Pembina, North Dakota
Encyclopedia
Pembina is a city in Pembina County
, North Dakota
in the United States
. The population was 592 at the 2010 census.
The area of Pembina was long inhabited by various indigenous peoples. At the time of 16th century French exploration and fur trading, historical Native American tribes included the Lakota (Sioux
, as the French called them), the Chippewa (Ojibwe) and the Assiniboine.
The British/Canadian Hudson's Bay Company
established a fur-trading
post on the site of present-day Pembina in 1797, and it is the oldest European-American community in the Dakotas
. The first permanent Anglo-Canadian settlement started in 1812.
Until 1823, both the United States (US) and Canada believed the community of Pembina was in Canadian territory. That year United States Army
Major Stephen H. Long's survey of the 49th parallel
revealed Pembina's location south of the Canada – United States border.
In 1851, the US established its first post office in present-day North Dakota in Pembina. Pembina was the most populous place in North Dakota according to the 1860 census. Pembina served as county seat from 1867 to 1911.
The northern end of Interstate 29
goes near Pembina at the Canada-United States border
at Emerson, Manitoba
. It is a significant crossing for road traffic headed to and from Winnipeg, Manitoba, and is one of three 24-hour ports of entry
in North Dakota
(the others are Portal
and Dunseith
).
Pembina is home to the U.S. satellite plant of Motor Coach Industries
, which completes assembly of intercity bus
es. Its major clients include Greyhound Lines
.
tribes, who competed for hegemony. Their conflict increased beginning with the French introduction of firearms in the late 16th century as part of their goods traded for furs. The first known European
visitors to the Pembina region were the French Vérendrye
family in the early 18th century.
Pembina's recorded history of European encounter extended for more than 200 years. Started by the French as a fur trading post for commerce with the Native Americans, it was also tied to trade for American Bison
. European trappers who hunted in the Red River of the North
area frequently married Indian women and often lived with local tribes at least part of the year. Their mixed-race descendants became part of their hunting and trapping culture, and formed the later ethnic group recognized in Canada as Métis people
.
The settlement was associated with the histories of French Canada
, Hudson's Bay Company
, the Selkirk Colony, Seven Oaks Massacre, the Red River Rebellion
, Assiniboia
, and Manitoba
. Through much of the nineteenth century, Métis families used the two-wheeled Red River ox cart
trains to travel into the Great Plains, where the men would hunt bison
and women would process the meat, skins and bones. All parts were used for clothing, tepees, etc. Their regular routes became known as the Red River Trails
. This area was part of the United States Dakota
and Minnesota
territories; and border politics.
The noted American author Louise Erdrich
has represented the Pembina River
and the Pembina Band of the Ojibwe Indians on the Turtle Mountain Reservation in numerous works of fiction. In the past several the Pembina have celebrated their unique heritage.
Despite its small size, Pembina maintained a television station, KCND-TV
, from 1960 to 1975. Its population in federal censuses has not exceeded 1,000.
after the American Civil War
, the Minnesota Legislature
petitioned Congress to build a fort, especially to defend against incursions by the Lakota (Sioux), some of whom had migrated to Canada
to evade the US Army.
As a result, Major General Winfield Scott Hancock
recommended the establishment of the post on December 8, 1869; Fort Pembina was completed on July 8, 1870. Located a mile and a half south of the settlement, it was just above the mouth of the Pembina River. It was originally called Fort Thomas, for Major General George H. Thomas, who died on March 28, 1870. The post was designated Fort Pembina on September 6, 1870. Seriously damaged by fire on May 27, 1895, it was abandoned on August 16, 1895. It was later sold at public auction.
and the Pembina River
. The city of St. Vincent, Minnesota
lies adjacent to the east, across the Red River.
According to the United States Census Bureau
, the city has a total area of 0.8 square miles (2.1 km²), all of it land.
Pembina experiences a humid continental climate
(Köppen
Dfb) with long, dry, very cold winters and very warm, wetter summers.
As of the census
of 2000, there were 642 people, 250 households, and 177 families residing in the city. The population density
was 843.1 people per square mile (326.2/km²). There were 274 housing units at an average density of 359.8 per square mile (139.2/km²). The racial makeup of the city was 96.57% White, 0.16% African American, 0.47% Native American, 0.47% Asian, 1.56% from other races
, and 0.78% from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino of any race were 1.87% of the population.
There were 250 households out of which 35.2% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 62.8% were married couples
living together, 5.2% had a female householder with no husband present, and 28.8% were non-families. 26.8% of all households were made up of individuals and 11.2% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.57 and the average family size was 3.12.
In the city the population was spread out with 29.4% under the age of 18, 4.8% from 18 to 24, 29.0% from 25 to 44, 24.0% from 45 to 64, and 12.8% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 37 years. For every 100 females there were 98.8 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 105.0 males.
The median income for a household in the city was $55,536, and the median income for a family was $59,722. Males had a median income of $35,250 versus $26,125 for females. The per capita income
for the city was $20,278. About 4.5% of families and 7.7% of the population were below the poverty line, including 12.1% of those under age 18 and 8.2% of those age 65 or over.
Pembina County, North Dakota
Pembina County is a county located in the U.S. state of North Dakota. At the time of the 2010 Census its population was 7,413. The county seat is Cavalier....
, North Dakota
North Dakota
North Dakota is a state located in the Midwestern region of the United States of America, along the Canadian border. The state is bordered by Canada to the north, Minnesota to the east, South Dakota to the south and Montana to the west. North Dakota is the 19th-largest state by area in the U.S....
in the United States
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
. The population was 592 at the 2010 census.
The area of Pembina was long inhabited by various indigenous peoples. At the time of 16th century French exploration and fur trading, historical Native American tribes included the Lakota (Sioux
Sioux
The Sioux are Native American and First Nations people in North America. The term can refer to any ethnic group within the Great Sioux Nation or any of the nation's many language dialects...
, as the French called them), the Chippewa (Ojibwe) and the Assiniboine.
The British/Canadian Hudson's Bay Company
Hudson's Bay Company
The Hudson's Bay Company , abbreviated HBC, or "The Bay" is the oldest commercial corporation in North America and one of the oldest in the world. A fur trading business for much of its existence, today Hudson's Bay Company owns and operates retail stores throughout Canada...
established a fur-trading
Fur trade
The fur trade is a worldwide industry dealing in the acquisition and sale of animal fur. Since the establishment of world market for in the early modern period furs of boreal, polar and cold temperate mammalian animals have been the most valued...
post on the site of present-day Pembina in 1797, and it is the oldest European-American community in the Dakotas
The Dakotas
The Dakotas is a collective term that refers to the U.S. states of North Dakota and South Dakota together. The term has been used historically to describe the Dakota Territory, and is continued to be used to describe the collective heritage, culture, geography, fauna, sociology, the economy, and...
. The first permanent Anglo-Canadian settlement started in 1812.
Until 1823, both the United States (US) and Canada believed the community of Pembina was in Canadian territory. That year United States Army
United States Army
The United States Army is the main branch of the United States Armed Forces responsible for land-based military operations. It is the largest and oldest established branch of the U.S. military, and is one of seven U.S. uniformed services...
Major Stephen H. Long's survey of the 49th parallel
49th parallel north
The 49th parallel north is a circle of latitude that is 49 degrees north of the Earth's equatorial plane. It crosses Europe, Asia, the Pacific Ocean, North America, and the Atlantic Ocean....
revealed Pembina's location south of the Canada – United States border.
In 1851, the US established its first post office in present-day North Dakota in Pembina. Pembina was the most populous place in North Dakota according to the 1860 census. Pembina served as county seat from 1867 to 1911.
The northern end of Interstate 29
Interstate 29
Interstate 29 is an Interstate Highway in the Midwestern United States. I-29 runs from Kansas City, Missouri, at a junction with Interstate 35 and Interstate 70 to the Canadian border near Pembina, North Dakota, where it connects with Manitoba Highway 75 via the short Manitoba Highway 29.-Route...
goes near Pembina at the Canada-United States border
Canada-United States border
The Canada–United States border, officially known as the International Boundary, is the longest border in the world. The terrestrial boundary is 8,891 kilometers long, including 2,475 kilometres shared with Alaska...
at Emerson, Manitoba
Emerson, Manitoba
Emerson is a town in south central Manitoba, Canada, with a population of 655. The town is named after writer Ralph Waldo Emerson.Emerson is located on the east bank of the Red River, just north of the border with the United States at the point where Manitoba, Minnesota, and North Dakota meet. ...
. It is a significant crossing for road traffic headed to and from Winnipeg, Manitoba, and is one of three 24-hour ports of entry
Port of entry
In general, a port of entry is a place where one may lawfully enter a country. It typically has a staff of people who check passports and visas and inspect luggage to assure that contraband is not imported. International airports are usually ports of entry, as are road and rail crossings on a...
in North Dakota
North Dakota
North Dakota is a state located in the Midwestern region of the United States of America, along the Canadian border. The state is bordered by Canada to the north, Minnesota to the east, South Dakota to the south and Montana to the west. North Dakota is the 19th-largest state by area in the U.S....
(the others are Portal
Portal, North Dakota
As of the census of 2000, there were 131 people, 63 households, and 43 families residing in the city. The population density was 232.8 people per square mile . There were 98 housing units at an average density of 174.1 per square mile...
and Dunseith
Dunseith, North Dakota
As of the census of 2000, there were 739 people, 253 households, and 178 families residing in the city. The population density was 729.2 people per square mile . There were 282 housing units at an average density of 278.2 per square mile...
).
Pembina is home to the U.S. satellite plant of Motor Coach Industries
Motor Coach Industries
Motor Coach Industries International Inc. is an American bus manufacturer based in Schaumburg, Illinois, and is a leading participant in the North American coach bus industry. It has various operating subsidiaries:...
, which completes assembly of intercity bus
Bus
A bus is a road vehicle designed to carry passengers. Buses can have a capacity as high as 300 passengers. The most common type of bus is the single-decker bus, with larger loads carried by double-decker buses and articulated buses, and smaller loads carried by midibuses and minibuses; coaches are...
es. Its major clients include Greyhound Lines
Greyhound Lines
Greyhound Lines, Inc., based in Dallas, Texas, is an intercity common carrier of passengers by bus serving over 3,700 destinations in the United States, Canada and Mexico, operating under the well-known logo of a leaping greyhound. It was founded in Hibbing, Minnesota, USA, in 1914 and...
.
History
The Pembina area was historically at the borders of the territories of the Lakota, the Chippewa and the Assiniboine, Native AmericanIndigenous peoples of the Americas
The indigenous peoples of the Americas are the pre-Columbian inhabitants of North and South America, their descendants and other ethnic groups who are identified with those peoples. Indigenous peoples are known in Canada as Aboriginal peoples, and in the United States as Native Americans...
tribes, who competed for hegemony. Their conflict increased beginning with the French introduction of firearms in the late 16th century as part of their goods traded for furs. The first known European
European ethnic groups
The ethnic groups in Europe are the various ethnic groups that reside in the nations of Europe. European ethnology is the field of anthropology focusing on Europe....
visitors to the Pembina region were the French Vérendrye
Verendrye
Verendrye may refer to:*Pierre Gaultier de Varennes, sieur de La Vérendrye , French military officer, fur trader and explorer. His sons were:**Jean Baptiste de La Vérendrye , explorer...
family in the early 18th century.
Pembina's recorded history of European encounter extended for more than 200 years. Started by the French as a fur trading post for commerce with the Native Americans, it was also tied to trade for American Bison
American Bison
The American bison , also commonly known as the American buffalo, is a North American species of bison that once roamed the grasslands of North America in massive herds...
. European trappers who hunted in the Red River of the North
Red River Valley
The Red River Valley is a region in central North America that is drained by the Red River of the North. It is significant in the geography of North Dakota, Minnesota, and Manitoba for its relatively fertile lands and the population centers of Fargo, Moorhead, Grand Forks, and Winnipeg...
area frequently married Indian women and often lived with local tribes at least part of the year. Their mixed-race descendants became part of their hunting and trapping culture, and formed the later ethnic group recognized in Canada as Métis people
Métis people (Canada)
The Métis are one of the Aboriginal peoples in Canada who trace their descent to mixed First Nations parentage. The term was historically a catch-all describing the offspring of any such union, but within generations the culture syncretised into what is today a distinct aboriginal group, with...
.
The settlement was associated with the histories of French Canada
French Canada
French Canada, also known as "Lower Canada", is a term to distinguish the French Canadian population of Canada from English Canada.-Definition:...
, Hudson's Bay Company
Hudson's Bay Company
The Hudson's Bay Company , abbreviated HBC, or "The Bay" is the oldest commercial corporation in North America and one of the oldest in the world. A fur trading business for much of its existence, today Hudson's Bay Company owns and operates retail stores throughout Canada...
, the Selkirk Colony, Seven Oaks Massacre, the Red River Rebellion
Red River Rebellion
The Red River Rebellion or Red River Resistance was the sequence of events related to the 1869 establishment of a provisional government by the Métis leader Louis Riel and his followers at the Red River Settlement, in what is now the Canadian province of Manitoba.The Rebellion was the first crisis...
, Assiniboia
Assiniboia
Assiniboia refers to a number of different locations and administrative jurisdictions in Canada. The name is taken from the Assiniboine First Nation.- District of Assiniboia:...
, and Manitoba
Manitoba
Manitoba is a Canadian prairie province with an area of . The province has over 110,000 lakes and has a largely continental climate because of its flat topography. Agriculture, mostly concentrated in the fertile southern and western parts of the province, is vital to the province's economy; other...
. Through much of the nineteenth century, Métis families used the two-wheeled Red River ox cart
Red River ox cart
The Red River cart was a large two-wheeled cart made entirely of non-metallic materials. Often drawn by oxen, though also by horses or mules, these carts were used throughout most of the 19th century in the fur trade and in westward expansion in Canada and the United States, in the area of the Red...
trains to travel into the Great Plains, where the men would hunt bison
Bison
Members of the genus Bison are large, even-toed ungulates within the subfamily Bovinae. Two extant and four extinct species are recognized...
and women would process the meat, skins and bones. All parts were used for clothing, tepees, etc. Their regular routes became known as the Red River Trails
Red River Trails
The Red River Trails were a network of ox cart routes connecting the Red River Colony and Fort Garry in British North America with the head of navigation on the Mississippi River in the United States...
. This area was part of the United States Dakota
Dakota Territory
The Territory of Dakota was an organized incorporated territory of the United States that existed from March 2, 1861, until November 2, 1889, when the final extent of the reduced territory was split and admitted to the Union as the states of North and South Dakota.The Dakota Territory consisted of...
and Minnesota
Minnesota Territory
The Territory of Minnesota was an organized incorporated territory of the United States that existed from March 3, 1849, until May 11, 1858, when the eastern portion of the territory was admitted to the Union as the State of Minnesota.-History:...
territories; and border politics.
The noted American author Louise Erdrich
Louise Erdrich
Karen Louise Erdrich, known as Louise Erdrich, is an author of novels, poetry, and children's books featuring Native American heritage. She is widely acclaimed as one of the most significant writers of the second wave of what critic Kenneth Lincoln has called the Native American Renaissance...
has represented the Pembina River
Pembina River (North Dakota)
The Pembina River is a tributary of the Red River of the North, approximately long, in southern Manitoba in Canada and northeastern North Dakota in the United States. It drains an area of the prairie country along the U.S.-Canada border, threading the Manitoba-North Dakota border eastward to the...
and the Pembina Band of the Ojibwe Indians on the Turtle Mountain Reservation in numerous works of fiction. In the past several the Pembina have celebrated their unique heritage.
Despite its small size, Pembina maintained a television station, KCND-TV
KCND-TV
KCND-TV was a television station located in Pembina, North Dakota, USA with offices also located at 2031 Portage Avenue in Winnipeg, Canada. KCND-TV was established by the Community Radio Corporation, the parent company of KNOX-TV and KNOX-AM in Grand Forks, N.D., after being granted a...
, from 1960 to 1975. Its population in federal censuses has not exceeded 1,000.
Fort Pembina
Due to the unrest among Native Americans of the Red River ValleyRed River Valley
The Red River Valley is a region in central North America that is drained by the Red River of the North. It is significant in the geography of North Dakota, Minnesota, and Manitoba for its relatively fertile lands and the population centers of Fargo, Moorhead, Grand Forks, and Winnipeg...
after the American Civil War
American Civil War
The American Civil War was a civil war fought in the United States of America. In response to the election of Abraham Lincoln as President of the United States, 11 southern slave states declared their secession from the United States and formed the Confederate States of America ; the other 25...
, the Minnesota Legislature
Minnesota Legislature
The Minnesota Legislature is the legislative branch of government in the U.S. state of Minnesota. It is a bicameral legislature located at the Minnesota Capitol in Saint Paul and it consists of two houses: the lower Minnesota House of Representatives and the Minnesota Senate...
petitioned Congress to build a fort, especially to defend against incursions by the Lakota (Sioux), some of whom had migrated to Canada
Canada
Canada is a North American country consisting of ten provinces and three territories. Located in the northern part of the continent, it extends from the Atlantic Ocean in the east to the Pacific Ocean in the west, and northward into the Arctic Ocean...
to evade the US Army.
As a result, Major General Winfield Scott Hancock
Winfield Scott Hancock
Winfield Scott Hancock was a career U.S. Army officer and the Democratic nominee for President of the United States in 1880. He served with distinction in the Army for four decades, including service in the Mexican-American War and as a Union general in the American Civil War...
recommended the establishment of the post on December 8, 1869; Fort Pembina was completed on July 8, 1870. Located a mile and a half south of the settlement, it was just above the mouth of the Pembina River. It was originally called Fort Thomas, for Major General George H. Thomas, who died on March 28, 1870. The post was designated Fort Pembina on September 6, 1870. Seriously damaged by fire on May 27, 1895, it was abandoned on August 16, 1895. It was later sold at public auction.
Geography
Pembina is located at 48°57′59"N 97°14′43"W (48.966423, -97.245142), at the confluence of the Red River of the NorthRed River of the North
The Red River is a North American river. Originating at the confluence of the Bois de Sioux and Otter Tail rivers in the United States, it flows northward through the Red River Valley and forms the border between the U.S. states of Minnesota and North Dakota before continuing into Manitoba, Canada...
and the Pembina River
Pembina River (North Dakota)
The Pembina River is a tributary of the Red River of the North, approximately long, in southern Manitoba in Canada and northeastern North Dakota in the United States. It drains an area of the prairie country along the U.S.-Canada border, threading the Manitoba-North Dakota border eastward to the...
. The city of St. Vincent, Minnesota
St. Vincent, Minnesota
St. Vincent is a city in Kittson County, Minnesota, United States. The population was 64 at the 2010 census.-Geography:According to the United States Census Bureau, the city has a total area of , of which, of it is land and of it is water....
lies adjacent to the east, across the Red River.
According to the United States Census Bureau
United States Census Bureau
The United States Census Bureau is the government agency that is responsible for the United States Census. It also gathers other national demographic and economic data...
, the city has a total area of 0.8 square miles (2.1 km²), all of it land.
Pembina experiences a humid continental climate
Humid continental climate
A humid continental climate is a climatic region typified by large seasonal temperature differences, with warm to hot summers and cold winters....
(Köppen
Köppen climate classification
The Köppen climate classification is one of the most widely used climate classification systems. It was first published by Crimea German climatologist Wladimir Köppen in 1884, with several later modifications by Köppen himself, notably in 1918 and 1936...
Dfb) with long, dry, very cold winters and very warm, wetter summers.
Demographics
Census
A census is the procedure of systematically acquiring and recording information about the members of a given population. It is a regularly occurring and official count of a particular population. The term is used mostly in connection with national population and housing censuses; other common...
of 2000, there were 642 people, 250 households, and 177 families residing in the city. The population density
Population density
Population density is a measurement of population per unit area or unit volume. It is frequently applied to living organisms, and particularly to humans...
was 843.1 people per square mile (326.2/km²). There were 274 housing units at an average density of 359.8 per square mile (139.2/km²). The racial makeup of the city was 96.57% White, 0.16% African American, 0.47% Native American, 0.47% Asian, 1.56% from other races
Race (United States Census)
Race and ethnicity in the United States Census, as defined by the Federal Office of Management and Budget and the United States Census Bureau, are self-identification data items in which residents choose the race or races with which they most closely identify, and indicate whether or not they are...
, and 0.78% from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino of any race were 1.87% of the population.
There were 250 households out of which 35.2% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 62.8% were married couples
Marriage
Marriage is a social union or legal contract between people that creates kinship. It is an institution in which interpersonal relationships, usually intimate and sexual, are acknowledged in a variety of ways, depending on the culture or subculture in which it is found...
living together, 5.2% had a female householder with no husband present, and 28.8% were non-families. 26.8% of all households were made up of individuals and 11.2% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.57 and the average family size was 3.12.
In the city the population was spread out with 29.4% under the age of 18, 4.8% from 18 to 24, 29.0% from 25 to 44, 24.0% from 45 to 64, and 12.8% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 37 years. For every 100 females there were 98.8 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 105.0 males.
The median income for a household in the city was $55,536, and the median income for a family was $59,722. Males had a median income of $35,250 versus $26,125 for females. The per capita income
Per capita income
Per capita income or income per person is a measure of mean income within an economic aggregate, such as a country or city. It is calculated by taking a measure of all sources of income in the aggregate and dividing it by the total population...
for the city was $20,278. About 4.5% of families and 7.7% of the population were below the poverty line, including 12.1% of those under age 18 and 8.2% of those age 65 or over.
Sites of interest
- Pembina State MuseumPembina State MuseumThe Pembina State Museum is a North Dakota State Historical Society-owned museum in Pembina, North Dakota. It features two exhibit galleries and an observation tower.-Collections:...
- interpretative exhibits commemorating establishment of Pembina in 1797 as the earliest European settlement in what is now the state of North Dakota.
External links
- City of Pembina official website
- History of Pembina - city website