Building at extreme right was a hotel, next building to the left was Carter's Restaurant, large building on opposite side of street was Baardson hall, barn in foreground was Luchsinger Feed and Sale Barn, long white building at upper left was Luchsinger's drug store and to the left of the drug store is Burgess Garage. House on hill, Luchsinger's. Dark spot in background is the old jail building.
In the fall of 1909 an influx of people came to the Fox Lake area to homestead on government land. Some frame houses were built as early as 1909. Leo Prevost came here from Quebec, Canada in 1911 and built a four-room house two miles east of Lambert. The Cummings home was the first house which consisted of two stories, with one room on each floor.
The post office of Fox Lake was established in 1911 in the home of L.C. Cummings. Mrs. L.C. Cummings was instrumental in opening the first school with Florence Cravath as teacher.
It was in 1913 a site was surveyed for the town of Lambert. In the fall of the year many of the buildings of Fox Lake community were moved to the present townsite of Lambert. It was built up over the winter months and was a full-fledged town by the spring of 1914.
The town of Lambert was named after an official of the railroad company. It was a railhead for a number of years thereafter, and during that period became the world's largest grain shipping point, with four elevators and a number of track buyers.
A remembered daily passenger train known as the "Galloping Goose," operated between Williston, North Dakota, Fairview and Richey, Montana, made its final run February 20, 1959 after 27 years of service.
The first grain elevator built in Lambert was constructed by the Occident Elevator Company in the spring of 1914.
The first wedding in Lambert was that of Alice Cummings and Verne Stoker on June 30, 1913.
Richland County was founded from Dawson County in 1914. A spirited election and hotly contested battle followed to decide on the county seat. Lambert lost the county seat to Sidney.
After Richland County was organized a fellow by the name of Kronkright was elected county commissioner. He was instrumental in building the cement jailhouse that still stands in slough east of Lambert. They built a dike or levy across the water from the southern hill to the jail house in order to get there when water was high. The dike is not visible today because it wasn't built high enough and was washed out. The jailhouse was used very little; usually as a drying out place for drunkards. The story is told that a drunk was imprisoned and became angry. He proceeded to burn the blankets, burned the wooden door and broke the bars on the windows. This incident terminated the use of the local jug. A very flimsy jail was built behind the fire hall shortly after but did not prove useful.
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