A North Dakota town with many names was incorporated as a city on this date in 1912. It started in 1882 as a cluster of pioneer townsites named Dunn, Dunn’s Creek and Garrison, founded by mostly Scandinavians who followed the path of buffalo hunters.

When the Northern Pacific Railroad arrived in 1883, these villages were consolidated, which required a new name. Charles Gregory wanted to name the settlement Rockford for his home town of Rockford, IL, but the post office rejected the name as too confusing. They also rejected Rockville and Rocky Ford. Finally, the name of New Rockford was found acceptable. New Rockford became the seat of Eddy County in 1885, and in 1915, it unsuccessfully challenged Bimarck for the right to be the state capital.

Sources:
New Rockford website. <http://www.newrockford.com/>
Wicks, Douglas A. North Dakota Place Names. Bismarck: Sweetgrass Communications. 1988.

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