Milnor, ND

Milnor is a Sargent County city of 624 people in the 2020 census, built along the Northern Pacific line in southeastern North Dakota. The railroad reached the area in 1883 after officials moved the planned townsite away from Linton, and buildings from the earlier settlement were hauled by wagon to the new end of the line. The new town and township took the name Milnor. City records connect it to William Edward Milnor, the first telegrapher at Milnor Station, and engineer William Milnor Roberts.

Milnor grew quickly after the tracks arrived. A January 1884 newspaper described 300 to 400 residents and a busy main street; the town became official that July, then became a city in 1914. Sargent County's first courthouse stood here, and early businesses included banks, elevators, a flour mill, hotels, churches, and the Sargent County Teller. The flagpole at Main and Fifth became a familiar meeting point, while the Galloping Goose passenger train carried people through town for many years. Milnor is still a small prairie city, but its street plan and name preserve the moment when a railroad moved a whole settlement into place.