The railroad was established in 1913 with the help and financial backing of Julius Rosholt, of Minneapolis, Minnesota, and that year constructed trackage from Fairmount, North Dakota southward into South Dakota to Rosholt, then westward to Claire City and Veblen.
Ellis is located in central Wisconsin approximately six miles northeast of Stevens Point, approximately four miles north of Custer, and approximately six miles southwest of Rosholt, where State Road 66 and Portage County Road J to the south meets with Ellis Road.
Garfield is located in central Wisconsin approximately half way between Rosholt and Nelsonville on Portage County Road A, about two and a half miles west of Peru.
For this report, Rosholt was awarded the Distinguished Journalist Award by Sigma Delta Chi (now known as the Society of Professional Journalists Sigma Delta Chi Award.) From 1960 to 1962, Rosholt represented Lutheran Film Associates in the distribution of the motion picture Question 7.