History :

In 1908 The Emmons County Record boasted, "It is doubtful whether there is anther town with the population of 500 that has as many cars as Linton, a total of 14". There were six Buicks, three Fords, one of each International, Cadillac, St. Lewis, Pontiac, and Rambler.
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Linton was incorporated as a village on April 26, 1906, and divided into three wards. It was incorporated as a city April 6, 1914. Fire protection tax was levied in 1909. The first fire fighting equipment received in July of that year consisted of two chemical engines with ladders, buckets, 100 feet of hose, etc. The 1903 model was a hand drawn water tank type, and is now housed in the Emmons County Museum.

The Linton American Legion Post was named for Dan R. Richardson; the first casualty of World War I. Linton High School graduate Thomas Barger became chief executive officer of the Arabian American Oil Co. in Saudi Arabia in 1961.

The Emmons County Record, Emmons County's oldest business, was established in May 1884 by Darwin R. Streeter, at the now extinct town of Williamsport. It was moved to Linton in Feb. 1899.

Frank B. Irvine was one of the first persons in the state to take an interest in aviation, and was among the first to have a pilot's license. About 1925 Mr. Irvine operated flying schools in Linton and Bismarck. He had owned 17 airplanes before he retired from flying.

The "Linton Cornet Band" was organized in 1901, and received 15 instruments from Braddock by freight team. Under the direction of Prof. Clint Smith, it filled engagements at the North Dakota State Fair, Elks Convention at Bismarck and helped welcome President Taft at Fargo.

Phyllis Wolverton, contralto, trained under the world renowned Madam Schumann-Heinck. She became the director of the Linton High School Glee Club while teaching English and History.

Because the county seat of Emmons County, Williamsport, was inconveniently located in the northern part of the county a central location was chosen by county voters in November 1896. Several days' after the election the land was surveyed and platted for the new town. It was named for George W. Lynn, who settled in Emmons County in 1885. He practiced law, farmed, and became the county's first States Attorney. He also published the Emmons County Free Press for many years.

Incorporated as a village in 1906, Linton citizens voted to change to a city form of government in March 1914. The town's expansion, however, began when, in 1902-03, two competing railroads, the Northern Pacific and the Chicago, Milwaukee & St. Paul agreed to extend branch lines to a junction point just east of the platted town site.

Harry Hunter, representing the Milwaukee Road, platted a new town site known as Hunter's First Addition to Linton, in August 1902. With the focus on the railroads it immediately drew many commercial firms to the new location, leaving the original town site as a residential section. It was dubbed "Old Town", a name still used for the west side.

New buildings were constructed with dark gray stone from a quarry a mile southeast of town. The four comers on Broadway, George Lynn's law office in 1905, The First National Bank in 1907, Patterson's building in 1903, and the Petrie Store building in 1909. Others included the Hogue Stone Hospital, The Episcopalian Church, etc.

Street lighting came to Broadway in 1909 in the form of gaslights, which were replaced by the electric "White Way" in 1917.

Seeman Park was donated to the city in 1919 by L. D. Seeman. A dance pavilion was built, and traveling bands were hired. Roller-skating also became a popular sport. A frame bathhouse was built for the swimmers, and a baseball diamond, complete with bleachers, was added.

During the thirties, the WPA workers, under the able supervision of Jonathan Hoff, made many improvements to beautify Seeman Park. Steps were built up the "slide", a rustic footbridge installed and picnic tables added.

Charles Patterson purchased a strip of land north of the platted town site of Linton and divided it into five blocks. He built a hotel and to it he attached a lean-to containing a vault for the county records. The hotel opened with a Grand New Year's Ball on Dec. 31,1898.

One redeeming feature of the Dirty Thirties was the building of the Memorial Courthouse with funding from one of the New Deal programs, using local labor. Dedication ceremonies were held Oct. 6, 1934, in conjunction with the 50th Anniversary of Emmons County.

The town's greatest expansion occurred directly after World War II. Municipal projects included the building of a swimming pool, a 250,000-gallon reservoir, a new mercury vapor street lighting system, and an expanded water and sewer system. A community hospital, drive-in theater, livestock sales pavilion, modem motel, greenhouse, and a parochial school also kept the economy humming.

Because "Old Town" is situated near the confluence of Beaver and Spring Creeks, it has had a serious flood problem. The worst floods occurred in 1943, 1952 and 1987.

Charles Patterson went to Minneapolis, Minn. in 1906 and bought the first automobile in Linton. Not long after, he had the first automobile accident in town. He ran into a bull on Broadway, broke one of the headlamps on the car, and scared the bull.

Authorities directed automobile owners to obey driving laws the state legislature had just passed: not to drive faster than eight miles per hour in town, to carry a horn or bell and sound it when coming up to the rear of any animal-drawn vehicle, to use a muffler and carry lights, to stop when so signaled by any other vehicle.