford * Ford (crossing), a shallow crossing on a river Ford may also refer to: Ford Motor Company * Henry Ford, founder of the Ford Motor Company * Ford F ...

dealership, numerous service stations, numerous pharmacies, cafes, a hotel, a public bath, and a lumberyard. A cream station, an opera house, and a variety store also existed in Sheyenne at one time. Many banks have come and gone over the brief period of Sheyenne's existence, including the Farmers' State Bank.

Creamery Day Celebration 1913

The opening of the creamery in Sheyenne was the largest event in Sheyenne history in terms of turnout. The event was created to celebrate the opening of Sheyenne's creamery on June 28, 1913. Over 2000 people were present at the event. The festivities began with a parade that covered 22 blocks that included the Fort Totten Indian Band, the

Boy Scouts Boy Scouts may refer to: * Boy Scout, a participant in the Boy Scout Movement. * Scouting, also known as the Boy Scout Movement. * An organisation in the Scouting Movement, although many of these organizations also have female members. There are ...

, and numerous merchants' floats. The parade ended at the creamery, where everyone was served free

ice cream Ice cream is a sweetened frozen food typically eaten as a snack or dessert. It may be made from milk or cream and is flavoured with a sweetener, either sugar or an alternative, and a spice, such as cocoa or vanilla, or with fruit such as ...

and

buttermilk Buttermilk is a fermented dairy drink. Traditionally, it was the liquid left behind after churning butter out of cultured cream. As most modern butter in western countries is not made with cultured cream but uncultured sweet cream, most m ...

. Over 1900 ice cream cones were served. The climax of the day was when Professor G.F. Martin of North Dakota Agricultural College, now

North Dakota State University North Dakota State University (NDSU, formally North Dakota State University of Agriculture and Applied Sciences) is a public land-grant research university in Fargo, North Dakota. It was founded as North Dakota Agricultural College in 1890 as t ...

, spoke about the importance of dairy. A baseball game was then played between Sheyenne and New Rockford, and at 9:00 a grand ball was held at the opera house.

1914–present

The Sheyenne area progressed through

World War I World War I (28 July 1914 11 November 1918), often abbreviated as WWI, was one of the deadliest global conflicts in history. Belligerents included much of Europe, the Russian Empire, the United States, and the Ottoman Empire, with fightin ...

and the

1918 influenza epidemic The 1918–1920 influenza pandemic, commonly known by the misnomer Spanish flu or as the Great Influenza epidemic, was an exceptionally deadly global influenza pandemic caused by the H1N1 influenza A virus. The earliest documented case was ...

. A shock to the area came in the 1930s with the Great Depression, when the main industry of the area,

agriculture Agriculture or farming is the practice of cultivating plants and livestock. Agriculture was the key development in the rise of sedentary human civilization, whereby farming of domesticated species created food surpluses that enabled people t ...

, was threatened severely. Poor crop prices influenced Sheyenne's economy and the

WPA WPA may refer to: Computing *Wi-Fi Protected Access, a wireless encryption standard *Windows Product Activation, in Microsoft software licensing * Wireless Public Alerting (Alert Ready), emergency alerts over LTE in Canada * Windows Performance An ...

was crucial to the life of Sheyenne. It created a park on the south side of Sheyenne that is now owned by the

VFW The Veterans of Foreign Wars (VFW), formally the Veterans of Foreign Wars of the United States, is an organization of US war veterans, who, as military service members fought in wars, campaigns, and expeditions on foreign land, waters, or ...

, it restored the town jail, and its workers built Warsing Dam on the outskirts of the city. In the 1940s numerous residents fought in

World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposing ...

, and the ''Sheyenne Star'' ceased publication. In 1955, the second irrigation experimental farm in North Dakota was planned on the land of Bruce Larson, while a major concern of the late 1950s was the high nitrate condition in the wells of Sheyenne. The problem was solved by the

Northern Pacific Railway Company The Northern Pacific Railway was a transcontinental railroad that operated across the northern tier of the western United States, from Minnesota to the Pacific Northwest. It was approved by Congress in 1864 and given nearly of land grants, whic ...

donating their well to the City of Sheyenne. A major event in the 1960s was the opening of the Tastee-Freez, a fast food and ice cream restaurant, in the building previously occupied by the city's fire department. Community betterment was the highlight of the 1970s in Sheyenne, when projects such as street paving,

tennis Tennis is a racket sport that is played either individually against a single opponent ( singles) or between two teams of two players each ( doubles). Each player uses a tennis racket that is strung with cord to strike a hollow rubber ball ...

courts, townhouses, a museum, and main street revitalization were finished. In 1977 Sheyenne won the North Dakota Community Betterment Award for its work on its projects. Sheyenne celebrated its 125th with a demo-derby, BBQ dinner, parade, school reunion, fireworks, and a children's theater production, put on by the S.T.A.R.S.

Geography

The city of Sheyenne and its vicinity is located in the distinct

Drift Prairie The Drift Prairie is a geographic region of North Dakota and South Dakota. In North Dakota, the Drift Prairie is the transition zone between two zones. The gently rolling hills and shallow lakes were formed by Glaciation, glacial action, while the ...

region of

. The Drift Prairie region is characterized by rolling hills and many sloughs. The main body of water near Sheyenne is the

, but the man-made Warsing Dam is the main source of recreational activity near the city. The area is also in the Devil's Lake Basin region, home to Devil's Lake, the largest natural body of

water Water (chemical formula ) is an Inorganic compound, inorganic, transparent, tasteless, odorless, and Color of water, nearly colorless chemical substance, which is the main constituent of Earth's hydrosphere and the fluids of all known living ...

in the state of

. South of the city lies the

Laurentian Divide The Laurentian Divide also called the Northern Divide and locally the ''height of land'', is a continental divide in central North America that separates the Hudson Bay watershed to the north from the Gulf of Mexico watershed to the south and the ...

, which separates the watersheds of the

Arctic Ocean The Arctic Ocean is the smallest and shallowest of the world's five major oceans. It spans an area of approximately and is known as the coldest of all the oceans. The International Hydrographic Organization (IHO) recognizes it as an ocean, a ...

and the

Atlantic Ocean The Atlantic Ocean is the second-largest of the world's five oceans, with an area of about . It covers approximately 20% of Earth's surface and about 29% of its water surface area. It is known to separate the " Old World" of Africa, Europe ...

. Sheyenne is located at (47.826821, -99.117018).

Climate

Sheyenne experiences an extreme Continental climate. It experiences wide

temperature Temperature is a physical quantity that expresses quantitatively the perceptions of hotness and coldness. Temperature is measurement, measured with a thermometer. Thermometers are calibrated in various Conversion of units of temperature, temp ...

changes and four distinct seasons. Its location in the center of North America and the

Upper Midwest The Upper Midwest is a region in the northern portion of the U.S. Census Bureau's Midwestern United States. It is largely a sub-region of the Midwest. Although the exact boundaries are not uniformly agreed-upon, the region is defined as referring ...

gives it distinctive upper air patterns that vary dramatically from season to season. According to the

, the city has a total area of , all land.

Demographics

2010 census

As of the

census A census is the procedure of systematically acquiring, recording and calculating information about the members of a given population. This term is used mostly in connection with national population and housing censuses; other common censuses in ...

of 2010, there were 204 people, 103 households, and 51 families residing in the city. The

population density Population density (in agriculture: Stock (disambiguation), standing stock or plant density) is a measurement of population per unit land area. It is mostly applied to humans, but sometimes to other living organisms too. It is a key geographical ...

was . There were 147 housing units at an average density of . The racial makeup of the city was 81.4%

White White is the lightest color and is achromatic (having no hue). It is the color of objects such as snow, chalk, and milk, and is the opposite of black. White objects fully reflect and scatter all the visible wavelengths of light. White o ...

, 1.0%

African American African Americans (also referred to as Black Americans and Afro-Americans) are an ethnic group consisting of Americans with partial or total ancestry from sub-Saharan Africa. The term "African American" generally denotes descendants of ens ...

, 14.7% Native American, 0.5% from

other races Other often refers to: * Other (philosophy), a concept in psychology and philosophy Other or The Other may also refer to: Film and television * ''The Other'' (1913 film), a German silent film directed by Max Mack * ''The Other'' (1930 film), a ...

, and 2.5% from two or more races.

Hispanic The term ''Hispanic'' ( es, hispano) refers to people, cultures, or countries related to Spain, the Spanish language, or Hispanidad. The term commonly applies to countries with a cultural and historical link to Spain and to viceroyalties forme ...

Latino Latino or Latinos most often refers to: * Latino (demonym), a term used in the United States for people with cultural ties to Latin America * Hispanic and Latino Americans in the United States * The people or cultures of Latin America; ** Latin A ...

of any race were 1.0% of the population. There were 103 households, of which 11.7% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 37.9% were married couples living together, 7.8% had a female householder with no husband present, 3.9% had a male householder with no wife present, and 50.5% were non-families. 41.7% of all households were made up of individuals, and 21.4% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 1.98 and the average family size was 2.73. The median age in the city was 54.3 years. 12.3% of residents were under the age of 18; 4.9% were between the ages of 18 and 24; 18.1% were from 25 to 44; 40.2% were from 45 to 64; and 24.5% were 65 years of age or older. The gender makeup of the city was 49.5% male and 50.5% female.

2000 census

As of the

of 2000, there were 318 people, 146 households, and 85 families residing in the city. The population density was . There were 187 housing units at an average density of . The racial makeup of the city was 83.96%

, 12.26% Native American, and 3.77% from two or more races. There were 146 households, out of which 26.7% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 50.0% were married couples living together, 6.2% had a female householder with no husband present, and 41.1% were non-families. 39.7% of all households were made up of individuals, and 26.0% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.18 and the average family size was 2.94. In the city, the population was spread out, with 23.9% under the age of 18, 7.2% from 18 to 24, 19.2% from 25 to 44, 25.5% from 45 to 64, and 24.2% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 45 years. For every 100 females, there were 80.7 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 80.6 males. The median income for a household in the city was $22,969, and the median income for a family was $30,938. Males had a median income of $25,972 versus $24,583 for females. The

per capita income Per capita income (PCI) or total income measures the average income earned per person in a given area (city, region, country, etc.) in a specified year. It is calculated by dividing the area's total income by its total population. Per capita i ...

for the city was $16,145. About 10.7% of families and 12.3% of the population were below the

poverty line The poverty threshold, poverty limit, poverty line or breadline is the minimum level of income deemed adequate in a particular country. The poverty line is usually calculated by estimating the total cost of one year's worth of necessities for t ...

, including 20.3% of those under age 18 and 4.5% of those age 65 or over.

Sites of interest

* Log Cabin Museum is a pioneer museum showcasing the history of the Sheyenne area. The building was built in 1867 near

Fort Totten, North Dakota Fort Totten is a census-designated place (CDP) in Benson County, North Dakota, United States. The population was 1,243 at the 2010 census. Fort Totten is located within the Spirit Lake Reservation and is the site of tribal headquarters. The reser ...

. It was brought to Sheyenne as part of a community betterment program in the 1970s and was expanded soon after. The original woodwork can be seen in the cabin today. The Log Cabin Museum contains many historic items from the area such as a barber chair, ''Sheyenne Star'' newspapers, and articles of clothing owned by

John Aasen John Aasen (March 5, 1890 – August 1, 1938) was an American silent film actor and sideshow performer who was one of the tallest actors in history. Early life Aasen was born on March 5, 1890, in Minneapolis, Minnesota. His mother, Kristi (Dan ...

—one of the tallest actors in history. It also shows off many Native American artifacts that were found in the region. There is also a

Japanese Japanese may refer to: * Something from or related to Japan, an island country in East Asia * Japanese language, spoken mainly in Japan * Japanese people, the ethnic group that identifies with Japan through ancestry or culture ** Japanese diaspor ...

rifle from

on display at the museum. * Warsing Dam is a man-made dam on the eastern side of Sheyenne featuring camping and fishing.

Education

Before the first Sheyenne school was built, classes in 1886 were held in a sod house, but soon a wood-frame building was built west of the Sheyenne's railroad tracks. The first school in Sheyenne was moved to Richter Avenue, and when it became too small, it became the office for the Sheyenne Star newspaper. In 1897, a two-story schoolhouse was built, and the first floor could be used for school purposes only, whereas the second floor could be used for meetings and church services. In 1898, school was closed for two weeks due to an outbreak of scarlet fever and measles. In the first months of 1903, many pupils left the Sheyenne school to attend

n Studies in Greenfield Township. In April 1903, school was prohibited due to a

smallpox Smallpox was an infectious disease caused by variola virus (often called smallpox virus) which belongs to the genus Orthopoxvirus. The last naturally occurring case was diagnosed in October 1977, and the World Health Organization (WHO) c ...

outbreak. In 1908, a new school was built on the eastern side of Sheyenne and in 1930, an addition was made to the two-story brick building. In the late 1950s, it was decided to add on once again. While the project was in progress, the Ostby Hall and Grace Lutheran Church were used as overflow classrooms. In 1962, the project was completed. The Sheyenne High School lasted for 99 years until the spring of 2007, when it closed for its pupils. Today, most children living in and around Sheyenne attend school in nearby New Rockford because Sheyenne is part of the New Rockford-Sheyenne Public School.

Notable person

, silent film actor known as the "Norwegian Boy Giant"

References

External links

Sheyenne Community Blog
{{Authority control Cities in Eddy County, North Dakota Cities in North Dakota Populated places established in 1883 1883 establishments in Dakota Territory

Geography

History

Fire of 1894

The 1900s

Creamery Day Celebration 1913

1914–present

Geography

Climate

Demographics

2010 census

2000 census

Sites of interest

Education

Notable person

References

Further reading

External links