The city of Forman is situated upon the northeast quarter of Section 1, Township 130 North, Range 56 West, within what became Sargent County, North Dakota. When first established, this portion of Dakota Territory was newly organized, having been created from the southern half of Ransom County. The county, measuring twenty-four miles east to west and thirty-six miles north to south, contained twenty-four townships comprising some of the richest agricultural and grazing lands in the region, some 552,960 acres in all. The summer of 1884 saw an impressive sixty thousand acres of prairie sod broken for cultivation, transforming the territory from open range to productive farmland.
Forman, which would soon become the county seat, arose in 1883 through the enterprise and foresight of Colonel Cornelius H. Forman, one of the area’s earliest settlers and a man of uncommon vision. Colonel Forman had acquired his land through squatters’ rights, remaining upon and improving the tract until he could claim it as his own. Upon learning that the site lay nearly at the geographic center of the new county, he recognized its natural advantage as a prospective townsite and county seat. The settlement was first called “Center Township” in acknowledgment of this central position, but when it was formally platted in 1883 the name was changed to Forman in honor of its founder.
This Diamond Jubilee pamphlet was published in 1959 as part of the celebration of Forman's 75 years of community life. It provides a brief history of the town, civic organizations, churches, businesses, and people.
Table of Contents
- Colonel C. H. Forman Founds a Town
- Early History of Foreman
- Experiences and Hardships of Pioneer Life
- Sargent County Established in 1883
- Forman School in Review
- Flora E. Baker, Pioneer Educator
- Soo Line Railroad Comes To Foreman In 1887
- Early History of Printing In a Growing Community
- The Town of Foreman
- People Housed in Various Hotels
- Churches Help Mold a Community
- Trinity Lutheran Church
- St. Mary's Catholic Church
- Methodist Church
- Congregational Church
- Banking Comes to Foreman With County Seat
- Organizations Are Many In a Growing Community
- Eastern Star
- Masonic Lodge
- American Legion and Auxiliary
- Women's Literary Club
- Telephone Service Has Meager Beginning Before 1900
- From Years Gone By …
- Do You Remember …
Source
Forman's diamond jubilee history, 1884-1959; Forman, North Dakota : Forman's Diamond Jubilee, Incorporated, 1959.