Long before the rumble of the railroad and even before the squealing of the Red River Carts, the Rendezvous Region was home to a thriving industry, the fur trade, which was big business in North America from the 16th through the 19th centuries. From the first days of its existence until long after the coming of the white man, the area abounded in wild game of many kinds, and Pembina soon became the center of a vast trade territory whose main commodity was furs, such as beaver pelts and buffalo hides. As early as 1797, trading posts were established in the valley.

In the Red River Valley, the fur trade created a new nation, the Metis. Descended from Euro-American fur trade employees and Chippewa Indian women, the Metis blended the two cultures in language, lifestyle, and economy. The Metis are responsible for the invention of the high-wheeled, wooden Red River Carts. By 1843, these carts rocked down well-worn trails to St. Paul, carrying buffalo robes and pemmican, fueling the trade industry in the Rendezvous Region. The cart traffic reached its peak in 1869 when 2,500 screeching carts were required to transport furs south to St. Paul before returning with trade goods, implements, and general merchandise.

In 1859, change was on the horizon for the trade industry when the first steamboat traveled up the Red River, changing the speed at which goods could be transported. Steamboat service continued to be a major business until the railroad reached the Red River Valley in 1872. The railroad, a much faster mode of transportation, brought an end to the steamboat era. As the tracks snaked westward, the oxcart trails were also replaced.

For centuries, the Rendezvous Region has been the heart of a worldwide trade industry. From beaver pelts, bison hides, and pemmican to wheat, sugar beets, and barley, the area has remained ripe with opportunities, interconnected to the world through ox carts, steamboats, and eventually, the railroad. Today, while the fur trade is almost completely extinct, northeast North Dakota is still a thriving center of trade and commerce. The arrival of the railway allowed for the cost-effective import of manufactured goods and provided a reliable method of exporting grain and other agricultural products. While no longer the center of the fur trade, the Rendezvous Region remains at the heart of a massive agricultural industry in North Dakota, an industry that has provided an invaluable boost to small-town economies across the area.