EDITOR’S NOTE Tomorrow marks the 127th anniversary of North Dakota statehood. In advance of that date the Minot Daily News continues to publish articles on famous people and events from early day Dakota Territory. Today, in part five of the six article series, we look at one of the most influential men in North Dakota history.

He was as tough a sheriff as ever worked a frontier town. He was instrumental in cleaning up early day Bismarck, an upstart community stuffed with rowdies and ruffians.

Alexander McKenzie was only 24 years old when he became sheriff of Burleigh County. At six foot and 220 pounds, the rugged Scotsman was larger than most men of his time and considered more than tough enough to handle Bismarck’s troublemakers. There was no shortage of criminal types to challenge McKenzie. The smell of gunsmoke was all too frequent.

Bismarck had about 1,000 residents when McKenzie donned his badge, but the tiny community had nearly two dozen saloons where card playing and hard drinking led to the flailing of fist or gun fights. There was often bad blood and disputes to be solved. At one time in 1876, McKenzie had three shooters in jail and there were several others on the run.

By all early accounts, it was apparent that evil-doers would do well to avoid any confrontation with McKenzie. He was said to be a courageous man with a friendly handshake and greeting for everybody. However, when the law was broken, McKenzie’s reputation was that he acted swiftly and boldly.

An example of McKenzie’s boldness as a sheriff can be found in an incident on Christmas Eve, 1876. Saloon owner Pete Bannigan shot and killed Army Pvt. John Massinglan. Bannigan was tossed in jail swiftly, so quickly that McKenzie didn’t have time to search him. The sheriff was called into the street to disperse a disorderly crowd of armed soldiers bent on revenge.

The St. Paul Pioneer Press wrote that Sheriff McKenzie was “a terror in his way.” By late 1877, McKenzie was credited with ridding Dakota Territory of more than 100 criminals that had sought refuge in Bismarck and the surrounding region. Another frontier newspaper wrote of McKenzie: “Thanks to one of the best sheriffs in the world, the rowdyism of 1873 is not tolerated in 1877.”

McKenzie’s path to Bismarck began in 1868 when he accompanied a wagon train carrying supplies to Fort Rice. Fort Rice was about 24 miles down the Missouri River from where Bismarck would get its start a few years later. In 1872, the young Scotsman was a foreman in charge of a construction crew laying track for the Northern Pacific Railroad from Fargo to present day Bismarck. In 1873, McKenzie was married and living in Bismarck. He was involved in the manufacture and sale of carbonated beverages at the time he became sheriff.

McKenzie served as sheriff of Burleigh County until 1886 when his attention turned to politics. He built what was known as “McKenzie’s Machine” in which he was the very influential head of what became a very powerful political organization. The “machine” was often accused of stealing votes and intimidating voters.

McKenzie’s brash style caught up with him in Nome, Alaska in 1900. A judge McKenzie had “in his pocket” awarded him several deeds to lucrative gold mines. A Court of Appeals reversed the deal and ordered that the mines be returned to their rightful owners. McKenzie refused to comply with the court order and was sentenced to one year in jail. However, he was pardoned by President William McKinley after serving only three months behind bars. Nevertheless, the events brought down “McKenzie’s Machine.”

His name remains on the North Dakota landscape today with both a county, McKenzie County, and a town, Alexander, named after him.