The 49th Parallel and Pembina

To wrap it all up:

It 1823 the United States Army dispatched Major Stephen H. Long to Pembina (PEM-bih-naw) to officially locate the 49th parallel and, therefore, the U.S. / Canadian border as defined by the Treaty of Ghent.  He found that all but one cabin in Pembina was located on the U.S. side - and that one cabin actually straddled the 49th parallel.

Pembina was a very strategic location for the time because it linked the U.S. to the Hudson Bay territories.  The real estate adage, "location, location, location," has been forever true.  Even so, in 1823 when Major Long arrived there were only 350 people living in Pembina.  That's a pretty isolated location though, so it's really a pretty sizeable number.

Fifty years later, in 1872, another 60-man boundary team was commissioned and headquartered at Fort Pembina to use more "modern" equipment and locate the 49th parallel more precisely, finally ending any dispute about its location.

Minnesota was a state by 1858; it wasn't until 1889 that North Dakota became a state.  So Pembina is located at the very northeast corner of what would become North Dakota, one river-width from Minnesota, and literally one step from Canada.

One of the things keeping Pembina alive today is an unlikely business:

These guys produce 75% of the tour buses in America.  I had to get Granpa out of there fast before he decided to go custom order one!!