Alexander McKenzie (~1850-1922) was an influential pioneer, entrepreneur, railroad agent, law enforcement officer, and political boss. He is widely credited with securing Bismarck as the new capital of Dakota Territory in 1883.
Nicknamed the “senator maker,” McKenzie formed a powerful political organization penned the “McKenzie Machine” that dominated local politics from the 1880s until about 1906. McKenzie served as Burleigh County Sheriff from 1874-1886, and was once designated a deputy U.S. Marshall. He also served as the North Dakota Republican National Committeeman for two decades. McKenzie favored big business, which directly influenced the creation of the competing Nonpartisan League. McKenzie’s political stronghold unraveled by 1908, when he vacated his national committeeman position after two decades.
Likely the state’s first self-earned millionaire, McKenzie leveraged his clout with the Northern Pacific Railroad (and later competing railroad tycoon James Hill) to amass a fortune with investments in multiple industries, both inside and outside of North Dakota. He was once the largest private landowner and wealthiest individual in North Dakota.
McKenzie served as director for both First National and Capitol National Banks, and commanded early utilities. McKenzie established the city’s first water system in 1886 and backed the first electric franchise in 1887, which put him at odds with ally-turned-nemesis Alexander Hughes and his son, Edmond. This adversarial relationship carried over to Edward Patterson—an early deputy for the McKenzie Machine. Patterson named his high-rise luxury hotel after McKenzie upon its opening in 1911, which ironically would later become headquarters of the Nonpartisan League that was created in opposition to McKenzie’s machine.
Early Life
Little is known about McKenzie’s early life, with details on his early life in dispute. It is generally accepted that Alexander McKenzie was born on April 3, 1850 in Ontario, Canada. Although one source says he was born in Scotland in 1851. Even the spelling of his name drifted across early records from McKenzie to Mackenzie—the latter hinting at a Scottish heritage.
He quit school at only 11 years old to seek his fortune.
At some point, McKenzie resided in New York, where he worked as an elevator operator. While employed in this position, McKenzie sustained life-lingering injuries when the elevator plummeted eight or nine stories.
According to most reports, McKenzie arrived in Dakota Territory in either 1866 or 1867, aiding in the transportation of supplies to Fort Rice. At Fort Rice, he became employed to carry dispatches to the newly established Fort Buford. He later became a scout for General Custer, although timing suggests he served Custer prior to his appointment to present-day North Dakota.
Later, McKenzie drifted around, showing up in the Minnesota areas of Duluth, Brainerd, and Saint Paul before returning to Bismarck in either 1872 or 1873 to work on construction of the railroad; possibly as a member of George Sweet’s surveying crew. He dabbled in several other industries around that time, including a restaurant and the distribution of carbonated soft drinks.
Rise of the McKenzie Machine
McKenzie was illiterate when he was first appointed Burleigh County Sheriff in 1874, but his menacing size aided him in maintaining law and order in the otherwise lawless county. He replaced replacing Sheriff McCarthy who had died with his deputy in a tragic drowning accident in the line of duty. He was elected to this position six times and later became a deputy U.S. Marshal.
Eventually, a friend – George Flannery – taught him to read and write. As a lawyer for Northern Pacific, Flannery also introduced McKenzie to important contacts within the railroad. McKenzie’s political dominance began in the early 1880s when the Northern Pacific Railway appointed him their chief political operative for the territory.
Originally a Democrat, McKenzie was cognizant of the Republican stronghold in Dakota Territory so he switched parties in 1882. Consequently, McKenzie served as the state’s Republican National Committeeman for two decades.
By the 1880s, McKenzie was building an empire. He acquired numerous real estate investments and established the city’s first water system. His privately-owned waterworks pumped unfiltered river water through a system of pipes. Alexander Hughes later joined as a partner in the venture, which remained privately-owned until 1923, when residents passed a bond measure to acquire the water department and fund a filtration plant.
In 1883, he was elected into the capital commission, who was tasked by law to select a new capital for Dakota Territory. It was here that McKenzie first made his mark on history. Acting under Northern Pacific guidance, it was McKenzie who procured enough votes for Bismarck to become capital, convincing Alexander Hughes to cast the deciding vote.
Engineering the surprising capital acquisition for Bismarck powered McKenzie’s political clout. For years, the “McKenzie Machine” dictated most politics in the region.
Although he himself never held political office, McKenzie leveraged his stature to decide who represented his party and indirectly coerced decrees in his favor, even from his opponents.
As an agent for the Northern Pacific Railway with investments in multiple industries outside of the state, McKenzie favored big business, which directly influenced the creation of the competing Nonpartisan League, ironically later housed at the hotel once bearing his name.
1884 World’s Exposition Display in New Orleans
In the autumn of 1884, Alexander McKenzie turned his attention southward to the World’s Industrial and Cotton Centennial Exposition in New Orleans. At a time when the Dakota Territory was desperately fighting to shake off its reputation as a remote, lawless expanse and secure official statehood, official territorial funding for national promotion was virtually nonexistent. Recognizing the immense stakes, McKenzie stepped into the vacuum as a private patron of civic boosterism.
Operating as a political boss who understood the value of high-level impression management, McKenzie personally financed, curated, and championed a major exhibition representing Bismarck and the Dakota frontier on the national stage. Rather than waiting for a slow-moving territorial legislature to act, he used his own private capital to ensure that the region had a physical, high-profile presence among the states and international pavilions.
The exhibit was designed to be an aggressive advertisement for the northern plains. It prominently featured the region’s rich agricultural output, vast grain harvests, and raw economic potential to convince eastern capitalists and immigrant farmers that the Dakota Territory was civilized, fertile, and ripe for settlement. By underwriting the venture himself, McKenzie bridged the gap between frontier isolation and national integration, using his personal wealth to accelerate the economic development and recognition of the region he called home.
Arrest and Downfall
In 1899, McKenzie’s investments turned to the gold mines of Alaska, which lead to his ultimate arrest in 1901. He also owned mines in Arizona and British Columbia.
In 1909, McKenzie reportedly earned more than $1 million upon selling 300,000 acres of land.
McKenzie was arrested in 1901 for fraud and contempt of court, alleging he illegally influenced a court decision to award Alaskan gold mine rights to him. When the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals in San Francisco ordered the mines back, McKenzie refused.
He served three months in prison before getting pardoned by President McKinley.
Upon returning to North Dakota, McKenzie’s political political stronghold started unraveling in 1906 and he vacated his national committeeman position two years later.
Death
McKenzie died from bronchitis in Saint Paul on June 22, 1922—reportedly two days after learning of the death of his wife, who had passed roughly one month prior.
He received a state funeral with honor guards at the North Dakota State Capitol—the first North Dakotan to receive such an honor, and the other one to lie in state at the original Capitol. He was interred at St. Mary’s Cemetery.
Despite his influential history, his grave remained unmarked until a group of local pioneers dedicated a granite marker in 1938.
His estate at the time of his death was valued at $500,000.
Personal Life
McKenzie had a total of six children from two different marriages, although he successfully kept his second wife and their children hidden from even his closest friends and family for more than 30 years.
First Wife & Children
Sources vary on his first wife. Most sources state he married Mary Ellen Hayer in November 1873, with whom he had three children. At age 8, their son, John Alexander, died of diphtheria. The two divorced in 1877, at which time McKenzie bought a house in Saint Paul, Minnesota for his recently separated wife and their two daughters to reside in.
Second, Secret Family
McKenzie married again, in 1890, to Eva (some sources say Elva) Stewart, a Bismarck school teacher. For reasons unknown, he kept his second marriage a secret from everyone, even from his closest friends and family.
In 1893, the couple had their first child, a daughter. The following month, McKenzie established an apartment in New York for Eva and their newly born daughter to reside in. Two more children, both boys, were born to the McKenzies over the next couple years.
His second marriage, and the couple’s children, were not discovered until McKenzie’s passing in June 1922 – only a month after the passing of Eva. The discovery was made during the execution of McKenzie’s estate.
Legacy
The former McKenzie Hotel in downtown Bismarck symbolizes McKenzie’s significance
McKenzie is both a celebrated and controversial figure. While he achieved many successes – politically and personally – and was widely respected during Bismarck’s pioneering days, his fall from grace beginning in the early 1900s cast a big shadow on his overall legacy, particularly in the years immediately following his death.
Within months of his passing, the first-class hotel and unofficial political headquarters that once bore his name was officially renamed the Patterson Hotel. Even Edward Patterson himself, once a close friend to McKenzie, had grown distant and became an active member of the Nonpartisan League – McKenzie’s political foe, even later housing the League at the hotel formerly named for McKenzie.
The fact that his grave remained unmarked for 16 years speaks volume to his reputation upon death.
Today, McKenzie is remembered as a pioneering icon. He is credited with awarding Bismarck the capital of Dakota Territory – and ultimately North Dakota. While his McKenzie Machine was ousted between 1906-1908, his influences continued to impact North Dakota politics well after, in the form of opposition from the Nonpartisan League, which was principally established to oppose McKenzie’s political machine.
Original McKenzie Nameplate on the Patterson Hotel building,
No streets or subdivisions in Bismarck bare McKenzie’s name. McKenzie County and the cities of Alexander and McKenzie, all in North Dakota, were named for him, however. Despite that the McKenzie Hotel was renamed Patterson Hotel, the re-exposed original McKenzie nameplates on the building prominently remind us of McKenzie’s significance.
McKenzie also achieved national celebrity status, from a 1906 novel called The Spoilers, which was a fictionalized account loosely based on McKenzie’s attempted takeover of the Alaskan gold mines. The novel was later adapted into five different feature films, including one in 1942 featuring John Wayne.
