The One Small City In North Dakota With More Historic Buildings Than Any Other
By Tori Jane|Published October 03, 2022
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Tori Jane
Author
Tori Jane is a storm chaser, writer, photographer, and the village idiot - in that order. When she's not out and about dancing with the meanest storms on planet Earth for funsies she can be found wandering, shooting landscapes, writing, editing photos, and otherwise up to no good. Legend has it that she can also be occasionally spotted typing up short bios in the third person, but those rumors are unsubstantiated.
Nestled in far eastern North Dakota, in Grand Forks County, there resides a town (or a small city, depending on who you ask) with quite an interesting claim to fame: it’s got more historic buildings than any other city or town in the entire state. It offers glimpses into how life once was, and better still, many of these historic buildings, sites, and areas are still in use or operation today. Welcome to Grand Forks, North Dakota: the Peace Garden State’s most historic town.
As of the 2020 census, the population of Grand Forks was 59,166.
It is the third-largest city in one of the least-populous states, but it sure does have plenty of interesting places jam-packed into it. Amazingly, Grand Forks is home to 69 different places officially listed on the National Register of Historic Places - significantly more than any other town.
Some of the places are old homes, like the old Campbell house (pictured below), which was built in 1879.
Other homes in Grand Forks listed on the National Register include the J. Nelson Kelly House (built in 1897) and the gorgeous Martin V. Lindwell House (built in 1895 with exquisite Queen Anne architecture).
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The Grand Forks City Hall was added to the National Register in 1982 and is relatively "young" compared to other structures, having been built in 1911.
The City Hall is far from the only government building in Grand Forks present on the Register; lovers of old-school architecture and local history might enjoy making a game out of finding and photographing each one.
It is one of only two bridges listed at all, which makes it pretty special, we think!
Fans of Romanesque architecture will love St. Michael's Church, which was built in 1909/1910 and often wows first-time visitors with its stunning aesthetic.
Of course, the list continues from there; there are historic cemeteries, schools, sanitoriums, shops, stores, and everything you can possibly imagine on this list.
A visit to Grand Forks for a history buff ought to be fun and interesting - it makes for a great local scavenger hunt!
For the complete list of places in Grand Forks on the National Register of Historic Places, check out the official data set used for this article. For more of our favorite small towns in North Dakota, check out places like Medora or Jud.
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