The townsite of Davenport platted on March 18, 1882, one of the earliest settlements in Cass County, is located in the heart of the Red River Valley, Section 1, Township 137, Range 51, at the junction of the Great Northern and Southwestern Branch, Northern Pacific Railroads, about twenty-five miles from Fargo. The land was conveyed by the U.S. Government to the Northern Pacific Railroad Co., later to Henry D. Cook, Jr., G. E. Channing and William Fletcher. The latter gentlemen were responsible for having the land surveyed and platted into town lots as the Town of Davenport. A petition signed by 34 legal voters of Congressional Township No. 137, Range 51, to organize as a town was submitted to the Cass County Commissioners, Dakota Territory, on January 26, 1884. The village was incorporated October 9, 1895.

The early settlement was named after Alice Davenport, "a Massachusetts friend" of G. E. Channing. She later became the wife of Massachusetts Governor Chalfin. A post office was established on April 2, 1882, with Elmer E. Smith postmaster. The first building to be erected upon the town site was that of Mrs. Mary Carr and used as a city restaurant.

In 1882, William Porterfield and Mr. Fout erected the first general store. For ten years Mr. Porterfield was identified with business interests in the village. He had also operated a drug store and, after disposing of it in 1892, he traveled for two years and then purchased a drug store in Fargo. Their village building later became the Tuskind-Transgrud store.

The first village officers elected were Eric Qualley, Arne P. Borderud, A. 0. Tuskind, trustees, Ole Torison, clerk, N. T. Nelson, assessor and A. I. Berg, town marshal. Some of these gentlemen were in business in Davenport. At this time, the village was a center of a large trading area with salesmen coming by rail from Fargo and other cities. They would register at the local hotel, rent a horse and buggy at the local livery stable and cover their territory. Located in the village were a large number of business places as shown on the 1899 pen sketch of the Davenport trade center. A lawyer, doctor, ministers and other professional people also resided in the village.

Arne 0. Tuskind entered the general merchandise business in 1893, having started the "Corner Store" as it was called. In 1894, he took Axel Transgrud as a partner. Soon after this building and stock was destroyed by fire. It was rebuilt in 1899 and Arne took on as his partner, brother Casper. Qualley and Schnieder, a hardware and machine firm, also started in business in 1893, having purchased the business from Broten and Qualley who launched out in hardware as early as 1884. Habberstad and Co., composed of M. H. Habberstad, Arne P. Borderud and B. H Trangsrud was organized in 1882. Mr. Borderud had control of the business and operated it for many years. He also served as village postmaster.

Mr. M. I. Myhra left his farm located south of the village in 1886 and with the assistance of his son, E. M. Myhra, started in the hardware and machinery business. It was in 1905 that Peter B. Fredrikson entered the hardware and machinery business with Hans Myhra. In 1908, Mr. Myhra sold his interest to Oscar N. Brakke. The Fredrikson-Brakke partnership continued until 1946, a period of 38 years. When they retired, the business was sold to Clark and Robert Fredrikson, sons of Peter Fredrikson.

The Union Hotel was operated by William Hildebrandt, who started in the hotel business in 1882, having purchased the building from F. Erdman. Lars Tiegen had a blacksmith shop and Anton Sandberg was a contractor. Dr. J. L. Savage, a graduate of Milwaukee, Wis., Medical School, located in the village in 1897. Ole Augedahl had a confectionary and cigar store. Amberson and Brieland had the livery business which later sold to Mr. Bischoff and the Johnson brothers. Joe Ruesink, "the barber" came from Howard County, Iowa. The city drug store was owned by Z.F. Hamilton. Ole Torrison served as agent for the Beidler and Robinson Lumber Co. The Merchants Hotel was operated by F.J. Friese. Peter Sanders had charge of the tin and bicycle repair shop and A.C. Lewis operated the "Peoples Store". 

The first school in Davenport in the early 1890s was held in a small one-room frame house. Two of the earliest teachers at Davenport were Minnie Park, a graduate of Moorhead High School, and Nellie Hamilton, a graduate of Burlington, Wis., High School and Moorhead Normal School. In 1902 a brick two-story school was built. For many years Davenport had only two years of high school. Students wanting to continue their education beyond that point usually enrolled in Fargo High School.

At one time 10 trains a day made stops in Davenport, six passenger and four freight, the town being one of the first in the state supporting a Union Depot. A manually operated switch tower located at the railroads crossing was the highest observation point in the village.

The number of people living in Davenport in the late 1890s and early 1900s peaked at around 430. The population dropped off largely in the 1910s and steadily declined for the next several decades until the 1970s saw an increase in people moving to the area. The 80s, 90s, and 2000s saw slow but steady increases in population before leveling off over the last two decades. Today, Davenport’s population is estimated to be around 250 residents.

Images and content provided by the North Dakota State University Archives Library and Digital Horizons.
Book Title: 1882-1982 Davenport Centennial, Davenport, North Dakota, July 2,3,4,1982.