Occasionally we find an article giving us a mental picture of how Sheldon looked in its fledgling years of existence. The state historical society publishes a quarterly journal called “North Dakota History.” Old issues of it can be purchased at the bookstore in the Heritage Center in Bismarck. An issue dated Spring 1987 carried a story titled “Examining Land in Dakota Territory: The 1883 Journal of Thomas Sadler Roberts” by Penelope Krosch.”
Railroads had been granted huge tracts of land to extend their rails westward, but that land needed to be sold to raise money for their continued expansion. They employed surveyors to determine value and descriptions. One of them was Thomas Sadler Roberts who kept journals of his experiences.
Here is his journal entry of June 5,1883. “Reached Fargo at 8:15 where we took breakfast at the Headquarters Hotel… We changed cars here taking the train, which was a mixed one, on the Fargo and Southwestern a new road complete as yet only as far as Lisbon with one passenger car and a second class car full of people besides a long line of freight cars, at 10:00 A. M. — one hour and thirty minutes after schedule time. The only station on the road of any account is Sheldon where there are about 25 buildings large and small including a good R.R. station and elevator. The road is still rough and has a very incomplete aspect. We reached Lisbon about 2 P.M.
The article also includes the picture of “a huge grading and construction gang shown in this 1882 photo. Next time I’m in Bismarck, I intend to look at it. Here too much detail is lost.
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