Many people outside of North Dakota would have absolutely no idea that the center of the ENTIRE North American continent, including all of the United States, Mexico, and Canada, lies right in a small town in North Dakota. That town is Rugby, and it is the one that gets to hold the title of the Geographical Center of North America.
The sign you see when you enter Rugby proudly displays the title
Jimmy Emerson/Flickr A little backstory on Rugby: The town was founded in 1886 as a junction for the Northern Railway, giving it its original name of Rugby Junction. As the small community around the junction grew, they dropped it from the name and it gained official city status. But Rugby had a history as a town well before that, the first few European settlers ever in North Dakota came down from Canada in 1812 and set up there. Many artifacts from the town’s history are viewable today at the Pioneer Village located in the town, part of which is shown below:
Holly Hayes/Flickr
The monument dedicated to the center is made up of stones and stands 15 feet high
Jimmy Emerson/Flickr This obelisk was constructed in 1931, was moved once, and has been where it currently sits ever since. However, the true official center of the continent lies about 15 miles from here according to the US Geological Survey, but because it was outside of the town, they decided to commemorate it here. This includes the flags of each North American country - the United States, Canada, and Mexico.
This sign there has markers pointing to each of the farthest reaches of the continent in every direction
Holly Hayes/Flickr The arctic circle is the furthest point north, towns in Washington and Maine are the west and east spots, and one of the southern most cities of Mexico mark the southern tip.
There’s no other place in the entire continent where you can stand and say you’ve been in the dead center - only Rugby has that status!
Chitrapa/Wikimedia
I find it pretty awesome that North Dakota gets to claim the center of the continent; it’s a fun fact about it here many people outside of the state actually don’t know. Spread the word!
Jimmy Emerson/Flickr
A little backstory on Rugby: The town was founded in 1886 as a junction for the Northern Railway, giving it its original name of Rugby Junction. As the small community around the junction grew, they dropped it from the name and it gained official city status. But Rugby had a history as a town well before that, the first few European settlers ever in North Dakota came down from Canada in 1812 and set up there. Many artifacts from the town’s history are viewable today at the Pioneer Village located in the town, part of which is shown below:
Holly Hayes/Flickr
This obelisk was constructed in 1931, was moved once, and has been where it currently sits ever since. However, the true official center of the continent lies about 15 miles from here according to the US Geological Survey, but because it was outside of the town, they decided to commemorate it here. This includes the flags of each North American country - the United States, Canada, and Mexico.
The arctic circle is the furthest point north, towns in Washington and Maine are the west and east spots, and one of the southern most cities of Mexico mark the southern tip.
Chitrapa/Wikimedia
Learn about more significant landmarks in North Dakota here.
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