The Totten Trail was established along a line of forts created after the Civil War (1867) to protect the mail and supply route from St. Paul, Minnesota to the gold fields of Montana Territory.

Mail carriers, guides, and scouts acted in a variety of capacities in the region referred to as the Great Plains. They faced attacks, severe weather conditions, and rugged territory as they followed the Totten Trail. Their perseverance is to be commended for they got through when the outlook was extremely dim and practically impossible.

The mail trail started at St. Paul, Minnesota, and entered Dakota Territory at Fort Abercrombie (near Fargo, North Dakota). It continued to Fort Ransom (near Lisbon, North Dakota) north to Fort Totten (south shore of Devils Lake, North Dakota), and west to Fort Stevenson on the Missouri River (south of Minot, North Dakota). From there it went northwest to Fort Buford (near Williston, North Dakota). The trail entered Montana Territory and continued west to Fort Peck. Here it split and made a loop to several forts and then on to Helena, Montana. This was an important connection to the newly discovered gold fields of Montana and the ever important eastern USA.

Fort Totten was built by the soldiers in 1867 as a log structure, it was rebuilt and enlarged beginning in 1868. Clay from nearby Sully's Hill was used to make the impressive brick buildings. Seventeen of these original buildings remain as Fort Totten State Historic Site