Located in Rolette County, St. John is one of the oldest towns in North Dakota, dating back to its 1843 origins as a trading post. The 1880s, saw towns springing up in that region as people gravitated to the area’s trading posts. Dunseith and Belcourt were organized in 1884. And the city of Rolette is a relative latecomer, incorporated on this date in 1930.
The city of Rolette is named for the county, and the county is named for Joseph Rolette, an early fur trader. Rolette was born in in 1820 in Prairie du Chien of Michigan Territory. His father was a prominent French-Canadian fur trader employed by the American Fur Company. Young Joseph went to New York where he lived with relatives and was educated at a private school.
By 1840, Rolette returned to the West. He worked in the fur trade and built a trading post at Pembina. In 1842, he began producing the Red River carts that made trade in the area more competitive. The two-wheeled carts diverted trade from the Hudson’s Bay Company in Canada to St. Paul. The trade from Rolette helped St. Paul become a commercial center.
Rolette embarked on a political career in 1851, elected to represent Pembina in Minnesota’s territorial legislature. His first trip to the legislature took eighteen days by dogsled. He made quite an entrance when he brought his dogs with him into the Capitol building. He was reelected three times.
Rolette made a flamboyant contribution to Minnesota history in 1857. The legislature passed a bill to move the territory capital from St. Paul to St. Peter. The bill was passed to Rolette, who was supposed to deliver it to the governor. Once he had the bill in hand, Rolette disappeared. The sergeant-at-arms was sent to look for him. It seems Rolette, aided by local citizens, absconded with the bill to prevent the capital from leaving St. Paul.
Rolette was eventually found and the bill returned, but a judge ruled it unconstitutional and the capital stayed put. When Minesota became a state, Rolette returned to Pembina, which was now outside the new state in an unorganized territory, soon to become Dakota Territory. He served in Pembina as a postmaster and customs officer. He died in 1871, now remembered by the county and city named for him.
Dakota Datebook by Dr. Carole Butcher
Sources:
- State Historical Society of North Dakota. “Today in North Dakota History.” https://www.statehistoricalfoundation.org/todayinndhistory/?&offset=200 Accessed 6/12/2024.
- Home Town Locator. “Rolette, North Dakota.” https://northdakota.hometownlocator.com/nd/rolette/rolette.cfm Accessed 6/12/2024.
- Genealogy Trails. “Rolette County, North Dakota.” https://genealogytrails.com/ndak/rolette/history.html Accessed 6/12/2024.
- MNopedia. “Joseph Rolette.” https://www.mnopedia.org/person/rolette-joseph-1820-1871 Accessed 6/12/2024.
