The Homestead Act of 1862 attracted new settlers to Dakota Territory. Some settled in towns, but most were drawn by the promise of owning 160 acres to start farms and ranches. New towns were small and scattered across the territory. They supported agriculture as centers of trade, services, entertainment, and social life.
North Dakota is a state of small towns. More than a hundred have fewer than 1,000 residents and many have fewer than 500. About eleven percent of the state’s population lives in towns of 1,000 or less.
On this date in 1880, Even Johnson paid the United States government $400 for 160 acres of land, just $2.50 per acre. Johnson sold four acres to William Kindred. That October, Kindred platted a town and named it for John C. Hunter, a local landowner. He officially registered Hunter, North Dakota, in Cass County on May 28, 1881.
The town began to grow quickly. The Gale Duffany General Store opened in 1881, followed by another store, a school, and a bank. In 1885, residents voted to incorporate Hunter. By 1887, the town had grown to about 400 people.
Hunter kept growing. Over the next few years, it added six grain elevators, three churches, two blacksmiths, a hardware store, two more general stores, a men’s store, and an iron works. Two hotels opened, along with a restaurant, two saloons, and two newspapers.
Farmers and ranchers didn’t go to town often and when they did, they planned carefully. As more businesses opened, they could take care of everything in one trip. Hunter had two livery stables, a drugstore, a jewelry store, and two meat markets. Ladies could shop for hats at the millinery while their husbands and sons visited the barbershop. They picked up mail at the post office, bought gear at the harness shop, and stopped by the doctor’s office. The population grew to 500, and the town even boasted a ten-piece brass band and a five-piece orchestra.
Hunter is in Cass County. According to the 2020 census, its population was 332.
Dakota Datebook written by Dr. Carole Butcher
Sources:
- City Data. “North Dakota Very Small Towns and Villages.” https://www.city-data.com/city/North-Dakota3.html Accessed 7/16/2025.
- City of Hunter. “Hunter History.” https://www.cityofhunter.com/history Accessed 7/16/2025.
- Cass County. “History of Hunter.” https://www.casscountynd.gov/Home/Components/News/News/2163/16 Accessed 7/16/2025.
