Maida (also Seven Lakes) is an

unincorporated community An unincorporated area is a parcel of land that is not governed by a local general-purpose municipal corporation. (At p. 178.) They may be governed or serviced by an encompassing unit (such as a county) or another branch of the state (such as th ...

in northern Cavalier County,

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

, United States. It lies along North Dakota Highway 1, north of the city of

Langdon Langdon may refer to: Places Australia * Langdon, Queensland, a neighbourhood in the Mackay Region Canada * Langdon, Alberta, a hamlet United Kingdom * Langdon, Cornwall, a hamlet * Langdon, Kent, a civil parish * Langdon, Pembrokeshire ...

, the

county seat A county seat is an administrative center, seat of government, or capital city of a county or parish (administrative division), civil parish. The term is in use in five countries: Canada, China, Hungary, Romania, and the United States. An equiva ...

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

port of entry In general, a port of entry (POE) is a place where one may lawfully enter a country. It typically has border control, border security staff and facilities to check passports and visas and to inspect luggage to assure that contraband is not impo ...

between

Canada Canada is a country in North America. Its Provinces and territories of Canada, ten provinces and three territories extend from the Atlantic Ocean to the Pacific Ocean and northward into the Arctic Ocean, making it the world's List of coun ...

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 and historian. Many of his works remain classics of European literature, European and Scottish literature, notably the novels ''Ivanhoe'' (18 ...

*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 letter (message), letters and parcel (package), parcels, providing post office boxes, and selling postage stamps, packaging, and stationery. Post o ...

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