$1.00 Lots for Sale: Fairmount, North Dakota

Does the high cost of real estate cause you to despair that you will never be able to own your own home. Never fear. Just move to Fairmount, North Dakota and you can buy Lots for only $1.00. The climate may be brutally cold in winter but summers can be pleasant, and if you don't like big crowds, they will never find you here.

Because of declining populations in this part of the country some communities are going to extreme measures to attract new residents. Fairmount, North Dakota may not be everybody's ideal place to live, but for some folks it is the center of the universe.

The telephone number on the "Lots for Sale" sign is for the Fairmount City Hall.

First English Lutheran Church, Fairmount, ND

The very name of First English Lutheran Church, Fairmount, North Dakota, is a reminder that this part of the United States was settled by pioneer immigrants from northern Europe, especially the Scandinavian countries and Germany.

No doubt the "First" Lutheran Church to be established in Fairmount, as in many other towns in Minnesota and the Dakotas, held services in some language other than English - perhaps German or Swedish.

When I was a 20-year-old youth evangelist itinerating in the Dakotas during the summer of 1964 I had to privilege to speak - through an interpreter - in churches which held their services in the German language. As the older generations have passed on, the younger population has largely forgotten the languages of their ancestors and now speak English almost exclusively.

However, when driving through the streets of Fairmount I noticed a young local family that appeared to be of oriental descent, and Hispanics are also spreading into the area. It would not surprise me if at some point in the near future a church here will hold services in Korean or Spanish.

Fairmount, North Dakota

Fairmount is a tiny town of about 400 souls in the Red River Valley. It is situated at the southeastern corner of North Dakota, four miles west of the Minnesota border to the east and not far from the South Dakota state line to the south.

The town was founded in 1884 by homesteaders who came from Hartford, Michigan looking for affordable land upon which to establish new farms.

North Dakota Wildlife

When Lewis and Clark first followed the Missouri River across North Dakota just over 200 years ago they witnessed great herds of Bison (Buffalo) as far as the eye could see. There were also large numbers of Pronghorn (Antelope), and the expedition encountered their first Grizzly Bear in North Dakota. Other animals they recorded seeing included whitetail deer, moose, prairie dogs, gray wolves, and many other species.

By the late 1800s, with the advancement of white settlers, Bison and Elk had both disappeared from North Dakota. But that was then. Today both Bison and Elk have been reintroduced and have regained viable breeding herds in the state. Because of conservative agricultural practices deer and moose are probably more abundant and with wider ranges now than in pre-settlement times. Prarie dogs are holding their own, but in much smaller numbers than before wheat was planted and ranches established.

The Grizzly can now only be found in the Rocky Mountains, further west. Wolves are now very rarely seen in North Dakota, usually strays who wander over the line from Canada. However, with their demise the population of coyotes and red fox have increased.

North Dakota is also known for it's abundance of gamebirds, including pheasant, turkey, prairie chicken and numerous species of waterfowl. The best places to see waterfowl and moose are in the eastern part of the state. Deer are abundant throughout the state, and pronghorn, elk and bison are scattered in the western areas.

In the Badlands of western North Dakota I saw a colony of prairie dogs beside the highway and decided to take a hike across the prairie through their "town". My presence frightened the barking rodents, so I was unable to get a good photo of them. However, about a quarter-mile from the highway I topped a small rise and saw this maginificant bull bison. I quickly took this photo and backed away. If he had come my way there would have been nowhere for me to hide except down a prairie dog hole, and I don't think I would have fit.

Theodore Roosevelt National Park

Theodore Roosevelt National Park is in western North Dakota in the area commonly referred to as the North Dakota Badlands. The Park is divided into north and south units, with a combined area of 70,447 acres. This, in my opinion, is the most beautiful and interesting part of North Dakota. The park is accessed by two loop roads, the South Unit Scenic Loop Drive, 36 miles, and the North Unit Scenic Loop Drive, 28 miles. The park is always open, but these roads may close temporarily during winter due to ice and snow. On my August visit there I saw Bison, Pronghorn, Elk, Prairie Dogs, a Golden Eagle and other wildlife.

As a young man Theodore Roosevelt first visited this area on a hunting trip in Sept. 1883. He returned again the next year and established Elkhorn Ranch. Later, as the U.S. President who did more for conversation than any other, Roosevelt said, "I never would have been President if it had not been for my experience in North Dakota."

President Theadore Roosevelt established the U.S. National Forest Service, including 150 National Forests. Using the 1906 antiquities act, he proclaimed 18 National Mounuments. He also established 5 National Parks and 51 National Wildlife Refuges.

On the Open Range in North Dakota

The people of North Dakota live in one of the least populated parts of the United States with some of the worst weather, but you certainly can't say they don't have a great sense of humor. Along the highways of North Dakota you will find numerous huge fiberglass sculptures of cows, prairie chickens, buffalo and other creatures - put there just for the fun of it. Also individual ranchers and farmers often make humerous monuments in their fields using bales of hay, old farm implements, or whatever they have at hand.

I had to stop when I saw this "open range" along one secondary highway in a remote part of the state. The open range refers to the time when there were no fences and cattle roamed freely upon the range. Instead of being divided by fences, the herds were branded and the new calves sorted out with their mothers at round-up time. The open range is all but gone now in the American West, but the folks in North Dakota still know how to have a good laugh.

White Butte, Highest Point in North Dakota

White Butte is so off-the-beaten-path that it is neither a town nor a park, but just a prominent point on a the privately owned Van Easen Farm. It is in Slope County, larger in area than the entire state of Rhode Island, yet having a population of just over 800. The county seat, Amidon, with fewer than 100 residents, claims to be the the smallest county seat in America. However, many people, including myself, still find their way to White Butte because it is the highest geographical point in North Dakota. Fortunately the owners will allow you to hike the cattle trail up the butte, but they now charge a reasonable fee, and I don't blame them because so many people have taken advantage of their hospitality. When I was there I found the Van Easens quite friendly, accomodating, and proud of the fact that they own the state's highest point.

White Butte is less than an hour south of Theodore Roosevelt National Park and is reminiscent of that severe but picturesque landscape in the North Dakota Badlands. I have been told that rattlesnakes are abundant at White Butte and many local people are afraid to go to there for that reason. I was not fortunate enough to see any Rattlers on my visit, which was in late August.

Directions:White Butte is in the southwestern corner of North Dakota, just east of US-85, about 7 miles south of the tiny town of Amidon and 18 miles north of Bowman.