The Lancaster–Tolstoi Border Crossing connects the city of

Lancaster, Minnesota Lancaster is a city in Kittson County, Minnesota, United States. As of the 2020 census, the city population was 364. History Lancaster was incorporated in 1904 along a Soo Line Railroad line running from Glenwood to the Canada–US border ...

and community of Tolstoi, Manitoba on the

Canada–United States border The international border between Canada and the United States is the longest in the world by total length. The boundary (including boundaries in the Great Lakes, Atlantic, and Pacific coasts) is long. The land border has two sections: Canada' ...

. It is the westernmost international border crossing in

Minnesota Minnesota ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the Upper Midwestern region of the United States. It is bordered by the Canadian provinces of Manitoba and Ontario to the north and east and by the U.S. states of Wisconsin to the east, Iowa to the so ...

following the closure of the Noyes–Emerson East Border Crossing in 2006. The border crossing is surrounded by

Kittson County, Minnesota Kittson County is a county in the northwestern corner of the U.S. state of Minnesota along the Canada–US border, south of the Canadian province of Manitoba. As of the 2020 census, the population was 4,207. Its county seat is Hallock. Hist ...

and the Municipality of Emerson - Franklin, Manitoba.

History

This crossing was established in 1950 after U.S. Highway 59 was redirected to connect with the newly constructed

Manitoba Highway 59 Provincial Trunk Highway 59 (PTH 59) is a major provincial highway in the Canadian province of Manitoba. It runs from the Lancaster-Tolstoi Border Crossing (where it meets with U.S. Highway 59), through the city of Winnipeg, north to 8th Aven ...

in order to provide a more direct route between

Thief River Falls, Minnesota Thief River Falls, sometimes abbreviated as TRF, is a city and county seat of Pennington County in the northwest portion of the U.S. state of Minnesota. The population was 8,749 at the 2020 census. History Thief River Falls takes its name fro ...

and

Winnipeg, Manitoba Winnipeg () is the capital and largest city of the Provinces and territories of Canada, Canadian province of Manitoba. It is centred on the confluence of the Red River of the North, Red and Assiniboine River, Assiniboine rivers. , Winnipeg h ...

. Prior to that time, U.S. Highway 59 veered west out of Lancaster and joined U.S. Route 75 near the now-closed port of entry at Noyes, Minnesota. When the border crossing was first established in 1950, the

U.S. Customs Service The United States Customs Service was a federal law enforcement agency of the U.S. federal government. Established on July 31, 1789, it collected import tariffs, performed other selected border security duties, as well as conducted criminal i ...

operated out of a white two-story building some distance from the border. A brick inspection station was constructed at the border in 1965; this building was replaced with the current facility in 2004. The current Canadian border station was built in 1971.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Lancaster-Tolstoi Border Crossing Canada–United States border crossings 1950 establishments in Manitoba 1950 establishments in Minnesota Buildings and structures in Kittson County, Minnesota

History

See also

References