A Little Bit of History
In the year 1876, the first settlers came to the Thirteen Towns area, arriving in covered wagons and bringing with them a few cattle, oxen, horses, and mules. Charles Adair, with his family is named as the first to arrive in the Fosston area, with nine others soon following, to file claims on the land. John Flesch was the first settler to file in the Thireen Towns district. Settlers had to travel to either Crookston or Detroit (now Detroit Lakes) over mud paths for supplies of merchandise and tobacco, for at that time not even poplar poles had been laid across swampy land to make a roadway.
Fosston Today
Fosston is a shining example of what a small city can do and what it can become in northwestern Minnesota, with progressive, committed city leadership and strong community involvement at every level.
City government, business and industry, community, schools, health care facilities, churches, and organizations have all dedicated themselves to making the city what it is today.
In 1987, the city was designated a Minnesota Star City, the 16th in the state. In 1996, Fosston became one of 10 cities in the United States to be named an All America City by the National Civic League. In 1999, Fosston was named a Millennium Community by the White House Millennium Council, one of four in Minnesota.
Fosston offers excellent retail stores, eating establishments, and motel and camping accommodations. We have a variety of community parks, an indoor public pool, library and arts center, senior center, city bus service, heritage center, golf course, year-round recreation, and special events.
Community pride is evident throughout Fosston. Our slogan, "Where the Prairie Meets the Pines" personifies that this is truly "God's Country."