Courtenay, ND

Courtenay grew where the Soo Line reached northeastern Stutsman County in fall 1892. Before the track arrived, farmers hauled grain to Jamestown or other distant markets; the new station gave the surrounding prairie a local shipping point and drew settlers by train. A fire swept through much of the town in 1895, yet residents rebuilt and expanded. Courtenay was incorporated as a village in 1902 and later became a city. Today its small grid remains a marker of the railroad-era farm network in the county.