DAKOTA DATEBOOK

King John Satterlund

November 1, 2022 — Washburn, the oldest city in McLean County, was founded on this date in 1882. The man responsible was John Satterlund, who, by the time he died, was known across the state as “King John.”

Satterlund immigrated with his parents from Carlstadt, Sweden, when he was 18. He was smart, well educated, and a risk-taker. The family settled in Minnesota, but John headed west, ahead of the railroad, when he was 22. He established his first homestead 15 miles north of Bismarck, at a spot called Dry Point, and then headed north to Canada to help build the railroad between Port Arthur and Fort Williams. When he returned four years later, he bought a large chunk of land in Burleigh County and got serious about farming and ranching. But it didn’t appear to satisfy him.

He soon speculated on property farther north and planned out the city of Washburn. He became one of the first commissioners for Burleigh County and then set his sights on breaking away to form McLean County, with Washburn as the county seat. Satterlund served as the new county’s first sheriff and was also a U.S. Marshal for four years.

Continuing his trail blazing, Satterlund opened a roller mill, in Washburn, and the Merchants Hotel in Bismarck. He established the first Bismarck-Washburn stage line and, with his long-time friend Louis Peterson, brought in the first telephone service between the two towns. Satterlund was also the editor and publisher of his own newspaper, the Washburn Leader, and was the receiver in the Bismarck land office for 12 years. And if that’s not enough, he owned his own coalmine – the well-known Black Diamond.

Not to say Satterlund had no private or social life. The Bismarck Tribune reported, “...one of those astute popular leaders in his heyday, Satterlund was said to know more men by name than any of his contemporaries...” He was popular about town and belonged to the Elks and the Masons. On the home front, he and his wife, Charlotte, raised five children.

It’s no surprise that Satterlund also got into politics. He was twice elected to the state legislature and soon concentrated on getting handpicked men into office. One of his good friends was a U.S. senator from Wisconsin – C. C. Washburn – for whom his town was named. In fact, it was Washburn who was able to give King John the one thing he didn’t have – a railroad line into town.

But not everybody admired Satterlund. Bismarck’s Alexander McKenzie was also in his heyday during this time, and the two political bosses often locked horns – especially when McKenzie’s powerful machine tried to cross the county line into Satterlund’s turf. The Tribune states, however, “...never did Satterlund quail or recede from McKenzie’s forays into his territory.”

A 1930 obituary gives us a hint that King John was, of course, not perfect. At the time of his death in December 1930, he’d been seriously ill for a year. He had a daughter living nearby, yet he was living alone in the Grand Pacific Hotel in Bismarck. Charlotte was gone – having moved to California to live with another daughter.

“There have been many instances of misused authority in the summing up of Satterlund’s life,” the obituary reads, “but the good that might be said of him far outweighed the balance. He was the product of an era when [bosses were] good for the country... He was of the old school, a real man, and McLean county regrets his passing.”

“Dakota Datebook” is a radio series from Prairie Public in partnership with the State Historical Society of North Dakota and with funding from Humanities North Dakota. See all the Dakota Datebooks at prairiepublic.org, subscribe to the “Dakota Datebook”

podcast, or buy the Dakota Datebook book at shopprairiepublic.org.