Editing Otter Tail County, Minnesota (section)

==History==
Native Americans used the area for hunting and fishing, and had permanent dwelling sites. Two [[Indigenous peoples of the Americas|Native American]] tribes were in constant conflict. The Dakota ([[Sioux]]) were being pushed from their home area by the [[Ojibwa]] (Chippewa) during the late 18th and early 19th centuries. [[Burial mounds]] and artifacts can still be found. Some of the oldest Native American remains were found near [[Pelican Rapids, Minnesota]]. The remains, nicknamed Minnesota Girl, were dated at about 11,000 BC.

[[File:Tordenskjold Monument 01.jpg|thumb|left|250px|Historic marker for Tordenskjold, which was made the county seat in 1870 by the Minnesota legislature, a decision rescinded the following year.]]
The first European men to enter the county were [[French people|French]] and [[British people|British]] [[fur traders]]. Efforts were made to set up [[trading posts]] on the Leaf Lakes and [[Otter Tail Lake]]. In the late 19th century, most of the towns were built along the railroad lines. Lumber and agriculture were the major industries in the county at that time. The pine and hardwood forests, transportation system, and markets were instrumental in the development of Fergus Falls into a lumber center. The [[Wisconsin Territory]] was established by the federal government effective July 3, 1836, and existed until its eastern portion was granted statehood (as [[Wisconsin]]) in 1848. The federal government set up the [[Minnesota Territory]] effective March 3, 1849. The newly organized territorial legislature created nine counties across the territory in October of that year. One of those original counties, [[Dakota County, Minnesota|Dakota]], had a section partitioned off in 1851 to create [[Cass County, Minnesota|Cass County]]. On March 18, 1858, the outgoing territorial legislature created Otter Tail County from areas partitioned from Cass and [[Kittson County, Minnesota|Pembina]], another of the original counties created in 1849. The county was named for [[Otter Tail Lake]] and the [[Otter Tail River]].<ref>Otter Tail County Website {{Cite web |title=History and Settlement - GIS - Otter Tail County Minnesota |url=http://www.co.otter-tail.mn.us/gis/soilsurvey03history.php |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090625185421/http://www.co.otter-tail.mn.us/gis/soilsurvey03history.php |archive-date=June 25, 2009 |access-date=April 9, 2009}}</ref> The county was not organized in 1858, nor was a county seat specified. On September 12, 1868, the [[Minnesota Legislature|legislature]] completed the county organization, and specified Otter Tail City as county seat.
 
Otter Tail City began as a waystation on a fur-trade route between [[St. Paul, Minnesota|Saint Paul]] and the Red River valley. The settlement was of sufficient size that when the [[Minnesota Territory]] established a US land office for this part of the territory, the office was sited at Otter Tail City. Thus, the city was named as the seat when the county was organized, but people had begun settling the future Fergus Falls area in 1857, and it grew sufficiently that in fall 1872, the vote was taken to move the county seat there.<ref>{{Cite web |year=1969 |title=Minnesota geographic names; their origin and historic significance |url=https://archive.org/details/minnesotageogra00uphagoog/page/n409 |publisher=[St. Paul] Minnesota Historical Society}}</ref> The Northern Pacific Railroad had initially planned to run a line through Otter Tail City, but complications caused the line to be placed in Fergus Falls, which precipitated the county seat move. The Soo Line later made plans to run a line through Otter Tail City, but when townspeople could not agree on the routing, another route east of the city was constructed. Thus, a new city plat was generated, with the settlement name changing to [[Ottertail, Minnesota|Ottertail]].<ref>{{Cite web |title=History of the Community |url=https://cityofottertail.com/index.asp?SEC=767EB119-B575-4B4F-A93D-528D2375D805&Type=B_BASIC |website=cityofottertail.com}}</ref>

In 1870, the population of the county was about 2,000. At that time, the principal languages spoken in the county were [[Norwegian language|Norwegian]], [[Swedish language|Swedish]], [[German language|German]], and [[English language|English]].

The people of Fergus Falls organized a new county named Holcomb. In 1872, a legislative act abolished Holcomb County, added additional townships to the west, and established Fergus Falls as Otter Tail County's seat.

===Early telephone===
The Fergus Falls Telephone Exchange Company organized on March 20, 1882, and was in a room at the First National Bank at the corner of Cascade and Lincoln. The system install was very crude. Efforts were made to have telephones installed in the courthouse but commissioners did not feel it was necessary. Eventually a telephone was installed in the auditor's office through a combination of private and public funds. A clerk in the office was tasked with tracking down the officer who was called. The business was sold to the Northwestern Telephone Exchange Company in 1883.<ref>{{Cite book |last=Mason |first=John W. |title=Otter Tail County Minnesota: Its People, Industries, and Institutions |publisher=B.F. Bowen & Company, Inc |year=1916 |volume=1}}</ref>