North DakotaAttractions|Small Towns
By Leah
|Updated on April 23, 2020(Originally published April 09, 2020)
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Leah
Author
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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Before there were big box chain stores everywhere, and before technology started keeping everyone inside more often and outside in the world less often, there was a more community-driven aspect to all the towns. Specialty stores and businesses, for instance, are unfortunately becoming a thing of the past. Now, many seem to demand convenience over quality in many parts of their lives. Looking back at the small town history of North Dakota will make you realize just how much some things have changed.
The 1930s and 40s were a simpler time for towns in ND. These photographs from that time help portray what has changed, and how it used to be. So sit back and take a trip to the past, and maybe we can all reflect a bit on how things have changed.
Drug stores were not just a place to get some cold medicine, they were also the cool spot that had soda fountains! This drugstore in particular is even sporting a large "SODA" on the sidewalk to advertise their refreshing drinks.
This one is still very common today - every small town usually has a grain elevator or two.
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Theater still does remain a popular form of entertainment - here is a neat board of some movie posters. It was probably a lot cheaper to go to the movies then, I doubt it cost as much for concessions as theaters seem to charge these days!
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Of course, there was a new wave of department stores that came with this time, such as Montgomery Ward's and others.
This was more popular back in the day - community cold storage lockers for meats and preserved fruits and veggies, available for use for all local farmers and residents, if they did not have a way to store it themselves.
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Many smaller specialty businesses were way more popular back then, local family-owned and proudly run.
Back then a lot more people were self-sufficient, growing their own produce and canning foods for preservation to be used at a later time. Here, a woman shows her cellar full of goods.
Of course! This is one of the things people think of the most in small towns from the past - the classic barbershop pole and the ladies' beauty parlor. These in particular were conjoined.
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This is not much different today- we love all of our school's athletics programs and teams, especially in small towns. These high school football players are seen walking through town in uniform. Neat!
A busy street in Grand Forks showing off some specialty stores, such as the hat store and a shoe repair store. It's hard to find places like that today, with owners and employees who know their trade and are proud of the products they offer.
The times are always changing and there is not much we can do about that, but sometimes it doesn’t hurt to wish they were a little like they used to be. Here are more vintage photographs of North Dakota to reminisce upon.
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More to Explore
Small Town History Of North Dakota
Leah|April 23, 2020
Where can I find more of the best photos in North Dakota?
It's fun to look back at old photos of North Dakota. Whether you lived through those times yourself or can get a glimpse into what your parents, grandparents, or great grandparents grew up with, a nostalgic trip to the past is well accompanied by photographs. Luckily, we've put together quite a few articles with photos from the turn of the century to just a few decades ago. Here are some of the earliest photos taken in the state, and in contrast, photos from the 1970s. You'll find links to more photos of the decades through that article. You can also find gorgeous photos of the Peace Garden State from today by clicking here.
How has North Dakota changed over the years?
If you think back to what was life like in North Dakota over the years, it has certainly changed. Some of the small towns in these photographs have long since disappeared with the times. Many towns sprung up as the railroad was built across the prairie headed west, and not all of them made it to today. The early farmsteads had sod houses and used horses and plows for their work. Now, farms here have modern homes and high-tech tractors that can even be driven by satellite. Still, the beauty of the prairie persists, and the morals held by North Dakotans over the years has yet to waver.
What are the oldest small towns in North Dakota?
You might wonder what towns in these historic photos of North Dakota have been around the longest and are still around today. The title of the oldest small town in the state goes to Pembina, having been established as a post and grown into a town long before North Dakota was even a state. The original trading post there was founded in 1797, and it's been around as a town ever since. It only has a population of 553. Not far from Pembina is Walhalla, the second oldest town in North Dakota. It was established in 1853 and has an estimated current population of 927.
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