• Skip to primary navigation
  • Skip to main content
  • Skip to primary sidebar
  • Skip to footer
ND.GOV | North Dakota
The BND Story

The BND Story

  • Overview
  • 1915-1919
  • 1920-1949
  • 1950-1989
  • 1990-2019
  • 2020-Today

The Birth of the Nonpartisan League

(State Historical Society of North Dakota C3266-00004)

The Nonpartisan League was born on a farm near Deering, North Dakota. In February 1915, A.C. Townley appeared at the farm of Frank B. Wood to pitch the idea of a new political movement that would not be tied to the Democratic, Republican or Socialist parties. Wood and Townley had met earlier in Bismarck. At that time Wood invited Townley to come to his farm in the spring after the snow melted.

The always-restless Townley did not wait for spring. The two men talked deep into the night. Wood was at first skeptical, but Townley’s unrelenting enthusiasm finally convinced him. After several days of passionate talk, the two men scribbled out a League platform on a scrap of wrapping paper by the light of a kerosene lamp. The next morning, they steered a bobsled to neighboring farms. Frank Wood performed the introductions, Townley made the pitch. The combination was extremely effective. Eventually the Nonpartisan League gained more than 100,000 members in North Dakota. Four years after its formation in west-central North Dakota, the League had entirely taken over the state government of North Dakota.

As it was originally envisioned, the League’s program would create a statewide network of socialist institutions: rural credit banks scattered throughout North Dakota, along with packing and cold storage plants. In addition to one large terminal elevator to be located out of North Dakota (at a national shipping port), a series of local elevators and flour mills would be established within the state to give farmers a viable local alternative to commercial elevators that took their marching orders from railroads, Minneapolis banks and milling interests. Mandatory state-provided hail insurance would provide every farmer coverage at substantially lowered costs.

The Original Platform of the Nonpartisan League

  • State ownership of terminal elevators, flour mills, packing houses and cold-storage plants
  • State inspection of grain and grain dockage
  • Exemption of farm improvements from taxation
  • State hail insurance on the acreage tax basis
  • Rural credit banks operated at cost

In the original program, the state’s severe credit problems would be solved by rural credit banks, not (yet) a central State Bank of North Dakota.

Five League planks
This illustration from May 20, 1919 edition of The Nonpartisan Leader highlights the five planks of the NPL platform. ( Nonpartisan Leader May 20, 1921)

Primary Sidebar

1915-1919

  • The Case for a State-owned Bank
  • The Birth of the Nonpartisan League
  • Nonpartisan League Gains Support
  • Key Leaders for the Nonpartisan League
    • A.C. Townley
    • Lynn Frazier
    • William Lemke
  • The Birth of the Bank
  • Open for Business
  • Opposition to the Bank
  • Taking Matters Into Their Own Hands

Footer

PO Box 5509, 1200 Memorial Hwy.
Bismarck, ND 58506-5509
800.472.2166
701.328.5600
bnd.nd.gov
  • Contact Us
  • Disclaimer
  • Privacy Policy
  • Cookie Policy
  • Photo Credits
© 2025 Bank of North Dakota. All rights reserved.
  • Facebook
  • YouTube
  • Instagram
  • LinkedIn