Hazelton, North Dakota

Hazelton was established in nineteen oh two in Emmons County, one of the most heavily German-Russian-settled counties in the United States. The families who built these towns had first emigrated from German-speaking regions to the Black Sea colonies in what is now Ukraine, then crossed the Atlantic again in the eighteen seventies and eighties, lured by cheap Dakota land and exemption from military service. They brought with them a distinct dialect, a strong Catholic faith, and seed wheat varieties suited to harsh winters.

Hazelton grew around the Northern Pacific Railroad and the wheat trade that followed. The church steeples that still define these small Emmons County skylines reflect that German-Russian heritage directly.