North Dakota’s history has widely centered around agriculture and that still rings true today. Throughout the decades, generations of families have continued working the land and making a living through farming. There is one thing that usually stays around the longest on these farms, and that’s the barn. These barns have history in themselves. They hold countless stories and entire livelihoods of the people that use them. And quite frankly, they can be absolutely beautiful no matter how weathered and old they are.
These 12 barns in North Dakota all hold this beauty and history within them. If walls could speak, these are the places I’d listen to:
- Even though this huge barn near Valley City, ND has become a little weathered over time, it is still a stunning sight.
Jimmy Emerson/Flickr
- During the Sodbuster Days at North Dakota’s Fort Ransom State Park, this old barn gets a breath of life while its used in demonstrations.
NDPRD/Flickr
- This photograph was taken in 1937 on a farm in Divide County with a classic barn and windmill.
Russell Lee/yale.edu
- What’s not to love about a classic red barn like this? Located near Walhalla, ND.
Brian Couch/Flickr
- This totally unique round barn is the only of its kind in North Dakota and was built in 1943 near the town of Dunseith. At one point, it was used as a roller skating rink.
Jimmy Emerson/Flickr
- This old barn near Ambrose, ND was captured in this photograph from the 1930s. At the time it was pretty new!
Russell Lee/yale.edu
- What an amazing sight - a sunset and a lovely barn to go with it.
Darla Hueske/Flickr
- An abandoned barn near Hazelton, ND, still standing strong against the wide open prairie skies.
snoshuu/Flickr
- A big barn and silo on a farm in the Red River Valley, taken some time in the early 1940s.
John Vachon/yale.edu
- Another unusually shaped barn in North Dakota - an octagon! If you can believe it, this historic place is well over a century old and is located near New Rockford, ND.
Jimmy Emerson/Flickr
- You can see this fading but strongly standing barn on the Chan SanSan Scenic Backway through the James River Valley.
Jimmy Emerson/Flickr
- This barn may be quite aged, but it’s still gorgeous in its own way.
luschei/Flickr
Do you have any photos of old barns in North Dakota? Feel free to share them with Only In North Dakota to have them featured! It’s always a joy to see these amazing parts of the state and individual family histories.
Jimmy Emerson/Flickr
NDPRD/Flickr
Russell Lee/yale.edu
Brian Couch/Flickr
Darla Hueske/Flickr
snoshuu/Flickr
John Vachon/yale.edu
luschei/Flickr
If you really want to go back in time and see the agricultural roots of North Dakota, you must look at these rare, vintage photographs of farms back in the day.
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