Caledonia is a census-designated place

Census-designated place

A census-designated place is a concentration of population identified by the United States Census Bureau for statistical purposes. CDPs are delineated for each decennial census as the statistical counterparts of incorporated places such as cities, towns and villages...

 in Traill County

Traill County, North Dakota

Traill County is a county located in the U.S. state of North Dakota. The 2010 census listed the population at 8,121. Its county seat is Hillsboro, and its largest city is Mayville.-History:...

, North Dakota

North Dakota

North Dakota is a state located in the Midwestern region of the United States of America, along the Canadian border. The state is bordered by Canada to the north, Minnesota to the east, South Dakota to the south and Montana to the west. North Dakota is the 19th-largest state by area in the U.S....

 in the United States

United States

The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...

. A former boomtown of the 1870s and the era of the Hudson's Bay Company

Hudson's Bay Company

The Hudson's Bay Company , abbreviated HBC, or "The Bay" is the oldest commercial corporation in North America and one of the oldest in the world. A fur trading business for much of its existence, today Hudson's Bay Company owns and operates retail stores throughout Canada...

 steamship trade, the community has now all but virtually disappeared.

An unincorporated community

Unincorporated area

In law, an unincorporated area is a region of land that is not a part of any municipality.To "incorporate" in this context means to form a municipal corporation, a city, town, or village with its own government. An unincorporated community is usually not subject to or taxed by a municipal government...

, it was designated as part of the U.S. Census Bureau's Participant Statistical Areas Program on March 31, 2010. It was not counted separately during the 2000 Census, but was included in the 2010 Census, where a population of 39 was reported.

History

First called Goose River, the community was established as a post for the Hudson's Bay Company

Hudson's Bay Company

The Hudson's Bay Company , abbreviated HBC, or "The Bay" is the oldest commercial corporation in North America and one of the oldest in the world. A fur trading business for much of its existence, today Hudson's Bay Company owns and operates retail stores throughout Canada...

 steamships which operated on the Red River of the North

Red River of the North

The Red River is a North American river. Originating at the confluence of the Bois de Sioux and Otter Tail rivers in the United States, it flows northward through the Red River Valley and forms the border between the U.S. states of Minnesota and North Dakota before continuing into Manitoba, Canada...

. Caledonia became an early boom town in the Red River Valley

Red River Valley

The Red River Valley is a region in central North America that is drained by the Red River of the North. It is significant in the geography of North Dakota, Minnesota, and Manitoba for its relatively fertile lands and the population centers of Fargo, Moorhead, Grand Forks, and Winnipeg...

 and also became a post for a stagecoach line which lead north to Fort Garry

Fort Garry

Fort Garry, also known as Upper Fort Garry, was a Hudson's Bay Company trading post at the confluence of the Red and Assiniboine rivers in what is now downtown Winnipeg. It was established in 1822 on or near the site of the North West Company's Fort Gibraltar. Fort Garry was named after Nicholas...

 — now called Winnipeg

Winnipeg

Winnipeg is the capital and largest city of Manitoba, Canada, and is the primary municipality of the Winnipeg Capital Region, with more than half of Manitoba's population. It is located near the longitudinal centre of North America, at the confluence of the Red and Assiniboine Rivers .The name...

. Upon the creation of Traill County

Traill County, North Dakota

Traill County is a county located in the U.S. state of North Dakota. The 2010 census listed the population at 8,121. Its county seat is Hillsboro, and its largest city is Mayville.-History:...

 in 1875, Caledonia was designated as the county seat. However, in that same year, the Hudson's Bay Company closed their U.S. posts including the one at Caledonia. When James J. Hill

James J. Hill

James Jerome Hill , was a Canadian-American railroad executive. He was the chief executive officer of a family of lines headed by the Great Northern Railway, which served a substantial area of the Upper Midwest, the northern Great Plains, and Pacific Northwest...

's railroad crossed Traill County, it bypassed Caledonia. The steamboat industry soon floundered and the county seat was moved to Hillsboro

Hillsboro, North Dakota

As of the census of 2010, there were 1,603 people, 679 households, and 414 families residing in the city. The population density was 1,460.6 people per square mile . There were 727 housing units at an average density of 679.4 per square mile...

 in 1896.

Geography

Caledonia sits on the banks of the Goose River near the confluence with the Red River of the North

Red River of the North

The Red River is a North American river. Originating at the confluence of the Bois de Sioux and Otter Tail rivers in the United States, it flows northward through the Red River Valley and forms the border between the U.S. states of Minnesota and North Dakota before continuing into Manitoba, Canada...

.