Erhard
The town of Erhard was named for Alexander Erhardt who settled in 1869 on a homestead a couple of miles northwest of the present town. People traveling the Pembina Trail from Minneaoplis/St Paul to Winnipeg would stop in Erhardt's grove overnight to take advantage of the wood available for campfires
Indian families traveling the Trail stopped to ask for food at farms located near Erhard's homestead. The railroad came through Erhard in the early 1880s. Many cords of wood cut from the hills east of Erhard and stacked along the railroad tracks were hauled by train to the treeless prairies of North Dakota. Wood cutting to the east of town and farming to the west sustained the town. The school, one mile west of Erhard, was formed in 1877 and was closed, along with all one room school houses in Ottertail in 1970.
The old school building built in 1911 was moved to into town and is now the Erhard City Hall In the mid 1930's, an annual fund raising event was started. This old tradition of "Erhard Day" has evolved into a 4th of July celebration were people come to watch the parade and enjoy city park festivities afterward. Come spend a day with us on the 4th.
