The township homesteaders made Melville a good place to live. Many squatters came before 1882. After the territory was opened the first ten homesteaders to prove up on their claims were in 1883, Alfred Elder, James McElroy, Vincent Wavra, Adeliah Mitchell, George Wordrop, Loren Harrington, Margaret Byers, Myra Strong, John Wilson, and Edgar Leavenworth. Homesteaders continued to prove up until 1909. Every odd numbered section was railroad property which they could use or sell. Section 16 was school property.
The first white boy born in Melville Township was Franz Zink.
John H. Potter worked for Surveyor George C. Beardsley who surveyed lines north of Jamestown. Merritt Wiseman also helped Beardsley. He had squatted on land pre‑empted 1872 ahead of U.S. Public Land Survey.
The first teacher is unknown but Lulu Page Russell was one of the first. She later became first librarian in Carrington, Phillip Wiseman also taught.
The Carrington Casey Land Company's largest ranch, 20,000 acres used 150 mules and horses, 35 binders working at one time and about 75,000 bushels of grain was raised, mostly wheat, selling for 45ยข per bushel. Lyman Casey was one of the first two Senators from North Dakota to the U.S. Senate. He named Bordulac.
Land sold for less than $3.00 per acre.
Peter Zink, a large landholder, had at one time 15 sections of land. He married first girl that came to Melville, Theresa Lettner. He gave property for the town school, was very active in the community affairs. Mrs. P. Zink's niece, also Theresa Lettner, married Wendelin Zink two years later. Frank Burnham being a mason by trade built the largest house in the township (1883 ) . It was 16 x 24 feet on Section 30, a place for many parties. He was the father of George, Chilo and Pluma. Chilo became an attorney in Carrington.
Many homes had no floors, no door and no windows. They were lived in for six months in the summer for 5 years until proved up on claim. Those that stayed over winter suffered from cold. Many gathered buffalo bones for cash and buffalo chips for fuel. There were no trees except near rivers.
John C. Warner entered a claim on Section 16 in 1882, raised in a sod shanty. His farm was named "Garden Farm of Foster County". Built first building in Carrington for Mr. Halsey and was first Sheriff of Foster County
Edward Porter, Company treasurer in 1886, State Legislature in 1894 and Senator in 1898.
Gypsies and Indians visited the settlers, mostly all were friendly.
Mrs. Myron Miller, first woman to ride the train to Spur before depot was built. A Spur is a loading platform. Doctor D.B. McLain was a dentist and carpenter, came in 1889. He built the Kirkwood Hotel in Carrington and the store occupied by Strong and Chase.
Nicholas Loesch grain buyers, helped to get electricity to Melville, a music lover, he played violin and piano. Col. Charles Lee Kyte came in 1904 and wrote a weekly column sparked with wit and philosophy for the paper, the Foster County Independent. He was rated one of the best in the nation. In 1935 Emmet Kyte and Ira Kraft counted 30 dead horses along the Pipestem River, changeable winter weather killed horses and cattle in the area.
William Farquer accidentally met L.R. Casey and was persuaded to come to Melville in 1883 on Section 2, he built from scrap wood a 12' x 12' house, named it Halfway House because it was half way between Carrington and Melville. They moved the table and chairs out at night and brought in beds. The next year they built a barn and lived in the loft until their new home was built several months later. They had a family of six. He was a Civil War veteran.
Good driving horses were a luxury. It took four hours to drive to Jamestown. Wiseman Bros., Joe Maher and John Reight kept driving horses. Fire on August 20, 1908 took the lives of 11 of the 15 horses in the Wiseman barn. New Buggies and harnesses gone besides about 45 tons of hay, about a $5,250.00 loss.
There were lots of good times. Helping hands from neighbors and good fellowship. Also there were the sorrows, 5 year old son of Chas. Fritz drowned in well in 1901, 4 year old son of Mark Neiman drowned in well about 1914. There were men frozen to death when they left their sleds. There were murders, several suicides, divorces and accidents. There were drunken brawls and a few dirty deals, but the settlers were a hardy lot and came through these times stronger than ever.
In the 1930's they were hit with droughts, crops dried up in the field, the strong winds covered crops with sand. Russian thistles and blowing sand covered fences. The government bought horses for slaughter (5.00) and milk cows for $10.00 each. Then in about 1935 the grasshoppers came. The heads of wheat looked like cattails, the hoppers were so many on each head. You drove a car only several miles before the radiators were blocked and they became hot. Fields of grain would disappear over night. The heads gone. Fine dust sifted into every house.
Many homesteaders were Civil War veterans, their sons and grandsons were in the wars that followed.
Agnes Olson's school (on Section 7) burned. She sent children to the barn. She tried but couldn't put out the fire, that was in 1929. In 1932 Chester Martin, a pupil was killed by lightning in his home. Esther McAfee was the teacher and had always taken Chester and his brother Richard to and from school. Joe Carson was a carpenter (1900‑1920) who helped build many homes.
In prohibition days a salesman found an elevator
man darning socks (cost 10, a pair) and drinking $5.00 home brew of "Moonshine".
Water at city well had so much alkali that it ate off the cylinder every two years. Not fit to drink.
There was a 15 mile per hour speed limit sign, but it disappeared one night.
There was a man‑made dam on Bonita Lake, foreman when being built was Herbert Chadwick. He died a couple months later from cancer.
There is a very small part of Pipestem River crossing in southwest corner of township. The Soo Line Railroad crosses the northeast corner of the township.
Bonita Lake is a Historical sight where Sibley camped.
The first crops were seeded by hand, called broadcasting. Harvesting was cut with a scythe, tied by hand. The grain was hand fed into the threshing machine, grain was caught in a sack. The straw carried away by a conveyor and pitched into a stack. The best average was 1,500 bushels per day. The grain wagons held from 20 to 50 bushels. The McCormick binder was a great improvement.
Mrs. John Shearer was well‑known nurse and midwife.
The last passenger train was called "The Goose", its last trip was November 8, 1960. It was a one car unit, motor in front, mail and light freight in center and back part for passengers. From that date all mail was trucked from Jamestown, North Dakota. The Post Office was officially closed March 17, 1967, Esther McAfee Laughlin was the last postmaster. Wayne McAfee was first to own a plane.
Prairie fires and blizzards took their toll of property and lives.
Melville was the home of persons with interesting last names. Here are some: Glass, Kyte, Fawcett, Miller, Balton, Blood, Hill, Fischer, Shearer, Layne, White
Brown, Zink, Posey, Barr, Bohn, Goodman, Wiseman, Beach, Bower, Wolf, Brimm, Cody, Arrowwood, Brakey, these were there in the 30's. Other times there were: Heyer, Moon, Hussey, Wing, Porter, Elder, Keepers, Strong, Warner, Byers, Barnes, Baker, King, Nobile, Dye, Day, Ryder, Graves, Inland, Kidder, Dodge, Speer, Bower, Chase, Wing, Hall, Lilley, Stern
Cole, Carr, Page, Russell, John Henry Davenport, Works, Huff, I doubt any township can match this list.
A hundred pound meteor fell on the Sam Fawcett farm, it stayed too hot to move for a few days. He gave this meteor to the Rainbow Gardens in Carrington in 1933 when he moved to Melville.
Source: A History of Foster County 1983 Page 356