The area of where Hettinger, North Dakota took root had a rich history even before the town began. The land was hunting ground for the Cheyenne, Sioux, Crow, Arikara and Mandan people. Frontiersmen traveled on the nearby Cedar and Grand rivers. The story of Hugh Glass the mountain man took place south of Hettinger near today’s Lemmon, South Dakota. Glass’s mates abandoned him after he was attacked by a bear, but according to legend, he survived after limping more than 200 miles to Fort Kiowa. His story was the basis for a novel and movie titled “The Revenant.” The film starred Leo DiCaprio.
Adams County was created out of the southwestern corner of North Dakota in 1907. The county seat of Hettinger came along around the same time, established on the anticipated route of the Milwaukee Railroad. The post office opened on this date. At the time, Hettinger was but a small town of tents and tarpaper shanties. But that October, the tracks for the Milwaukee Railroad reached town. A week later, a lot sale was held. The newspaper editor commented on the competitive bids for lots as a testament to the “greatest faith in the future development of this new ‘Eldorado of the Dakotas.’”
Buildings quickly went up. Law and real estate offices were established, and the pool hall on Main Street was one of the largest buildings at 24 by 32 feet. When the Gopher Hotel opened, they served 30 to 40 people a breakfast of ham and eggs.
Throughout the next year, Hettinger and Adams County recorded a number of firsts: first school, first election, and first wedding, which was by administered by a judge.
Dakota Datebook by Jack Dura
Sources:
http://hughglass.org/grizzly-attack/
https://www.ndaco.org/about-counties/county-histories/
Wick, D.A. (1989). North Dakota place names. Bismarck, ND: Prairie House
Hettinger Centennial Committee. (2007). Hettinger, ND centennial: 100 years of change and challenge. Herff Jones: Logan, UT