Arthur, ND

Arthur is a Cass County city that began as Rosedale in 1881, named for Rose Gunkel, sister of an early settler. The town was renamed Arthur in 1882 for President Chester A. Arthur, and Samuel B. Johnson platted the site that year. The Northern Pacific Railroad and depot put the settlement on the prairie map, while a general store, hotel, elevator, blacksmith shop, schoolhouse, and post office formed the first business cluster. The 2020 census counted 328 residents.

Arthur remains surrounded by Arthur Township, with farm fields and county roads opening out from the city blocks. The early schoolhouse served as a meeting place for church gatherings, Sunday school, Christmas trees, and community festivities, a reminder of how many jobs one building carried in a new town. City government, a park district, and local services handle present needs, while the old railroad story still helps locate the city's streets. Arthur is a compact Cass County place whose name changed quickly but whose prairie setting remains constant.