William Larsman came to Barnes County from the state of Wisconsin in 1877 and settled some fifteen miles south of Valley City. By his twenty-first birthday he owned a homestead and another quarter of land on the Sheyenne River.
An ambitious man, Larsman added to his land acreage until he was farming in excess of 1000 acres and had tenants on his farms. With all of this land, Larsman liked to own and operate big machinery. He purchased a Reeves threshing rig and used it not only to thresh his own crop of over 10,000 bushels but his neighbors as well. He also bought the largest Reeves plowing unit, four triple bottoms, pulled by his steam engine, which he also used to power a large feed mill for custom grinding. He purchased one of the first trucks in Barnes County, an Avery, which he converted to a passenger bus. Hard rubber tires made for a rough ride so the unit was used to haul grain.
In November of 1916 Larsman began having trouble with a tenant, one Adam Schneider, who was dissatisfied with the arrangements and desired to leave the farm. Schneider and his son, Victor, decided to load their possessions and leave.
When leaving with the last load, they were confronted by Larsman at the ford in the Sheyenne River, about 60 yards from the house. Larsman was armed with a loaded Winchester shotgun.
An argument ensued and Larsman was shot in the chest by Victor Schneider, who then turned himself in to the Sheriff's office in Valley City. Upon the arrival of the Sheriff and the Coroner, it was found that Larsman was dead, as shown in the accompanying picture.
A hearing was held the next day, October 3, 1916 and young Schneider was bound over to the district court for trial. At the subsequent trial, Victor Schneider was found "not guilty" on a plea of self defense.
Source: Barnes County History 1976 Page 311