Walworth County was created in 1873 and organized in 1883. It was named for a county in Wisconsin by the same name by the early settlers who came from there.
The area of Walworth County has been occupied by Native Americans for many centuries. The Missouri River provided transportation for them and for the early fur traders who came up from Saint Louis, Mo. Later steamboats would ply the water far to the north of Walworth County.
The first settlements were along the Missouri River, including Scranton, LeBeau, Evarts and Bangor.
LeBeau was first a trading post named for Antoin LeBeau who came to the area in 1875. His name was a corruption of "leBeouf," the buffalo, which he was said to resemble. A post office was established in 1880. In 1907 LeBeau became a large cattle shipping center for cattle raised west of the Missouri and brought to LeBeau which was the Minneapolis-St. Paul railroad terminal. First destroyed most of the town in 1910 and the rest in 1911 when it became abandoned. Evarts' post office was established in 1905. During the same period as LeBeau, Evarts was the terminal for the Milwaukee Road making it the second shipping point. In 1909 the Milwaukee Road was looking for a suitable spot to cross the Missouri River, but couldn't find one in the Evarts area so moved the railroad five to ten miles northwest and found suitable foundation in the Mobridge area. Evarts was then abandoned in favor of the new site.
Akaska is said to have been named for two Sioux words which either meant "a woman who lives with several men" or "to eat up." A post office was established in 1907 and is still in operation. The area now is known for its fishing and many families have fishing cabins in the area.
Lowry was established and named for a Minneapolis and St. Paul Railroad official in 1907. Although it still has a post office, most of the little town has disappeared.
A small settlement was established on the edge of Blue Blanket Lake and named Blue Blanket. It had a post office from 1886 to 1901. It has since disappeared.
Bangor was the first county seat. Located about five miles south of the present site of Selby, Bangor's post office was established in 1885. Bowdle in Edmunds County was the end of the Milwaukee railroad for many years because of the poor railroad bed farther west. Then in 1900 more suitable soil was found in the Mobridge area and the railroad was extended towards that point.
Java was founded by the laborers laying track to the west. Starting out as a small shack the town grew and a post office was established in 1901. It is said that the laborers started calling the settlement Java for the fine coffee served there.
During the building of the Milwaukee railroad, small town were established about every seven to eight miles. Selby is about eight to ten miles west of Java. It's post office was established in 1900 and soon the little town became the bigger town. In 1920 and 30's Selby grew enough to challenge Bangor for the County Courthouse. Selby won in 1920??? and has been the site of the courthouse ever since.
Mobridge was also named by the track layers. The end of the railroad during the time the bridge was being built. Some say it was named by the short-cut used by a telegrapher was sent a message about the Mobridge. The name stuck and now the town is the largest in the county. A post office was set up in 1906 and Mobridge serves a large area both east and west of the Missouri River.
Glenham is another stop for the Milwaukee railroad. Buildings were moved from the defunct towns of Evarts, LeBeau, Briscoe and Bangor. A post office was granted in 1901 for the little village in the glen. Most of the people in the area are of Norwegian descent.
Theodore was a small village in the southeastern part of the county. It had a postoffice from 1883 to 1893. There is no longer any buildings on the site. Many of the people in this area are of German-Russian descent.
Several other post offices that were short lived were Beulieu, Corey, Eckis, Flora, Kingman, Reigstadt, Smalley, South LeBeau, and Spiry.
The Herald-Advance, Fri., January 13, 1905 - page 3
CARRYING OFF OF COUNTY SEAT AROUSES "PLUNDERED" VILLAGE
Selby, S. D. Village That Carried Off County Seat.
Rival towns' contest at polls has resulted in forcible removal of court house and records, giving promise of legal battle. Bangor does not maintain that Selby stole the Walworth county records and courthouse, but the village does declare that the removal of the property was not just.
So after a passiveness that gave the belief she had yielded to Selby's opinion in the matter, the rival village and former county seat has appealed to the courts to have the case reopened. Assurance is given that, next time, Bangor will not be caught napping, and not, as heretofore, will she forfeit her claim. County seat wars and capital fights have been a source of amusement to Dakotans for years.In the early times the struggles between rival towns aroused much bitterness and in some instances almost led to bloodshed. This was true in the celebrated contest between Redfield and Ashton, where an armed force of Ashtonites besieged Redfield and all but engaged in a pitched battle with the defenders of that town.
As conditions have become more settled in the Dakotas, there are fewer appeals to force and more respect for judicial proceedings, and the entire state, therefore, was startled when the announcement was made that some thrifty citizens of Selby, in Walworth county, had raided their twice successful competitor, Bangor, and had carried off the court house, records, jail and county officials.
In early times in the Territory of Dakota, the county seat of Walworth county was Scranton, of which only a remains to this day. A number of enthusiast settlers attempted to locate the proposed line of the Milwaukee west of Aberdeen, and, feeling sure about it, started a town, which they named Bangor, where the road could not miss it. They soon secured the county seat, and in a short time a thrifty little village of 200 people was developed on the prairie. The railroad was built, each year, on paper, and the hopes of the Bangorites rose and fell with each succeeding rumor. Finally the actual work of extending the grade from Roscoe began and several hundred disappointed people saw it pass just four and a half miles north of their town. Sentiment in Bangor was divided, but the great majority of the citizens immediately moved their houses and stores to Selby, the new town on the railroad. Naturally they desired to take the county seat with them, and an agitation almost immediately was begun to accomplish this. Selby is almost exactly in the center of the county and it looked as if it might be accomplished without any opposition. Another town, meanwhile, had been started just west of Selby, and it, too, developed ambition to be the county seat. This was four years ago. According to the law, the town which secured the most names to a petition asking for the removal of the county seat was allowed to contest for it. Selby won in the preliminary skirmish, but when it came to the election, Java rallied to to the assistance of Bangor, and the county seat was not moved. The fight was renewed last year, and Selby won again in the matter of the petition, but as the campaign progressed it was seen that Java would again support Bangor, not so much because they cared to have the county seat remain there as to keep Selby, its rival, from getting it. The returns showed that Bangor had won by a vote of 488 against 392 for Selby. Rumors of irregularities in conducting the election in three precincts, of which Java was one, started an investigation, and the result was that it was determined to contest the election. It was alleged that in three precincts undue influence was used to compel voters to favor Bangor, and that strong drink was allowed to become too much of a factor in getting votes cast for Bangor. As soon as the necessary evidence had been secured, a citizen of Selby, Fred Griffin, instituted a suit to throw out the returns from these three precincts, which would have given Selby a majority. Griffen is the editor of the Selby Record and one of the leaders in the contest. In accordance with the state laws due and legal notice was served on the county commissioners of Walworth county, but they decided not to fight the suit, as, if they did, the burden of the expense would fall on the county at large and not on those most interested in fighting it. Upon their decision not to answer to the complaint of Griffin, a copy of the complaint was filed in the office of the county auditor. it was now up to any citizen of Bangor or of any other town in the county to file an answer in the place of the county commissioners and to fight it out. Bangor people met and talked about it, but did nothing. Meanwhile the time allowed for filing an answer was slipping by, and before any one outside of Selby realized it, it was too late. Selby's attorney immediately applied to Judge Smith of Mitchell, in the absence of Judge Gaffey, before whom the action was brought, for a judgement in default, and it was granted to him. He also secured a writ of execution ordering the sheriff of Walworth county to remove the buildings, records and other county property, to Selby. John Koch is the sheriff, and it fell to him to joyfully carry out this order. He at once summoned to his assistance thirty Selbyites, and despite the cold weather and severe snowstorm, they started for Bangor. Here they met with no resistance, although there some who showed signs of hostility. It was soon seen that it would be impossible to move the old building intact, so the sheriff and his assistants promptly tore it down, loaded it on wagons and hauled the lumber to Selby. The county records at once were put in the old schoolhouse, donated to the county by Selby for a court house, and within a short time the county officials were performing their duties of their office as if nothing had happened. Now it is proposed to move the rest of Bangor, only three or four buildings, to Selby. Java is still dissatisfied, but cannot figure out what to do but to accept the result and make the best of it. Northing so interesting as an armed raid on the county seat has occurred for years, and when it was learned that it was all a regular execution of an an order of the court, an audible sight of disappointment was heard from the old timers. Selby is a growing town of 500 people, and is proud of what it has accomplished during the four years of existence.**History Article researched & submitted in July 2025 by the Walworth County Coordinator, Linda Ziemann.