Several ghost towns have been recorded in North Dakota and are in various states of disrepair; some are mostly intact but have no residents, while others have completely barren or inaccessible sites. Other communities might have a small population but are frequently referred to as a ghost town due to population decline and disrepair.
Classification
- Barren site
- Sites no longer in existence
- Sites that have been destroyed
- Submerged
- Reverted to pasture
- May have a few difficult-to-find foundations/footings at most
- Neglected site
- Only rubble left
- All buildings uninhabited
- Roofless building ruins
- Some buildings or houses still standing
- Abandoned site
- Buildings or houses still standing
- Buildings and houses all abandoned
- No population, except caretaker
- Site no longer in existence except for one or two buildings
- Semi-abandoned site
- Building or houses still standing
- Buildings and houses largely abandoned
- Fewer than 50 residents
- Many abandoned buildings
- Small population
Ghost towns
Name | County | Settled | Abandoned | Status | Notes |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
Alfred | LaMoure | Semi-abandoned | |||
Amidon | Slope | 1910 | Semi-abandoned | [1] | |
Appam | Williams | 1916 | Semi-abandoned | ||
Arena | Burleigh | 1906 | 1996 | Abandoned | |
Aurelia | Ward | Abandoned | |||
Baden | Ward | Barren | |||
Beaver Creek | Williams | c. 1955 | Barren | Submerged under Lake Sakakawea[2] | |
Belden | Mountrail | 1904 | Semi-abandoned | ||
Bentley | Hettinger | 1910 | Semi-abandoned | [3] | |
Brisbane | Grant | 1906 | Barren | [4][5] | |
Carbury | Bottineau | 1901 | c. 2000 | Abandoned | |
Bucyrus | Adams | 1908 | Semi-abandoned | [1] | |
Charbonneau | McKen-zie | c.1960 | Abandoned | [6] | |
Charging Eagle | Dunn | c. 1955 | Barren | Submerged under Lake Sakakawea[2] | |
Cleveland | Stutsman | 1882 | Semi-abandoned | [1] | |
Clyde | Cavalier | 1905 | Semi-abandoned | ||
Dengate | Morton | ||||
Dogtooth | Grant | 1876 | c. 1911 | Barren | [7] |
Elbowoods | McLean | 1889 | 1954 | Barren | Submerged under Lake Sakakawea[2] |
Epworth | Mountrail | ||||
Fort Buford | Williams | 1866 | 1895 | Abandoned | U.S. Army fort |
Freda | Grant | 1910 | c. 1975 | Neglected | |
Gascoyne | Bowman | 1911 | Semi-abandoned | [1] | |
Gorham | Billings | c. 1899 | 1972 | Abandoned | |
Hample | Sargent | Barren | |||
Hartland | Ward | 1907 | 1966 | ||
Heaton | Wells | 1895 | Semi-abandoned | [8] | |
Independence | Dunn | c. 1955 | Barren | Submerged under Lake Sakakawea[2] | |
Ives | Bowman | Barren | |||
Kenaston | Ward | Semi-abandoned | |||
Keystone | Dickey | ||||
Kongsberg | McHenry | Abandoned | |||
Leipzig | Grant | 1896 | 1910 | Barren | [3] |
Lonetree | Ward | ||||
Lucky Butte | c. 1955 | Barren | Submerged under Lake Sakakawea[2] | ||
Lynwood | Morton | Barren | |||
McKinney | Renville | ||||
Mose | Griggs | 1889 | 1943 | Barren | |
Mt. Carmel | |||||
Nishu | c. 1955 | Barren | Submerged under Lake Sakakawea[2] | ||
Old Fort Rice | Morton | 1864 | 1878 | Abandoned | United States Military fort |
Old Sanish | c.1915 | 1953 | Barren | Submerged under Lake Sakakawea[2] | |
Omemee | Bottineau | 1887 | c. 1990s | Neglected | |
Petrel | Adams | 1908 | Barren | ||
Pierce | Burleigh | c. 1970's | Barren | Small community east of Bismarck, but got replaced by Lincoln. It is now reverted to pasture. | |
Red Butte | c. 1955 | Barren | Submerged under Lake Sakakawea[2] | ||
Roseglen | McLean | Semi-abandoned | |||
Sanger | Oliver | 1879 | 1985 | Barren | |
Schafer | McKen-zie | Neglected | [9] | ||
Schmidt | Morton | Barren | |||
Shell Creek | c. 1955 | Barren | Submerged under Lake Sakakawea[2] | ||
Sherbrooke | Steele | 1884 | circa 1920 | Neglected | Abandoned after the county seat moved from it to Finley, North Dakota, in 1919. |
Sims | Morton | 1883 | Semi-abandoned | Sims still has an active church, but nobody lives there anymore[10] | |
Sully Springs | Billings | c. 1880 | c. 1939 | Barren | Railroad town abandoned during the Great Depression[11] |
Tagus | Mountrail | 1900 | 2001 | Semi-abandoned | |
Temple | Williams | 1906 | c. 1965 | Neglected | |
Temvik | Emmons | 1904 | 2000 | ||
Three V Crossing | Slope | 1883 | 1910 | Barren | Now a ranch, but used to be home to a post office, a general store, and a stagecoach stop. |
Ukraina | Billings | c. 1906 | c. 1949 | Neglected | Only two cemeteries left |
Verendrye | McHenry | 1912 | 1970 | Neglected | |
Wabek | Mountrail | Abandoned | [12] | ||
Watrous | Hettinger | 1910 | Neglected | ||
Wheelock | Williams | 1902 | c. 1996 | Semi-abandoned | |
White Butte | Slope | Abandoned | This is talking about the abandoned town, White Butte, not the mountain. | ||
Whitman | Nelson | Semi-abandoned |
References
- ^ a b c d Speck, Gary B. (2024). "The Midwestern States". Ghost Towns: America's Abandoned Sites and Settlements. Morton Grove, IL: Publications International. pp. 102–105. ISBN 978-1-63938-623-9.
- ^ a b c d e f g h i Dura, Jack (June 11, 2022). "The Story of Elbowoods". Prairie Public. Prairie Public Broadcasting. Retrieved April 17, 2024.
- ^ a b New Milwaukee Towns, Mandan [North Dakota] Pioneer 4/8/1910 Archived 2008-08-27 at the Wayback Machine
- ^ Brisbane, ND Postal Application 1910 Archived 2008-08-27 at the Wayback Machine
- ^ Brisbane North Dakota Archived 2008-08-27 at the Wayback Machine
- ^ Dura, Jack (November 1, 2016). "Memories still remain in Charbonneau". McKenzie County Farmer. Retrieved April 17, 2024.
- ^ Where was Dogtooth North Dakota? Archived 2008-07-03 at the Wayback Machine
- ^ "Heaton". The Herald-Press. Retrieved April 17, 2024.
- ^ "The ghost town of Schafer". The Bismarck Tribune. October 27, 2015. Retrieved April 17, 2024.
- ^ "Sims, ND". Ghosts of North Dakota. September 11, 2016. Retrieved December 1, 2024.
- ^ Hoffbeck, Steve (June 10, 2022). "Sully Springs, A Badlands Ghost Town". Prairie Public. Retrieved April 18, 2024.
- ^ Davis, Lauren (October 5, 2021). "Hidden History: Preserved Wabek schoolhouse in a "ghost town"". KX News. Retrieved April 17, 2024.
Further reading
- Bingham, Katherine Rose (2024). Abandoned Eastern North Dakota: Pure Decay of the Peace Garden State. Fonthill Media. ISBN 9781634994774.
- Hargrove, Zachary (2019). Abandoned North Dakota: Weathered by Time. Fonthill Media. ISBN 9781634991971.
- Larson, Troy (2013). Ghosts of North Dakota: North Dakota's Ghost Town and Abandoned Places. Sonic Tremor Media LLC. ISBN 9780989096904.