Watford City

Today is another story in the life of a young Lutheran preacher called to McKenzie County from St. Louis a century ago, but a murky one shrouded in mystery – complete with a cave, skeletons and Buffalo Bill Cody!

Watford City was roiled by embezzlement charges against its town treasurer a century ago in a case that reached the governor’s office. Treasurer O.L. Cassidy was accused in February 1922 of embezzling $7,600 of Watford City funds during a period of two years. Adjusted for inflation, that would be more than $136,000 today.

U.S. Highway 85 crosses the rugged Badlands south of Watford City in one of the most dramatic drives in North Dakota. The roadway runs for a few miles through the Little Missouri Valley in the area of Theodore Roosevelt National Park before climbing out of the Badlands.

Deep in the Badlands of North Dakota sits one of the last one-room schools in the state. Horse Creek School, with an enrollment of eleven students as of 2020, is 16 miles from Sidney, Montana, and 38 miles from Watford City. On this date in 1998, it was reported that the little school, which is surrounded by ranches in one of the remotest areas of the state, served as a temporary home for two stranded motorists.

Today is another part of the story of a young preacher called to McKenzie County in North Dakota a century ago. The Rev. Richard C. Jahn was 20 years old, fresh from seminary in St. Louis when he arrived by train in Watford City. He lodged with a bachelor homesteader in a cabin east of Watford City, and traveled around the McKenzie County area giving sermons in English and German. Jahn lived near Schafer, the former McKenzie County seat.

Today is another part of the story of a young preacher called to McKenzie County in North Dakota a century ago. The Rev. Richard C. Jahn was 20 years old,…

McKenzie County is the “Island Empire” in North Dakota, owing to the rivers that surround the county. Motorists usually have to cross a bridge to enter…

Today we share another story from the journals of The Rev. Richard C. Jahn, who served as a Lutheran minister at several churches in McKenzie County a…

A drizzly June made for mucky conditions for a young preacher and his neighbors in McKenzie County a century ago. The Reverend Richard C. Jahn came to…