Time and nature will always take their toll no matter what. Such is the case with these 10 ghost towns in North Dakota. At some point they were bustling towns, most sprung up from the railroad and thriving from as early as 1880 then dying off by the mid 1900s. A lot of them rose to populations of 500 or more and then drastically fell off around the Great Depression and dwindled off as people moved on further west or to larger towns that still exist in the state today.
Explore what remains at these ghost towns today. For the most part, it is just the final traces of the life that used to live there, being taken over by nature. What remains is grim.
- The final remains of buildings in Verendrye, North Dakota, once busy with 100 residents, then fully abandoned by 1970.
Andrew Filer/Flickr
- Petrel, North Dakota is not much more than fields and scrap heaps today. In 1960, 65 people still called it home.
Andrew Filer/Flickr
- A decaying building and a water pump still stand in Temvik, North Dakota. This town had many names over its life - Godkin, Brophy, and Union City - but today it is barely remembered by any name.
Snoshuu/Flickr
- Can you believe there was once a town of 50 residents here? Today, Freda, North Dakota is almost wiped out completely.
Andrew Filer/Flickr
- In 1906 a post office was established in the town of Carbury. In 1984, it officially closed due to the town being abandoned. This is all that’s left today.
Andrew Filer/Flickr
- This stone arch is all that remains of some ruins of a building in a town once known as Tagus, North Dakota.
Andrew Filer/Flickr
- What once was a beautiful home located in Sims, North Dakota, now a ghost town, is slowly deteriorating as time goes on.
minnemom/Flickr
- Schafer, North Dakota has long since been left, but this old jailhouse still stands.
Jimmy Emerson/Flickr
- In 1912, the town of Hartland, North Dakota had a blacksmith, pool hall, general store, bank, hardware store, and private houses. Today, this and a few other shells of buildings are all that remain.
Andrew Filer/Flickr
- Wheelock, North Dakota is only recently abandoned, having still had residents in 1990. No one lives in it anymore, though, as these buildings left in the townsite show.
Andrew Filer/Flickr
These towns were once bustling, and the only evidence of that is the memories of former residents and any rare photographs that still exist. Take a look at what they used to be like back in their prime through these amazing photos.
Andrew Filer/Flickr
Snoshuu/Flickr
minnemom/Flickr
Jimmy Emerson/Flickr
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