Early pioneers in Griggs County were Mr. and Mrs. Edgar Ayrea. Both Mr. and Mrs. Ayrea were born in Wisconsin; Mr. Ayrea (1857) on a farm near Pardeeville and Mrs. Ayrea (1867) near Paynette. They were married in March 1886.

A week after they were married, Mr. Ayrea chartered a car and came 'West', as it was called in those days, to North Dakota. He had acquired a few head of horses and some cows and planned to go farming on a farm one mile west of Cooperstown, then owned by Charles McDonald who was an uncle of Mrs. Ayrea. A week later Mrs. Ayrea came to join her husband. They stayed on this farm for two years and in 1888 they decided to buy a piece of land, three miles northeast of Cooperstown, in Washburn Township. He had to plant a certain number of trees on it thereby getting it for about $2 per acre. This was called a tree claim. By this time their first two children were born

Mattie and Frank. Mr. Ayrea built their four-room house and a stable. He dug a well and broke forty acres. In November 1888, they moved to their new home. The, first few years were hard ones, some hail, and drouth making them quite discouraged at times, Frank, the only son, died in 1889.

The Ayreas stayed on their farm until the fall of 1919. They then sold out and for many years rented out the land. They bought a home in Cooperstown and lived there until 1937. They were members of the Presbyterian Church.

There were eight children born to them:

Mattie, Frank, Jessie, Inez, Thelma, Bernice, Jean and Helen. Frank and Bernice died in early childhood. Mr. and Mrs. Ayrea celebrated their fiftieth anniversary in 1936. All the children came home to help them celebrate.

They left Cooperstown in 1937, renting their house, and lived among their children. Mr. Ayrea passed away in 1939 and Mrs. Ayrea in 1964.

Source: Griggs County History 1879 - 1976 Page 475