Quite different was the first glimpses that the pioneers saw of the territory around Kenmare. The beautiful trees that shade the streets and the lake side were not in existence, neither the checkered pattern of the cultivated farm land. Only the fast rolling prairies with tons and tons of waving, prairie grass.

    Great herds of longhorns were fattened on these plains each year. The N-N Cattle Company from Texas, was the predominating company. The company would herd the cattle to the Dakota’s over the Montana plains and load them at Kenmare for market. In 1894, 125,000 head of cattle were shipped from Kenmare.

    The fences of the corrals, which covered acres of land, were made of native poplar poles. The cattle, traditionally the Texas Longhorns, were vicious and frequently broke their horns in attempting to escape from these corrals and stories are related how it was necessary at frequent intervals to clear away the severed horns from outside the pens. Eighteen to twenty-five animals constituted a carload and one can readily visualize the tremendous number of special trains necessary to haul the annual output to market.

    A number of smaller ranches extended between the Des Lacs and Mouse River valleys. Sheep grazing was quite extensive in the hills between the Des Lacs and the Missouri and the coulees southwest of Kenmare were frequently used as natural corrals while awaiting shipment.

    The first known settler in this vicinity was a Mr. Cartwright, who opened the first mine in the community, in 1880.

    The first known squatter in present Kenmare was Augustine Rouse. Rouse apparently came here about 1891 and prospected for coal. He provided a dugout for his quarters on the site later occupied by the Ringen Hardware Store and served as Kenmare’s first postmaster until 1896 when he was liquidated in a gun battle. Lignite was the post office name operated by Rouse but following his death, Lignite was abandoned and the settlement remained unnamed until 1897.

    In 1892, Mr. and Mrs. McBride Sr., and their son Neil, Jr., came to what is now known as Kenmare, from Oxbow, Canada, where continued drought forced them to look for greener fields. They drove their cattle down across the border and squatted where Cartwright had abandoned his corrals and shack. Mrs. McBride opened a boarding house for surveyors who were engaged in establishing land boundaries. Next to mining and ranching, this proved to be one of the first business places in the vicinity. The McBride family was later joined by their son, Andrew Jr., who moved into Kenmare and opened a meat market in 1897.

    These pioneers witnessed many hardships that made the success of this town even more memorable. Andy McBride remembers the two day trips necessary to go to Minot for provisions; the severe winters; the arrival of immigrants; the immense number of cattle shipped from here; early day hunting, and the bitter political fights that frequently led to gun play.

    Murders were numerous; men disappeared, never to again be heard from although bleached skeletons in burned hay stacks doubtless accounted for many of the disappearances.

    Another early invader of the region was E.C. Tolley, who came here primarily to explore the coal regions, study and determine to his own satisfaction whether or not the area was suitable for development. With his horse he roamed over the country prospecting for coal, studying the grasses, watching the moisture and in general forming opinions as to the fitness of the country. Convinced that the area was worthy of his efforts, Tolley set about to interest prospective settlers. On July 27, 1896 the government plat was filed in the United States Land Office at Minot. Mr. Tolley, W.T. Smith, D.P. Show and several others were among the first to file on land in the vicinity. The first building constructed in Kenmare, except for the section house, was Mr. Tolley’s shack on a site now described as the south side of the square.

    In 1885, Mr. and Mrs. Thomas Ward moved to this area to work as a section man on the Soo Line Railroad. Mr. Ward built a livery stable on lots later occupied by George’s Cafe.

   Good news travels fast, so was the conditions in these early days. When satisfied people could settle in this vicinity, some immigrants flocked here by the hundreds. In the spring of 1897, 1200 carloads of people were unloaded in Kenmare. The people were forced to live in freight cars for a few days, until they were able to locate a claim and erect some buildings. The Soo Line later built immigrant sheds or shacks to house these brave pioneers. Among the first immigrants were Will Smith, Elmer McGrow, Charles McFarland, Levi Landis and others.

    It was also early in 1897 that P.M. Cole, Geo. Robertson, J.A. Englund, J.D. Benson and other pioneer merchants arrived. Cole erected a frame building on a lot on the present southwest corner of the square; T.W. Tasker established a hardware store; J.C. Scott and C.F. Meyer were the village’s first blacksmiths and Andy and Neil McBride opened a meat market; Tracy Bros. built a livery barn; J.D. Benson erected a hotel and J.A. Englund a machine shed; Mr. Robertson and G.P. Makee opened a general merchandise store and drug. In 1899, the west side of the square, which was made up of six or seven business places, was burned. It was following that the brick building, later owned by Lewis Knudson and known as Messinger’s store, was built. This was Kenmare’s first brick building. The early homes of these pioneers were sod shacks with the kitchen tables turned on its side to provide a door for the house. Truly this was a melting pot...all sizes...all colors...all creeds...all eager to stake their claims in a new country.

    However, the life of these pioneers was not all excitement and adventures. Hardships were many, especially through the severe winters. The winters of 1896 and 1897 were unusually severe, and the children were able to play on drifts that completely covered the stockyards and other shacks that were in the process of being erected. One pioneer, Clyde O. Bohn, remembers when he arrived in Kenmare, on March 24, 1897, it was blizzarding so that you could only see a few hundred yards. The storm continued until April 10, and Bohn wondered if springtime would ever come to North Dakota. On April 11, a Chinook wind started blowing and in three days the prairie was one mass of crocuses.

    Conditions always seem worse in the eyes of women, but anything can be possible during a North Dakota winter. Several women describe the winters of 1897 and 1898 as being the worst mass of snow storms in history. The temperature was consistently 40 degrees below zero and one storm followed closely on another. The river froze to the bottom and the cattle had to depend on snow for water. One lady remembered waking up one morning only to find their house completely covered with snow. The storm had lasted 10 days. The cattle were housed in a straw shelter, and in search for water, ate a hole in the roof. They were able to survive by eating snow.

    North Dakota winters were minor examples of hardships for these courageous pioneers. Floods! The very sound caused the people of these early days to shiver, for homes were destroyed each year by rushing water of the melting snow. Troubles continued throughout the summer, drought, grasshoppers, army worms, hail and many visiting cyclones destroyed homes and crops. Prairie firs also usually destroyed miles of grassland and crops before they were controlled.