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

. It is the westernmost international border crossing in

Minnesota Minnesota () is a state in the upper midwestern region of the United States. It is the 12th largest U.S. state in area and the List of U.S. states and territories by population, 22nd most populous, with over 5.75 million residents. Minne ...

following the closure of the

Noyes–Emerson East Border Crossing The Noyes–Emerson East Border Crossing is a closed Canada–United States port of entry that formerly connected the communities of Noyes, Minnesota, and Emerson, Manitoba. On the American side, the crossing was connected by US Highway 75 ...

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. Histo ...

and the Municipality of Emerson - Franklin, Manitoba.

History

This crossing was established in 1950 after

U.S. Highway 59 U.S. Route 59 (US 59) is a north–south United States highway (though it was signed east–west in parts of Texas). A latecomer to the U.S. numbered route system, US 59 is now a border-to-border route, part of the NAFTA Corridor Highway Sy ...

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 Avenu ...

in order to provide a more direct route between

Thief River Falls, Minnesota Thief River Falls, sometimes referred to as Thief River or abbreviated as TRF, is a city in Pennington County in the northwest portion of the U.S. state of Minnesota. The population was 8,749 at the 2020 census. Thief River Falls is the county ...

and

Winnipeg, Manitoba Winnipeg () is the capital and largest city of the province of Manitoba in Canada. It is centred on the confluence of the Red and Assiniboine rivers, near the longitudinal centre of North America. , Winnipeg had a city population of 749 ...

. Prior to that time, U.S. Highway 59 veered west out of Lancaster and joined

U.S. Route 75 U.S. Route 75 is a major north–south U.S. Highway that extends in the central United States. The highway's northern terminus is in Noyes, Minnesota, at the Canadian border, where it once continued as Manitoba Highway 75 on the other side o ...

near the now-closed port of entry at

Noyes, Minnesota Noyes is an unincorporated community in St. Vincent Township, Kittson County, Minnesota, United States. Located in the extreme northwestern corner of the state on the Canada–United States border, Noyes is the northern terminus of U.S. Highway ...

. When the border crossing was first established in 1950, the

U.S. Customs Service The United States Customs Service was the very first 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 c ...

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