The initial inspection station was established at Melita about 32 kilometres (20 mi) north of the present crossing. A.M. Reekie was the inaugural customs officer 1900–1916. Under the administrative oversight of the Port of Brandon, the office handled goods received by road. Inconveniently located and vulnerable to smuggling, the office moved to the border in 1930, adopting the name of Coulter, the nearest post office. That year, a combined residence/office was erected.[1]
In 2020, the former border hours of 8am–9pm reduced, becoming 8am–4pm.
[3]
US side
Westhope North Dakota border inspection station, 1937
The US first built a permanent inspection station at the border in 1937. That brick veneer roadside border station[citation needed] was replaced by a new building in the 1974,[4] which in turn was replaced by a large modern border station in 2011.[5]