Linton is a city in and the county seat of Emmons County, North Dakota, United States. The population was 1,071 at the 2020 census. When compared with the other 356 cities in North Dakota, Linton ranks in the top twelve percent based on the number of its residents. The city serves as a governmental, commercial and business hub for Emmons County.
A nearby historic site listed on the National Register of Historic Places is Sacred Heart Cemetery, Wrought-Iron Cross Site, in or near Linton.
History
In August 1898, land located in the geographic center of Emmons County in Section 7 of Township 132 North, Range 76 West, of the Fifth Principal Meridian, was surveyed and platted by W.E. Petrie into lots, streets and alleys explicitly for the purpose of creating a seat for Emmons County. The site was named Linton, after George W. Lynn, who had settled in Emmons County in 1885. He was a farmer, lawyer, Emmons County's first States Attorney and for a while was the publisher of the Emmons County Free Press. The plat was filed with the register of deeds on December 30, 1898. Linton was incorporated as a village on April 26, 1906; and incorporated as a city on April 6, 1914. Charles Patterson, editor of the Emmons County Republican, was Linton's first postmaster, having received his commission for the post in March 1899.
Linton received its first connection via long-distance telephone in 1905 when the Northwestern Telephone Exchange Company established a line from Fargo to Bismarck and created a branch line to Linton. At the same time Bismarck was connected to the line of the South Dakota system so that each of the communities could communicate with each other in this way.
Notable persons from Linton
The Hollywood agent Bill Daly, of Bill Daly Associates, was the manager for Lawrence Welk and the lightweight world boxing champion Carlos Ortiz, among others. Daly was the nephew of Linton physician Dr. Rolly Hogue's daughter-in-law Kathleen Hogue. Roman Catholic bishop Austin Anthony Vetter was born in Linton.