Pembina, North Dakota

Pembina (/ˈpɛmbɪnə/ ^ⓘ) is a city in Pembina County, North Dakota, United States. The population was 512 at the 2020 census.^[3] Pembina is located 2 miles (3.2 km) south of the Canada–US border. Interstate 29 passes on the western side of Pembina, leading north to the Canada–US border at Emerson, Manitoba and south to the cities of Grand Forks and Fargo. The Pembina–Emerson Border Crossing is the busiest between Surrey–Blaine, and Windsor–Detroit, and the fifth busiest along the Canada-United States border.^{[citation needed]} It is one of three 24-hour ports of entry in North Dakota, the others being Portal and Dunseith.^[5] The Noyes–Emerson East Border Crossing, located 2 miles (3.2 km) to the east on the Minnesota side of the Red River, also processed cross-border traffic until its closure in 2006.

The area of Pembina was long inhabited by various Indigenous peoples. At the time of 16th century French exploration and fur trading, historical Native American tribes included the

The name Pembina derives from an Ojibwe word for Viburnum edule, a bushy plant with bright red berries which grows in the area.^[10] Nineteenth-century journal-writers and observers translated the word as "summer berry" or "high cranberry".^[11]

The Pembina area was historically at the borders of the territories of the

• Peter Grant of the North West Company, between 1784 and 1789, built a post on the east side of the Red River. It had disappeared by 1801.[13]
• In 1797, Jean Baptiste Chaboillez of the North West Company built a post on the south bank of the Pembina in what is now Pembina State Park.^{[citation needed]}
• From 1800 to 1805, the XY Company had a post within sight of the two following posts. It was absorbed by the North West Company.^[11]
• In 1801, Alexander Henry the younger, also of the North West Company, built a post on the north bank across from Chaboillez's post. He remained in charge until 1808. It was absorbed by the Hudson's Bay Company in 1821.^{[citation needed]}
• By 1793, the Hudson's Bay Company had a small post (seemingly called Fort Skene
  Métis buffalo hunt.^[12] It was also a center for illicit trade with the United States. The HBC post operated until at least 1870, even though it was known to be south of the border.^{[citation needed}
  ]
• In 1812, Selkirk settlers from the Red River Colony built Fort Daer on the Chaboillez site.^[11]
• In the 1820s, David Thompson determined that Pembina was south of the 49th parallel, and therefore had been transferred to the United States from British Rupert's Land by the Treaty of 1818.
• In the 1840s, Norman Kittson of the American Fur Company had an establishment.^[15]
• In September 1872, a joint Canadian and American boundary survey commission met in Pembina where they over-wintered before setting off in the spring of 1873 to survey and mark the Canada-U.S. border along the 49th parallel.^[16]

Due to the unrest among Native Americans of the

As a result, Major General Winfield Scott Hancock recommended the establishment of the post on December 8, 1869; Fort Pembina was completed on July 8, 1870. Located 1+1⁄2 miles (2.4 km) south of the settlement, it was just above the mouth of the Pembina River. It was originally called Fort Thomas, for Major General George Henry Thomas, who died on March 28, 1870. The post was designated as Fort Pembina on September 6, 1870. Seriously damaged by fire on May 27, 1895, it was abandoned on August 16, 1895. It was later sold at public auction.^[17]

The Métis had a very strong connection with Pembina during the 19th century. Individual and groups of bison hunters and goods traders were based in Pembina. In 1818, with the help of Father Dumoulin, the Roman Catholic Church created a mission in Pembina with the goal of converting buffalo hunters and other Native Americans to Catholicism. The records show a clear engagement among the Métis with Catholicism; Father Dumoulin baptised 394 people before the closure of the mission in 1823, and Assomption Catholic Church recorded 166 burials between 1848 and 1892 (with 147 being either French or English/Scottish Métis.)^[18]

In 1962,

Pembina was officially designated as a city in 1967.[8]

The noted American author

Despite its small size, Pembina maintained a television station, KCND-TV channel 12, from 1960 to 1975. The station was a border blaster primarily targeting Winnipeg from as close to the border as possible; when simultaneous substitution rules took effect in the early 1970s, Canadian interests bought the intellectual property of the station and relocated it to Winnipeg, where it was relicensed by the Canadian government as CKND-TV channel 9, and has operated there ever since. Channel 12 in Pembina was rechristened in 1986 as KNRR, a satellite of KVRR Fargo.^{[citation needed]}

Its population in federal censuses has never exceeded 1,000.^{[citation needed]}

Motor Coach Industries had planned to close its Pembina factory in late 2022 after moving production to parent company NFI Group's plant in Crookston, Minnesota,^[20] but reversed their decision in November 2023.^[21]

Pembina is in the far northeastern corner of the North Dakota, at the confluence of the

According to the United States Census Bureau, the city has a total area of 0.77 square miles (1.99 km²), all land.^[22]

Pembina experiences a dry winter humid continental climate (Köppen Dwb).^[23]

As of the

There were 237 households, of which 29.1% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 57.4% were married couples living together, 5.1% had a female householder with no husband present, 3.4% had a male householder with no wife present, and 34.2% were non-families. 30.8% of all households were made up of individuals, and 10.1% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.50 and the average family size was 3.17.

The median age in the city was 40.6 years. 26.2% of residents were under the age of 18; 6.4% were between the ages of 18 and 24; 23.4% were from 25 to 44; 29.9% were from 45 to 64; and 14.2% were 65 years of age or older. The gender makeup of the city was 48.3% male and 51.7% female.

As of the

There were 250 households, out of which 35.2% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 62.8% were married couples living together, 5.2% had a female householder with no husband present, and 28.8% were non-families. 26.8% of all households were made up of individuals, and 11.2% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.57 and the average family size was 3.12.

In the city, the population was spread out, with 29.4% under the age of 18, 4.8% from 18 to 24, 29.0% from 25 to 44, 24.0% from 45 to 64, and 12.8% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 37 years. For every 100 females, there were 98.8 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 105.0 males.

The median income for a household in the city was $55,536, and the median income for a family was $59,722. Males had a median income of $35,250 versus $26,125 for females. The

• Dumoulin Mission and Cemetery Site, located north of Pembina along north-bound Interstate 29.
• Fort Daer Landing And Recreation Area.
• Grace Episcopal Church (Pembina, North Dakota)
• Pembina State Museum - interpretative exhibits commemorating establishment of Pembina in 1797 as the earliest European settlement in what is now the state of North Dakota.
• Pembina State Park - a protected area at the confluence of the Red and Pembina Rivers.
• Icelandic Evangelical Lutheran Church
• United States Customs House and Post Office – Pembina

• Battle of Grand Coteau (North Dakota)
• List of Canada-United States border crossings
• Métis buffalo hunt