The highway crosses the Pembina River, which in dry seasons is likely to appear more like mud than water. Left on the highway is Pembina State Park (good water, firewood, kitchens, and tables), which includes the site of the Chaboillez trading post.
A bridge over the Red River connects Pembina with St. Vincent, Minn., situated on US 59 (see Minn. Tour 17).
At 4 m. is the PEMBINA AIRPORT (R), airport of entry operated by the Northwest Airlines. It is on part of the former military reservation of Fort Pembina, established in 1870. The reservation was turned over to the U. S. Department of the Interior in 1895 and sold at public auction. The fort was situated a mile and a half S. of the city of Pembina on the Red River.
JOLIETTE, 14.5 m. (796 alt., 100 pop.), is a French-Canadian community named for Joliette, Quebec.
At 16.4 m. is the junction with ND 44, a graveled highway and an alternate route of shorter distance between Joliette and Manvel (see below).
Left on ND 44 is BOWESMONT, 8.6 m. (794 alt., 125 pop.), named for William Bowes, the first storekeeper. It lies on the level land just W. of the Red River, its treeless streets more like a western North Dakota prairie town than the usual Red River Valley village. The story is told that Bowes won the opportunity to name the town in a game of cards. Bowesmont was first built on the banks of the river, but settlers experienced great hardships when the stream overflowed its banks each spring, and the buildings were moved.
Near Bowesmont in the spring of 1860 occurred an event illustrative of the hardships suffered by the missionaries to this region. The Rev. Joseph Goiffon, assistant at the Pembina Catholic Mission, returning from a trip to St. Paul, left his party behind in an effort to reach the mission in time to conduct a certain Mass. A driving rain had been falling and this suddenly turned to a swirling snowstorm. In a short time the ground was covered with six or seven inches of snow, and the driving wind made it impossible for him to continue. The blizzard did not abate, and in two days his horse had died from exposure and his own legs had frozen so that he was unable to walk. For five days he remained on the prairie, living on the flesh of his horse, until the storm subsided and a passer-by heard his feeble cries for help. It was found necessary to amputate parts of both legs, but in spite of this he returned to the Pembina mission, and was later transferred to St. Paul and Mendota, where he served until his death in 1910.
DRAYTON, 18.5 m. (800 alt., 509 pop.), first known as Hastings Landing, was given its present name by settlers who came west from Drayton, Ont., Canada. In contrast with its neighbor Bowesmont, Drayton is situated directly in the timber on the banks of the Red. Its 42-acre city park is unusual in that it lies in another State, across the river in Minnesota. The bridge leading to the park is also unusual; it is a drawbridge, built in 1911, when the high stage of the Red aroused hope of reviving steamboating. After the bridge had been completed the river stage fell, and has never risen, so that the draw has not been lifted since it was built.
Drayton is an active sports town, especially interested in curling, and 10 teams compete in the large enclosed rink each winter.
Left on ND 44 to ACTON HALL, 29.5 m., a community building.