10 Slow-Paced Small Towns In North Dakota Where Life Is Still Simple
North Dakota is full of small towns with populations from 5 to 5,000. Most of these places go at their own pace and are completely separate from the hustle and bustle of big cities everywhere else. These 10 towns are perfect examples of what small town ND is all about. Their tight-knit communities and simple setting make them great places for people just to enjoy life and take things slow.
We’re aware that these uncertain times are limiting many aspects of life as we all practice social and physical distancing. While we’re continuing to feature destinations that make our state wonderful, we don’t expect or encourage you to go check them out immediately. We believe that supporting local attractions is important now more than ever and we hope our articles inspire your future adventures! And on that note, please nominate your favorite local business that could use some love right now: https://www.onlyinyourstate.com/nominate/
The pleasant small town of Kulm has a population of 354 and was founded in 1892. Actress Angie Dickinson, notable for roles in the 1960 movie Ocean's 11 and 2000 movie Pay It Forward, among many others, was born and grew up in Kulm.
Gwinner is a bit bigger than most small towns in North Dakota with over 700 residents, but the pace here is still leisurely and calm. The town is known for being the original location of the headquarters of Bobcat.
Crary is like many little towns in North Dakota, including the grain elevator and the tracks running through it. Only 142 people live here, making it a lovely small town to live in.
Bowbells is the county seat of Burke County in northwest North Dakota and is only a few miles from the Canadian border. As of 2010, the population was 336.
Other than being home of the Wildcats, Balta is also known for great duck hunting. The original name of the town was Egan, named after a railroad official, but was changed to Balta after a Ukrainian city. Many of the original settlers of the town were immigrants from there.
Turtle Lake, part of McLean County, preserves history dating all the way back to 1905 when it was founded. Back then it had a population of 395. Today, the population is about 581.
Kindred is one of the oldest small towns in North Dakota and has had a post office in operation there since 1881. It was named after a local business man who eventually became mayor of Fargo.
Burlington has the motto of "The Oldest City In Ward County." Technically, it was founded in what was then known as the Imperial Ward County which not only included Ward County but also Renville, Burke, and Mountrail. It was founded in 1885 and once the county split into what it is today, it became the oldest one in its new county.
The town motto of Minnewaukan is "Little City By The Big Lake." The lake is Devils Lake, as it sits on its west shores. It only has a population of 224.
The name Anamoose does not actually relate to moose at all. Their proper mascot would actually be a totally different animal. The name is derived from the Chippewa word "uhnemoosh," which translates to "female dog."
A lot of small towns have the same few things – a water tower, the grain elevator, a post office and a drug store – and yet they all have their own unique characteristics that make them great places to live. The towns featured here are nowhere near the smallest in North Dakota, though. That honor goes to these towns where absolutely everyone knows your name.
Leah moved to North Dakota when she was 12 years old and has traveled from the Red River Valley to the badlands and many places in between. She loves small-town life and currently enjoys living on a small farm in the ND prairie. She's always had a passion for writing and has participated in novel writing challenges such as NaNoWriMo multiple times. Her favorite part about this job is recognizing small businesses that deserve a boost and seeing the positive affect her articles can have on their traffic, especially in rural areas that might have otherwise gone overlooked.
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