Grand Forks History: The history of the City of Grand Forks is consistent with other cities in the region. After the Native Americans, the first visitors and settlers were trappers and traders, who utilized "les Grandes Fourches" to congregate and to set up a trading post.

According to D. Jerome Tweton*, the "Frenchmen who earlier had been in the Sieur de la Verendrye expedition of 1734 selected Les Grandes Fourches as a rendezvous point for trappers." Many more gathered as the years went by; a significant number stayed.