Erik Reiersen Ramstad (January 17, 1860 – January 21, 1951) was one of the founders of

Minot, North Dakota Minot ( ) is a city in and the county seat of Ward County, North Dakota, United States, in the state's north-central region. It is most widely known for the Air Force base approximately north of the city. With a population of 48,377 at the 2 ...

Biography

Ramstad was the son of tenant farmer Reier Pedersen and Anne Ellefsdatter. He was born at Køsahaugen in

Sigdal Sigdal is a Municipalities of Norway, municipality in Buskerud Counties of Norway, County, Norway. The administrative centre of the municipality is the village of Prestfoss. The municipality of Sigdal was established on 1 January 1838 (see forman ...

Buskerud Buskerud () is a Counties of Norway, county and a current electoral district in Norway, bordering Akershus, Oslo, Innlandet, Vestland, Telemark and Vestfold. The region extends from the Oslofjord and Drammensfjorden in the southeast to Hardanger ...

Norway Norway, officially the Kingdom of Norway, is a Nordic countries, Nordic country located on the Scandinavian Peninsula in Northern Europe. The remote Arctic island of Jan Mayen and the archipelago of Svalbard also form part of the Kingdom of ...

. Erik left Norway in 1879. His brother Peder followed him to America in 1880, and his mother Anne and sister Berte followed in 1885. The brothers were early settlers in the

Souris River The Souris River (; ) or Mouse River (as it is alternatively known in the U.S., a translation of its French name) is a river in central North America. Approximately in length, it drains about in Canada and the United States. Rising in sout ...

Valley of North Dakota, arriving in May 1883. They staked a claim to property on both the north and south sides of the Souris River. With the coming of the Great Northern Railway during the summer of 1886, Erik Ramstad agreed to relinquish of land on the south side of the Souris River, retaining sites north of the river. The Great Northern roundhouse and the Minot business district were both built on this southern acreage. Both Erik and Peter Ramstad remained active in the development of Minot. In 1886, the first Lutheran church service within Minot was held at the Peter Ramstad home. The first Lutheran Church in Minot was built in the early 1900s on land originally belonging to Erik Ramstad. Erik was also involved in local politics for many years, served as president of the Scandinavian American Bank, and was co-owner of the Great Northern Lumber Company. Erik Ramstad later donated part of his remaining property, which became the site of

Minot State University Minot State University (MSU or MiSU) is a public university in Minot, North Dakota, United States. Founded in 1913 as a normal school, MSU evolved into a university in 1987 and is currently the state's third-largest, offering undergraduate and ...

. Erik Ramstad Middle School, originally south of the MSU campus, but now on the north end of Minot, is named after him. The original school was destroyed by the

2011 Souris River flood The 2011 Souris/Mouse River flood in Canada and the United States occurred in June and was greater than a hundred-year flooding event for the river. The US Army Corps of Engineers estimated the flood to have a recurrence interval of two to fiv ...

and was razed; the new campus opened in December 2013.

Personal life

On February 3, 1883, Erik Ramstad married Oline "Lena" Oleson from Grafton. Peter Ramstad died at age 74 on July 14, 1930, and Erik Ramstad died at age 91 on January 21, 1951. Both brothers died in Minot and were buried in the First

Lutheran Lutheranism is a major branch of Protestantism that emerged under the work of Martin Luther, the 16th-century German friar and Protestant Reformers, reformer whose efforts to reform the theology and practices of the Catholic Church launched ...

Church Cemetery next to Minot State University.''North Dakota Department of Health Death Index''
(The State of North Dakota)

References

Other Source

*Keillor, Steven J. (2002) ''Erik Ramstad and the Empire Builder'' (North American Heritage Press, Minot, ND)

External links

Erik Ramstad Middle SchoolMinot State University
* {{DEFAULTSORT:Ramstad, Erik 1860 births 1951 deaths People from Sigdal Norwegian emigrants to the United States American Lutherans People from Minot, North Dakota