Editing Crookston, Minnesota (section)

===Settlement===
The present-day site of Crookston first saw settlement by non-Indian people around 1872.<ref name=EB>{{cite EB1911 |wstitle=Crookston |volume=7 |page=502}}</ref> It was the site of a federal land office<ref name=EB/> by 1876 and sited on a portion of the [[Great Northern Railway (U.S.)|Great Northern Railway]] that began operation by 1880. The town was incorporated on April 1, 1879<ref name=EB/> as "Queen City".<ref name=":0">{{Cite web |last=Gray |first=Kristina |title=Crookston, a Railroad and River Town |url=https://www.oakridger.com/story/lifestyle/2012/03/14/crookston-railroad-river-town/63548838007/ |access-date=2025-01-21 |website=Oak Ridger |language=en-US |quote=in 1872, the name for the new settlement was the "Red Lake Crossing" ... As people began to populate the new community, the name of Crooksbury was chosen, but that only lasted for a short time. This was to honor Colonel William Crooks, an official of the railroad company. Then it was permanently changed to Crookston. |ref=2012 Oak Ridger / Crookston Times article}}</ref> By the end of that year, the town had a jail, graded streets, and a few plank sidewalks. Soon, it was decided that the town needed a new name. Two factions emerged supporting two different names. One wished to honor the town's first mayor, Captain Ellerey C. Davis, with the name Davis. Another group picked the name Crookston to honor Colonel William Crooks,<ref name=":0" /><ref name=EB/> a soldier and railroad builder. The name was reportedly chosen by [[coin toss]].

Soon, Scandinavian, French-Canadian, and German immigrants began populating Crookston. At one point, eight different railroad lines reached the town, and it became a center of commerce and manufacturing.