Walhalla is a city in

Pembina County, North Dakota Pembina County is a county in the U.S. state of North Dakota. As of the 2020 census, the population was 6,844, and was estimated to be 6,588 in 2024, The county seat and the largest city is Cavalier. History For thousands of years, various i ...

, United States. It sits on the banks of the Pembina River, five miles (8 km) from the border with

Manitoba Manitoba is a Provinces and territories of Canada, province of Canada at the Centre of Canada, longitudinal centre of the country. It is Canada's Population of Canada by province and territory, fifth-most populous province, with a population ...

(

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 approximately from the border with

Minnesota Minnesota ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the Upper Midwestern region of the United States. It is bordered by the Canadian provinces of Manitoba and Ontario to the north and east and by the U.S. states of Wisconsin to the east, Iowa to the so ...

. The population was 893 at the 2020 census.

History

Walhalla was established in 1845. The city was originally named St. Joseph (St. Jo) after the local Catholic mission, Walhalla is the second oldest town in North Dakota, its history bound up in the

fur trade The fur trade is a worldwide industry dealing in the acquisition and sale of animal fur. Since the establishment of a world fur market in the early modern period, furs of boreal ecosystem, boreal, polar and cold temperate mammalian animals h ...

of the

Red River Valley The Red River Valley is a region in central North America that is drained by the Red River of the North; it is part of both Canada and the United States. Forming the border between Minnesota and North Dakota when these territories were admitted ...

. One mile northeast of town was the

North West Company The North West Company was a Fur trade in Canada, Canadian fur trading business headquartered in Montreal from 1779 to 1821. It competed with increasing success against the Hudson's Bay Company in the regions that later became Western Canada a ...

fur trading post, established in 1797 by British-Canadian surveyor and cartographer David Thompson (1770–1857), and in 1801 moved to a site one mile east of Walhalla, where a reconstructed building is now located. Also about one mile northeast of Walhalla is the Gingras Trading Post, established in the 1840s by the

Métis The Métis ( , , , ) are a mixed-race Indigenous people whose historical homelands include Canada's three Prairie Provinces extending into parts of Ontario, British Columbia, the Northwest Territories and the northwest United States. They ha ...

legislator and businessman

Antoine Blanc Gingras Antoine is a French given name (from the Latin ''Antonius'' meaning 'highly praise-worthy') that is a variant of Danton, Titouan, D'Anton and Antonin. The name is most common in France, Switzerland, Belgium, Canada, West Greenland, Haiti, French ...

(1821-1877). In town is the Kittson Trading Post, established in 1843 by

Norman Kittson Norman Wolfred Kittson (March 6, 1814 – May 10, 1888) was one of early Minnesota's most prominent citizens. He was a fur trader, then a steamboat-line operator and finally a railway entrepreneur and owner of thoroughbred racehorses. He wa ...

(1814–1888), an

American Fur Company The American Fur Company (AFC) was a prominent American company that sold furs, skins, and buffalo robes. It was founded in 1808 by John Jacob Astor, a German Americans, German immigrant to the United States. During its heyday in the early 19th c ...

agent. This is the oldest building in North Dakota. It is located in the

Walhalla State Historical Park Walhalla is a city in Pembina County, North Dakota, United States. It sits on the banks of the Pembina River, five miles (8 km) from the border with Manitoba (Canada) and approximately from the border with Minnesota. The population was 893 at ...

and is preserved by the State Historical Society. The Great Northern Railway arrived in Walhalla in 1898. The town was the site of a protest against TransCanada's

Keystone Pipeline The Keystone Pipeline System is an Pipeline transport, oil pipeline system in Canada and the United States, commissioned in 2010, formerly owned by TC Energy. It is now owned by South Bow, following TC Energy's spin off of its liquids business i ...

in October 2016, when documentarian

Deia Schlosberg Deia Schlosberg is an American documentary filmmaker and producer. She is the recipient of one Emmy and two Student Emmys. Her October 2016 arrest while filming an anti-fossil fuel protest in North Dakota led to a viral #freedeia social media campa ...

was arrested.

Geography

According to the

United States Census Bureau The United States Census Bureau, officially the Bureau of the Census, is a principal agency of the Federal statistical system, U.S. federal statistical system, responsible for producing data about the American people and American economy, econ ...

, the city has a total area of , of which is land and is water.

Demographics

2010 census

As of the

census A census (from Latin ''censere'', 'to assess') is the procedure of systematically acquiring, recording, and calculating population information about the members of a given Statistical population, population, usually displayed in the form of stati ...

of 2010, there were 996 people, 439 households, and 263 families living in the city. The

population density Population density (in agriculture: Standing 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 geog ...

was . There were 515 housing units at an average density of . The racial makeup of the city was 88.3%

White White is the lightest color and is achromatic (having no chroma). It is the color of objects such as snow, chalk, and milk, and is the opposite of black. White objects fully (or almost fully) reflect and scatter all the visible wa ...

, 0.1%

African American African Americans, also known as Black Americans and formerly also called Afro-Americans, are an Race and ethnicity in the United States, American racial and ethnic group that consists of Americans who have total or partial ancestry from an ...

, 8.7% Native American, 0.2% from other races, and 2.7% from two or more races.

Hispanic The term Hispanic () are people, Spanish culture, cultures, or countries related to Spain, the Spanish language, or broadly. In some contexts, Hispanic and Latino Americans, especially within the United States, "Hispanic" is used as an Ethnici ...

or Latino people of any race were 1.7% of the population. There were 439 households, of which 26.9% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 48.1% were

married couples Marriage, also called matrimony or wedlock, is a culturally and often legally recognised union between people called spouses. It establishes rights and obligations between them, as well as between them and their children (if any), and b ...

living together, 5.9% had a female householder with no husband present, 5.9% had a male householder with no wife present, and 40.1% were non-families. 36.4% of all households were made up of individuals, and 16.8% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.21 and the average family size was 2.88. The median age in the city was 45.5 years. 23.8% of residents were under the age of 18; 5.3% were between the ages of 18 and 24; 20.2% were from 25 to 44; 29.7% were from 45 to 64; and 20.7% were 65 years of age or older. The gender makeup of the city was 51.4% male and 48.6% female.

2000 census

As of the

of 2000, there were 1,057 people, 452 households, and 271 families living in the city. The population density was . There were 556 housing units at an average density of . The racial makeup of the city was 89.78%

, 5.96% Native American, 0.09% from other races, and 4.16% from two or more races.

or Latino people of any race were 0.85% of the population. There were 452 households, out of which 25.7% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 49.8% were

living together, 5.8% had a female householder with no husband present, and 40.0% were non-families. 36.1% of all households were made up of individuals, and 21.9% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.23 and the average family size was 2.90. In the city, the population was spread out, with 22.4% under the age of 18, 7.2% from 18 to 24, 21.9% from 25 to 44, 24.9% from 45 to 64, and 23.7% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 44 years. For every 100 females, there were 91.8 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 88.5 males. The median income for a household in the city was $31,875, and the median income for a family was $39,375. Males had a median income of $28,095 versus $20,000 for females. The

per capita income Per capita income (PCI) or average income measures the average income earned per person in a given area (city, region, country, etc.) in a specified year. In many countries, per capita income is determined using regular population surveys, such ...

for the city was $16,894. About 9.7% of families and 12.5% 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 ...

, including 11.5% of those under age 18 and 14.2% of those age 65 or over.

Media

From 1896 to 2020, Walhalla was served by ''The Walhalla Mountaineer'', a weekly newspaper. The nearby communities of Langdon and Cavalier continue to have weekly newspapers. In broadcast media, Walhalla is part of the Grand Forks media market.

Attractions

* Frost Fire Ski and Snow Board Area *Scenic overviews

Climate

This

climatic Climate is the long-term weather pattern in a region, typically averaged over 30 years. More rigorously, it is the mean and variability of meteorological variables over a time spanning from months to millions of years. Some of the meteorolog ...

region is typified by large seasonal temperature differences, with warm to hot (and often humid) summers and cold (sometimes severely cold) winters. According to the

Köppen Climate Classification The Köppen climate classification divides Earth climates into five main climate groups, with each group being divided based on patterns of seasonal precipitation and temperature. The five main groups are ''A'' (tropical), ''B'' (arid), ''C'' (te ...

system, Walhalla has a

humid continental climate A humid continental climate is a climatic region defined by Russo-German climatologist Wladimir Köppen in 1900, typified by four distinct seasons and large seasonal temperature differences, with warm to hot (and often humid) summers, and cold ...

, abbreviated "Dfb" on climate maps.Climate Summary for Walhalla, North Dakota
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References

External links

Pioneer Women's Histories: Walhalla
from th
Digital Horizons website

Walhalla quasquicentennial anniversary :commemorating 125 years of history, June 30 to July 7, 1973
from th
Digital Horizons website

Official website
{{Authority control Cities in Pembina County, North Dakota Cities in North Dakota Populated places established in 1845 1845 establishments in the United States