Township 150 Range 66 (Gates) Map

The city is located in Section 9 of Gates Township (Township 150, Range 60). Sheyenne was named after the Sheyenne River. In 1839 the leader of an upper midwest mapping expedition, Jean-Nicolas Nicollet, recorded the river was named "Shayenn-oju" by the Sioux in reference to the Cheyennes, meaning a people who speak a strange language and it is identified as such in his 1843 map. As of this writing the established spelling of "Sheyenne" is unknown but by 1866 the Legislative Assembly of the Territory of Dakota Territory referenced it as such. On 20 July 1883 a post office was established with Phillip Brand as postmaster and it was named GATES, for an attorney and early homesteader, Frank M. Gates, and it serviced the Sheyenne area for several years. After the Northern Pacific Railroad branch line survey was made in 1884 the post office and other buildings were moved one and one-half miles to the railroad site of Sheyenne. That post office was established on 27 May 1887 with John W. Richter, postmaster. Sheyenne incorporated as a city in 1926. Detailed historical and other data on Sheyenne can be found in the following two books: History of the Sheyenne Area 1833-1976 Our Heritage 1883 -1980 Sheyenne Area The above were downloaded from Digital Horizons, Life on the Northern Plains Visit them for images of North Dakota history. Click on Pictures for Larger View From Sheyenne History (above) and colorized by Mike Peterson Sheyenne Website Sheyenne Facebook Page New Rockford-Sheyenne School District #2