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Roseville, ND
Roseville, North Dakota is a former Great Northern Railroad station at the intersection of County Roads 11 and 16 in Traill county, about ten minutes southwest of Mayville. Roseville was never much more than a loose collection of farmsteads surrounding a grain elevator. Today, the tracks have been pulled up and the grain elevator is [...]
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Fort Abercrombie
The original Fort Abercrombie was constructed in 1858. It was the first military settlement in North Dakota. The fort was besieged by the Sioux for more than six weeks in 1862, an event that came to be known as the Dakota War of 1862. Four soldiers were killed and two wounded. Two reconstructed blockhouses and [...]
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White Butte
White Butte is the highest point in the state of North Dakota at 3,506 feet above sea level. The peak is on private land, and is not staffed. Of the 50 state highpoints, only seven are on private land – North Dakota, Nebraska, Maryland, Louisiana, Kansas, Indiana, and Illinois. There is no development of any kind at White Butte. The closest town, [...]
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Olga, ND
This is Olga, North Dakota, a near-ghost town in northern North Dakota — the oldest settlement in Cavalier County having been established in 1882 as St. Pierre. Olga once had nearly 100 residents but underwent a slow decline over several decades. Today, Our Lady of the Sacred Heart church is the most impressive local landmark. [...]
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Flora, ND
Flora, North Dakota is in Benson County, about 40 miles southwest of Devils Lake. According to North Dakota Place Names by Douglas A. Wick, it’s an unincorporated community which had only 8 residents as of 1982. Former resident Kevin K. tells us there are now three remaining residents. Flora had a Post Office for 70 [...]
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More Bentley
These photos have been in our archive since we visited Hettinger County in 2007 and we are posting them here for the first time. The church shown below has since partially collapsed. Bentley was founded by Arthur A. Bentley who, after moving from Eden Valley, Minnesota, started a photography business in Fargo in the 1890s. [...]
Kongsberg, ND
Kongsberg, North Dakota is a tiny near-ghost town in McHenry County, just a few miles east of another near-ghost town, Ruso. Originally dubbed Olivia, the name changed to Kongsberg in 1916. The population of Kongsberg never exceeded 50. Kongsberg’s church celebrated their 100th anniversary on July 1st, 2012. This was actually the second town in [...]
The Bucyrus Fire Relief Effort
Bucyrus, North Dakota was decimated by a wind-driven wildfire on October 17th, 2012. Nearly all of Bucyrus was lost in the fire. Thankfully, two dozen residents of Bucyrus were evacuated before the fire and there were no injuries. However, Bucyrus’ residents have lost their homes and possessions. We spoke with Adams county emergency management and [...]
Another Look at Hanks
Clif Nelson contributed these photos of Hanks, North Dakota, a near-ghost town in Williams County — population one. Clif’s comments: “It was never much of a town, but they had coal mines north of town and grain elevatorsin the early 1900′s. My Grandfather Anton Nelson who farmed about 7 miles northwest of Hanks would haul a [...]
Devils Lake Ski Jump
This is the former Devils Lake Ski Jump, about 10 miles south of Devils Lake at Sully’s Hill. This ski jump opened in 1931 and operated for a couple decades. Based on what we saw, we can conclusively say a jump from the end of this thing would have been terrifying. There’s some interesting information [...]
Return to Fillmore
We first visited Fillmore in 2006 and we were completely blown away. Fillmore was one of the most impressive near-ghost towns we had ever been to. At the time, there just a couple of part-time residents, and more than a dozen abandoned structures including a bar, a store, a community hall/gymnasium, an auto shop, and [...]
Tyner Cemetery
Tyner Cemetery is all that remains of a rural settlement in Pembina County once known as Tyner. Cemeteries are not something we usually feature as an entity all their own, primarily because there are plenty of websites out there which focus on cemeteries and family history already. However, Terry visited Tyner Cemetery to photograph the [...]
San Haven Sanatorium 2012
San Haven Sanatorium is a former tuberculosis sanatorium in the foothills of the Turtle Mountains, a few minutes north of Dunseith. Thousands of TB patients received treatment here between 1909 and the end of the TB endemic in the 1940′s. Prior to the advent of antibiotics which brought tuberculosis under control, roughly 50 percent of [...]
Autumn in Hesper
Hesper is a town that had been on our radar for some time but we never had an opportunity to check it out. Earlier this summer, Philip Tron emailed to tell us Hesper had officially become a ghost town and submitted a few photos. After seeing them, we made it a priority to stop in [...]
The Remains of Munster Schoolhouse
This burned-out shell of Munster schoolhouse is all that remains of a town that never really was. Munster was a Great Northern Railroad loading station, established in 1912. There was a grain elevator, and this school. The grain elevator was torn down some years ago. You can see a 2009 photo of the school before [...]
More Photos of Leith
We first visited Leith in May of 2007, and you can see that gallery here. These photos from the Leith area were in in our archive, not previously published. Enjoy! Photos by Troy Larson and Terry Hinnenkamp, copyright Sonic Tremor Media LLC
Calvin, ND
Calvin is a near-ghost town in Cavalier county, not far from the Canadian border. It was founded in 1902 as a stop on the Great Northern Railroad, and swelled to 350 residents at its peak. Today, Calvin is home to about 20 residents. I found these photos on a disc Terry gave me back in [...]
Blanchard and a Really Big Stick
Blanchard is a small town in Traill county about a half hour north of Fargo. Our Facebook fans warned us that there wasn’t much of a historic nature left to photograph, and they were right. Linda Grotberg commented: “Blanchard, is another reason why your “ghost project” is so important! The two churches, Seim’s Store, Wally’s [...]
Ardoch, ND
Ardoch is a town of around 60 residents in Walsh County. We visited Ardoch once before to photograph the quite impressive Mondry Elevator, a visit during which we spent quite a bit of time looking for a phone lost in the tall grass. Since I was in the area again, I decided to stop in [...]
The First Day of Fall
The first day of fall in North Dakota. The calendar says it happens at the same time every year, but the truth is much different. In North Dakota, by the time fall officially arrives, the leaves have already been falling for weeks, accumulating into entrancing swirls of yellow and red. The air gets brisk and [...]
Auburn, ND
Auburn is a very small town in Walsh County, north of Grafton. There was an active harvest happening the day I visited, and most of the homes are still inhabited. The population appears to be a dozen or two. Due to a finicky camera, I was only able to capture the photos you see below [...]
Orrin, ND
R. David Adams contributed these photos of Orrin, ND, a near ghost town in Pierce county, west of Fillmore. We checked census records going back to 1920 and found no listing for Orrin. As we’ve seen time and time again, Orrin began it’s final decline with the closure of the elevator, which happened in 1965. [...]
Hesper, ND
Hesper, North Dakota is a true ghost town in Benson County, just west of Devils Lake — population zero. Hesper is one of those towns that has been on our list for some time but we just never made it there due to time contraints. We intend to make a visit soon. Philip Tron emailed [...]
Forbes School
We visited Forbes in May of 2011 and got pictures of the town, plus this gallery of the former school. Photos by Troy and Rat, copyright Sonic Tremor Media LLC
Wellsburg, ND
Wellsburg is a small town in Wells County, both of which are named for the Edward P. Wells, a former legislator. It was founded in 1910 and harbored a population of 150 in 1920. According to Douglas Wick’s North Dakota Place Names, the population had dropped to 14 by by 1981. Scenic Dakotas has a [...]
Emrick, ND
Emrick, North Dakota is a tiny town in Wells County, about half way between Carrington and Harvey. Emrick was originally named Doland, but the name was changed to avoid confusion with a town in South Dakota. Emrick never held more than 25 people. R. David Adams continuted these photos of Emrick, and his captions accompany [...]
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