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The Wachter family of Bismarck, North Dakota is one of the earliest and most prominent families in the city. Through more than five generations and over a hundred years the Wachter family has influenced Bismarck through business development, civil service, land development and donations.

EARLY HISTORY
This particular Bismarck branch of the Wachter family began in the late 1870s wtih the arrival of Gottlieb Charles Wachter in the Bismarck area. Gottlieb Charles Wachter, sometimes referred to as G.C. Wachter or simply Charles Wachter was born in Bernstein near Stuttgart, Germany in 1865. He came to the United States at the age of sixteen.

For nearly a year, Gottlieb Charles Wachter worked as a meat cutter in Philadelphia. He moved to the Bismarck area of the Dakota Territory in 1881,where he continued to work as a meat cutter util he had saved enough money to start his own company, a dray service. The Wachter Dray and Transfer Company--the first of many family owned business enterprises--opened for business in 1885.

On April 27, 1892, Gottlieb Charles Wachter married Annie Clotier Robidou. The couple had three children: Emma Louise Wachter, Eugene Charles Wachter and Paul August Wachter.

The family businesses grew along with the family, and Gottlieb Charles Wachter stayed busy with his professional and civic life. The one-man dray operation that he started grew into an incorporated enterprise with 50-60 teams of horses, several hired hands, farmland, an ice-cutting and delivery service, coal and wood delivery and warehouses.

Gottlieb Charles Wachter turned his businesses over to his sons in July 1923. He served on the Bismarck city commission from 1925 until his death in 1928. The cause of his death was a ruptured vein beneath his liver. He was 62 years old.

Little is known of his wife, Annie Clotier Robidou except that she was the daughter of Eugene and Mary Clotier and was born December 16, 1866 in Lester Prairie, Minnesota. After Eugene Clotier died, Annie's mother remarried Amos Robidou. The family moved to the Bismarck area when Annie was nine years old, the same year as Custer's Last Stand. Annie died at the home of her daughter, Emma Louise Wachter (Semling) in Bismarck on November 7, 1941. She was 74 years old.

On October 16, 1916 Emma Louise Wachter married Eivind Semling. They moved to Hazen, where Eivind Semling worked as a pharmacist and then as a postmaster.

Emma and Eivind Semling had two sons, Charles Leonard Semling and Eivind Roland Semling. They also had two daughters, Esther Rose Semling (Frowein) and Jean Ann Semling. Emma's obituary places her death in St. Helens, Oregon, and states she had been visiting her sons there. She died on March 3, 1959 at the age of 66.

Eugene Charles Wachter worked with horses in Montana before he enlisted in the army. He served with Company E, 313th Engineers of the 88th Division and spent some time overseas during World War One. He was discharged in June 1919.

After his return to Bismarck, Eugene married Helen Brosnahan. They had two sons, Charles Eugene and James Patrick and three daughters, Mary (Reardon), Ann Elizabeth (Benrud) and Kathleen Jane (Wall).

The girls lived in Wisconsin, Minnesota and California respectively at the time of Eugene Wachter's death. Both Charles Eugene Wachter and James Patrick Wachter lived in Bismarck at the time, although Charles also lived in Idaho, Montana, Washington , and Colorado during some seasons of his life.

Paul August Wachter married Edna Knudson Anderson on July 23, 1917 in Billings, Montana. They had one son, Paul H. Wachter and a daughter, Camille Wachter (Homme)

Following the death of their father, Eugene and Paul August took over the family businesses, with Eugene managing the Wachter Ranch and Paul overseeing the other various business enterprises in and around Bismarck. In 1929, the family created Wachter's, Incorporated to manage the growing business empire. This meant looking ahead to development on the south side of town, an area plagued at times by flooding from the Missouri River.

In 1936 the Wachter-O'Neil construction company was involved in building a dam at the Fresno site in Montana, part of a series of projects along the Milk River. This was followed by Wachter's involvement building the Fort Peck Dam, which allowed them to see ahead to the impacts the Garrison Dam would have on Bismarck. The completion of the Garrison Dam changed the flow of the Missouri River, capturing much of the water in Lake Sakakawea and Lake Oahe. The Garrison Dam was completed in 1963, freeing up floodplain land that the Wachter family had invested in for development beyond farming.

Farming and ranching were still significant enterprises. At one time the Wachter Ranch contained 28,800 acres in Morton and Oliver Counties and was the largest deeded ranch in the North Dakota (See notes).

Beyond ranching and land development, the family dabbled in Aero-Mayflower moving services, coal and wood delivery and motor vehicle sales through its Missouri Valley Motors enterprise.

Eugene died of a stroke in November 1960 at the age of 65. Paul August died a year later of heart trouble at the age of 62.

LATER HISTORY: THE THIRD, FOURTH AND FIFTH GENERATIONS
At various times Charles Eugene Wachter, a son of Eugene Charles Wachter lived in North Dakota, Montana , Washington , Idaho and Colorado. The city directories just cited show that he was involved somewhat in the family businesses even while he lived away from Bismarck.

James Patrick Wachter was less nomadic than his brother. Following a stint in the Navy during WWII, he stayed in the Bismarck area and managed the Wachter Ranch.

On February 18 1950 James Patrick Wachter married Roberta Hogue. They had two sons, Michael and Patrick and two daughters, Cindy and Carolyn. James died on March 18, 2008 at the age of 82.

Ann Wachter Benrud, one of three daughters of Eugene Charles Wachter lived in Wisconsin at the time of his death, but she moved back to Bismarck later in life. She was married twice—first to A.J. Frappia and then to George Benrud. Her obituary states that both her brothers and both her sisters (Mary Reardon and Jane Wall) passed on before her.

Paul H. Wachter, son of Paul August Wachter was well known for his business enterprises and land developments in the Bismarck area. Over the years he served was managing director for the Kirkwood Plaza Shopping Center (now Kirkwood Mall), Wachter Real Estate Trust, Wachter’s, Inc., Dakota Sand and Gravel and other enterprises. He was also involved in the development of Kirkwood Motor Inn (now the Ramkota) and the second phase of Kirkwood Plaza.

Besides being a businessman, he was an inventor and a philanthropist. He is also remembered for his patents for the spatula and a device to keep rainwater from getting into the engines of tractors.

Paul H. Wachter’s first wife was Charlotte Sathre, daughter of North Dakota Supreme Court Judge P.O. Sathre. They had three sons: Paul C. (Kip) Wachter, Jeffrey Wachter and Lance Wachter.

Paul H. and Charlotte Sathre Wachter divorced, and Paul H. then married Loretta Sinkula Helgeson. She had a son named Terrence from a previous marriage. He was killed in a car accident on June 12, 1977 at the age of 26.

Paul H. Wachter died in 1973 at the age of 55.

Camille Wachter married Orrin R. Homme. They lived for a time in Bismarck, where Orrin R. Homme worked with the family businesses, including Missouri Valley Motors. Camille Wachter Homme was also involved with Wachter family enterprises. The Homme family eventually moved to Palm Desert, California. Camille died there in 2002 at the age of 80.

Camille's grandson, Joshua Homme, is lead singer & guitarist for the rock band Queens of the Stone Age.

In 1968, Camille Wachter Homme sued the other trustees of Wachter Real Estate and Trust for mismanagement of the family trust. The settlement allowed Camille to withdraw her portion of the family holdings.

The incident with Camille was not to be the last family skirmish. In 1985, two of Paul H. Wachter’s sons, Paul C. (Kip) Wachter and Lance Wachter sued James Patrick Wachter and his son Patrick for mismanagement of the family trust fund. James and Patrick countersued.

The disputation was settled out of court but resulted in the dissolution and division of the family empire.

Many of Gottlieb Charles Wachter’s descendents still live, but few of them carrying the Wachter surname remain in the Bismarck area.

FAMILY BUSINESSES
Even before the death of Gottlieb Charles Wachter in 1928, the Wachter Dray and Transfer Company had grown from a one-man dray line to a diversified business. The company cut and sold ice from the Missouri River, hauled and sold coal and wood and did excavation work.

The family businesses continued to expand after his death. The large warehouse built on the corner of Front Avenue and Fifth Street in Bismarck was used as convenient storage for merchandise for local businesses. Under the auspices of Wachter's Inc., the Wachter family ran Dakota Sand and Gravel and an Aero Mayflower moving business franchise. As automobiles became the norm, the family purchased and ran Missouri Valley Motors for a time.

One of the greatest investments the family made was in the purchase of land. Besides the Wachter Ranch, which was located across west across the Missouri River and north of Mandan, the family continued to buy land south of Bismarck.

The land south of Bismarck was traditionally part of the Missouri River flood plain, and in Gottlieb Charles Wachter’s time it was used for farming to support the transfer company’s teams of horses. The completion of the Garrison Dam changed the prospects for its use, and many of the family’s other enterprises were built there.

At varying times these businesses included Kirkwood Motor Inn (later to become the Ramada and then Ramkota), Kirkwood Plaza shopping center, the Bank of Kirkwood Plaza, House of Bottles, Towne and Country Liquor, Towne and Country Real Estate, rental units, Dakota Sand and Gravel Company and others.

One of the distinguishing accomplishments that Paul H. Wachter achieved working with his cousin James P. Wachter was the development of Kirkwood Mall along the Expressway in south Bismarck. The Wachter family had previously sold land for the Bismarck Civic Center at a very reasonable price, had donated land for adjacent parking lots and had begun developing both commercial and residential areas on the south side of town.

The family invested in land in other parts of Bismarck, as well and residential development was an important piece of the family pie.

Some business attempts went bankrupt following the breakup of the family business empire in 1986. These included the Kirkwood Motor Inn and the Wachter Ranch. The Wachter Ranch is worth mentioning as a business enterprise in itself. In its heyday, it was the largest deeded ranch of its kind in the state. Under Eugene C. Wachter’s care, the ranch developed into a well known beef breeding company. James Wachter took over the ranch after his father, Eugene C. Wachter passed away. It was sold sometime after the Wachter family holdings were split.

LAND DEVELOPMENT
Besides their commercial enterprises, the Wachter family was helpful in developing several residential areas in Bismarck. Some of their developments include areas south of Lincoln, Cottonwood Lake Estates, and River Place First Addition in Mandan.

CIVIL AND MILITARY SERVICE
The Wachter family of Bismarck appears to have a tradition of civil and military service. Gottlieb Charles Wachter, patriarch of this branch of Wachters served on the local school board, where he was influential in providing for an elementary school on the south side of Bismarck. He later served on the city commission.

Eugene Charles Wachter served in Germany during World War One, and Paul H. Wachter, son of Paul August Wachter served for a time in the army air force. Jeff Wachter, a son of Paul H. Wachter has been recognized for many years of service as a demolitions expert with the green berets.

DONATIONS
The Wachter family is well known for its donations of land to the city of Bismarck. Some of their most notable donations include space for parking lots south of the Bismarck Civic Center, land for the Wachter Aquatic Center and Schaumberg Ice Arena and part of the land for Wachter Junior High School and Dorothy Moses School. The family has contributed in other ways, as well. One example is Chad Wachter, great-great grandson of Gottlieb Charles Wachter and son of Lance Wachter. He sold some land and put the proceeds in a trust for the son of an employee who was killed. Likewise, Michael and Patrick Wachter, sons of James Patrick Wachter donated to the Friends of the Missouri campaign and partnered with conservation groups in an easement to keep some land along the Missouri River undeveloped.