North Dakota
Historically Speaking:\u00a0North Dakota’s workhorses come to Exeter
The Great Depression started early in some parts of the country. New Hampshire had been suffering from an economic downturn since just after World War I. Things were far worse in North Dakota.
Historian Elwyn Robinson has written, “The 1920s in North Dakota were a time of readjustment. The stimulus of pioneering had vanished. Settlement of the semiarid state by people from humid regions had left a heritage of maladjustment, of institutions unsuited to the nature of the country.”
Unlike New Hampshire, which is small, North Dakota has vast territory. The rush for homesteading in the late 1800s had slowed and years of drought found many leaving the state. “Because they had anticipated a denser population and a greater production of wealth than the state has yet attained, the pioneers created too many farms too many towns, too many schools, churches, and colleges, too many counties and too much government, too much railroad mileage, too many banks and too much debt.” Robinson called this the “Too-Much Mistake.”
To improve the economic strain in the state, many North Dakota farmers joined cooperatives and the North Dakota Farm Bureau organized as part of the larger American Farm Bureau. Concerns with grain prices took precedence, but the question of raising ready cash was also at the forefront. Was there some unused resource that might pull in some quick income? It seems there were: horses.
It turns out, North Dakotans owned more autos than most states. “In 1913, North Dakotans owned only 12,075 automobiles, but by 1920 they owned 92,000, and 57% of the state’s farmers had them.” Robinson cites that by 1930, the percentage of farmers owning cars or tractors had gone up to 87% – “one for every 3.7 persons.” The national average was one for every 5.3 persons. So, if the state no longer needed horses for transportation or labor, they could be sold in other parts of the country.
Western horses had an excellent reputation back east. These weren’t wild mustangs, they were solid, well-broken-in, reliable workhorses. Local farm bureaus, primarily in New Hampshire and Vermont, began making arrangements to bring some of these well-mannered horses to auction. New England farmers were still happy to use horse labor. The region has abundant hay resources, unlike the arid plains, and is compacted into a smaller area.
The auctions began in 1922. Two years later, one of the sales came to Exeter.
“Thirty heads of horses direct from Dakota farmers will be sold at auction under a positive guarantee. The horses are accustomed to all classes of farm work and are mostly Percheron and Belgian breeding from 5 to 9 years old and weigh from 1200 to 1700 pounds,” ran an advertisement in early April of 1924 in the Exeter News-Letter. “Practically every horse sold by us in the past two years has given splendid satisfaction. Ask your County Farm Bureau about our sales.”
Finding the advertising was a tremendous help to the Exeter Historical Society. The organization received a collection of nearly two thousand slides in 2022 associated with the Tufts family of Exeter. The patriarch of the family, James Arthur Tufts, Sr., was a long-time teacher at Phillips Exeter Academy. His son, James Arthur Tufts, Jr., went into agriculture and ran the Granite State Nursery on High Street. Among the images were three that looked down on a gathering of people surrounding various horses. Taken from the second story of the farm’s house, the photos were too fuzzy to be featured in the annual Historical Society calendar but clear enough to depict some type of local event. The dates matched those of a cryptic entry in James’ sister, Betty’s diary for the year 1924: “Saturday, Apr. 12, 1924. Gave 5 lessons. Over to Jim’s on a 2 o’clock trolley with Father & Aunt Sue to see the horse auction. 30 horses from N. Dakota. Mother went to sta. to see them come.” Betty was a frequent horseback rider, but these horses would not have suited her. Percheron and Belgians are enormous working breeds – the kind you might see at a horse-pulling competition at the fair.
The auctioneer arrived from North Dakota with the horses. His name was Frank Hyland, who was not only the auctioneer (indeed he was so skillful at the art that he often taught it to aspiring students) but was also serving as sitting Lieutenant Governor for the state of North Dakota. The Exeter News-Letter described him as “efficient” after “he sold the entire 28 head in quick time at prices ranging from $100 to $300.”
The sale fulfilled two purposes: high-quality western horses came to New England while bringing in much-needed cash to the strapped counties of North Dakota. Buyers were assured that “a committee appointed by the Rockingham County Farm Bureau will inspect and hitch all the horses prior to the sale and will report on each horse at the sale.” How well the horses served after the sale is not recorded, however at least one registered its discontent: “An unfortunate incident was the injury to Mr. Lloyd Snell, of Brentwood, who was kicked by a horse he had bought, several ribs being fractured. He was taken to Exeter Hospital.”
Barbara Rimkunas is the curator of the Exeter Historical Society. Support the Exeter Historical Society by becoming a member! Join online at: www.exeterhistory.org.
The number of roosters heard during the North Dakota Game and Fish Department’s 2026 spring pheasant crowing count survey was 23.2 crows per stop, up 9% statewide from last year.
“Overwinter survival of adult pheasants has been outstanding. Typically, we lose up to 75% of our pheasant population each winter, but that has not been the case as of late,” said RJ Gross, Department upland game management biologist.
By region, observers heard 32.7 crows per stop in the southwest, up 5% from 2025; 22.2 crows per stop in the northwest, up 4%; and 23.1 crows per stop in the southeast, up 24% from last year. The count in the northeast, which is not a primary region for pheasants, was 9.3 crows per stop, up 43% from 2025.
Crowing counts are just one part of the picture, providing a glimpse of the population going into the breeding season. But Gross expects more good news as the peak of the pheasant hatch approaches.
“Entering the nesting season, residual grass cover looked good,” Gross said. “We have received ample precipitation that has led to increased growth in nesting and brood rearing cover across the state. Combined with high overwinter survival over the past three years and near ideal nesting habitat conditions, things are looking great for pheasants in North Dakota.”
Pheasant crowing counts are conducted each spring throughout North Dakota. Observers drive specified routes, stopping at predetermined intervals, and counting the number of roosters heard crowing. The number of pheasant crows heard is compared to previous years’ data, providing a trend summary.
As always, the late summer roadside counts conducted in July and August will give a better idea of brood production and the hunting outlook for fall.
For the full story, watch this week’s North Dakota Outdoors Webcast with R.J. Gross.
FARGO — It’s summer and that means time for class reunions, and the Wahpeton Class of 1960 is all in.
Most of the graduates are now in their 80s, but the success and impact they’ve had on other generations is remarkable.
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CLAY COUNTY, Minn. (Valley News Live) – A man is facing felony charges after authorities say he assaulted a woman inside a camper at Buffalo River State Park, then fled on a bicycle before a K9 unit tracked him down.
James Michael McArdell, 37, is charged with second-degree assault with a dangerous weapon and felony domestic assault.
According to a criminal complaint filed in Clay County District Court, a park ranger heard a woman screaming inside a camper at the park just before 9 a.m. on June 16 and called 911. The ranger reported that a man had biked away from the scene.
When deputies arrived, a woman told them McArdell had shown up at her campsite the afternoon before. The next morning, she told him to leave after a verbal argument. He refused.
The complaint states McArdell began destroying items inside the camper. When the woman went back inside to confront him, McArdell jumped on her, held her down, and punched her repeatedly in the head with a closed fist. The woman grabbed a nearby crescent wrench to defend herself, but McArdell took it from her and struck her in the wrist with it.
The complaint says McArdell blocked the woman from leaving the camper multiple times. He fled only when she got the door open and he spotted the park ranger outside on the phone. The woman reported lumps on her head and a sore wrist.
Officers located McArdell several hours later. According to the complaint, he fled into tall grass when he saw law enforcement, and a K9 unit was used to track him down.
Court documents show McArdell has two prior domestic violence convictions from 2023 in North Dakota. At least one was a felony for assaulting the same victim. The prior convictions elevate the current domestic assault charge to a felony under Minnesota law.
McArdell is detained at the Clay County Jail pending further proceedings.
Second-degree assault with a dangerous weapon carries a maximum of seven years in prison, a $14,000 fine, or both. The felony domestic assault charge carries up to five years in prison, a $10,000 fine, or both.
Copyright 2026 KVLY. All rights reserved.
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