Arthur C. Townley was one of North Dakota’s colorful characters. Born in Minnesota, he moved west with his brother to try farming. After facing failures in Colorado and North Dakota, he turned to politics. He joined the Socialist Party, where he found success due to his organizational and oratorical skills, but his abrasive nature eventually led to his expulsion from the party. He then had to find a new outlet for his political ambitions.
In 1915, Townley and A.E. Brown founded the Farmers Nonpartisan Political League of North Dakota, or NPL. By 1918, the organization had grown to 200,000 members and had gained control of the state. The party was plagued by accusations of socialist policies and fraud. In 1921, a special election led to the recall of NPL Governor Lynn Frazier.
Townley never ran for office himself, preferring to work behind the scenes as an organizer. He resigned as head of the NPL in 1922 after being convicted on federal charges for discouraging enlistment during World War I. He never regained his previous notoriety, but that didn’t stop him from trying. In 1930, Townley decided to revive his political career by running for Congress. His campaign got off to a rough start. On this date in 1930, Townley appeared at the opening of the NPL convention, where he was running against James Sinclair, the NPL incumbent. Townley asked the convention not to endorse anyone in the race, citing Sinclair’s support for prohibition. Townley argued that endorsing Sinclair, a “dry,” against himself, a “wet,” would land the NPL in the middle of the wet and dry controversy.
The convention didn’t buy Townley’s argument and endorsed Sinclair. Townley admitted that his effort to prevent the endorsement had failed but insisted he would run a spirited campaign on a wet platform. His efforts were to no avail, and he lost the election.
Townley ran for political office in North Dakota and Minnesota several times between 1930 and 1958, but failed every time. He also promoted oil production in North Dakota and sold patent medicines. In the 1950s, he became strongly anti-Communist and targeted leaders of the Farmers Union. Townley was killed in a car accident in 1950.
Dakota Datebook by Dr. Carole Butcher
Sources:
- Bismarck Tribune. “Down But Not Out.” Bismarck ND. 2/7/1930. Page 1.
- Encyclopedia of the Great Plains. “Townley, Arthur C.” Accessed 1/3/2025.
