Ghost Towns, How Thriving North Dakota Cities Vanished
Are there "ghost towns" in the area? Unfortunately, there are probably plenty. I tripped across a very interesting story about Omemee, North Dakota once located up north in the Bottineau area. In 1906, it was a prosperous town boasting a population of 605.
Was there nothing Omemee couldn't do?
Well, this pearl on the prairie boasted a hotel, two banks, SEVEN grain elevators, a railroad depot, and a soda factory! Omemee, North Dakota also had a livery, a brick factory, and fielded one of the best baseball teams in the state! Seriously, was there nothing Omemee couldn't do?
If you said survive- then, you're right!
The clock was ticking on Omemee, North Dakota. Spoiler alert- you can read ahead by clicking here.
So, by the time 1965 came around the town was down to a population of ten and limped on until 1969 when the doors were shuttered for good on the Omemee dream.
It is possible to search many of these towns that are now just distant memories at the Ghosts of North Dakota website. But for me, I'd like to hear some stories about communities in our area that just simply disappeared. What are their names and the backstory?
There's another interesting link that supports the angle that the "Too Much Mistake" may have been responsible for the demise of many of these communities. Too many railroad tracks are the basis of much of that story's foundation.
Is that even a bad thing?
I can see that possibly the introduction of the Interstate Highway System may also have been the final straw in isolating some of these communities caught on the wrong side of the road.