Ramsey County History – Fall 2002: “Those Squealing Red River Ox Carts: Norman Kittson and the Fur Trade”

Those Squealing Red River Ox Carts: Norman Kittson and the Fur Trade
Authors: Clarence Rife and Holly Walters

In 1830 at the age of sixteen, Canadian-born Norman Kittson joined the American Fur Company and headed west. He eventually arrived in Minnesota, where he joined Henry Sibley in the fur business and as a settler’s clerk at Ft. Snelling. Soon he began operating a string of fur posts from Pembina in northwestern Minnesota. Kittson used wooden Red River ox carts to haul furs to St. Paul. The article describes the fur business, Kittson’s attitudes toward Native Americans, his involvement in politics, and his various business ventures. Kittson’s pride and joy was Kittsondale, a stable and race track once located in St. Paul’s Midway area.
PDF of Rife & Walters article