History of Bismarck, North Dakota History of Bismarck, North Dakota Bismarck is the capital of the state of North Dakota, the county seat of Burleigh County, and the second most populous city in North Dakota after Fargo. The city was formed in 1872 as "Edwinton" after Edwin Ferry Johnson, a chief engineer for the Northern Pacific Railway company, when the railroad reached the eastern banks of the Missouri River. The name was changed less than one year later, honoring German chancellor Otto von Bismarck, in an effort to attract German immigrants. The discovery of gold in the nearby Black Hills in 1874 was the first
U.S. Route 81 in North Dakota of Grafton before joining North Dakota Highway 5 (ND 5) near Cavalier. It rejoins I-29 and continues to the US–Canada border at Pembina. The original route of US 81 survives as ND 127 and 'County Road 81' in Richland, Cass, Traill, and Grand Forks counties. Exit numbers are I-29 exit numbers. U.S. Route 81 in North Dakota U.S. Route 81 (US 81) is a part of the U.S. Highway System that travels from Fort Worth, Texas, to the Pembina–Emerson Border Crossing near Pembina. In the state of North Dakota, US 81 extends from the South Dakota border north to the