Out in the vast plains plains of Renville County northwest of Minot Air Force Base stands a majestic looking house. While the weathered exterior may not invoke the same sense of regal grandeur as it did in it’s prime, this house is one of the largest abandoned farmsteads we’ve stumbled across. It’s still in relatively good structural shape as well, indicating it hasn’t been abandoned for too terribly long.
This one was a fortuitous find early on in our adventures. We chose a random gravel road and started driving west from Highway 83. We soon hit Lake Darling and had to make a decision: find a bridge across or change directions. Lucky for us we chose to keep going west, cross Lake Darling, and soon after found this gem by pure chance. As we approached, we could see a large yard in the fields. Out in this part of the country they’re easy to identify due to dense trees in the middle of an otherwise flat, wide-open field. As we got closer, we could tell it wasn’t the most well-kept yard, so we started to get excited – but there was no way to know just what we were about to find. The trees kept us guessing the entire time, until finally we reached the driveway and started turning in. As we first entered the yard, we saw some old, small buildings, likely sheds or old wooden granaries, and we expected this may be all that remained, but we were soon greeted by this incredible find hidden behind the trees.
As soon as we saw the house, we were stunned by how large it was for this area. It’s a large, square, 2-story construction with a basement. The floors and walls looked and felt sturdy, so after taking some initial pictures of the exterior, we hurriedly started exploring the inside. As you enter, you pass through a mudroom and right into the kitchen. There are still a few cabinets and a sink attached to the walls, as well as some flower wallpaper, but for the most part the rest of kitchen is gone.
Much of the ceiling is on the floor so we have to be careful as we navigate through. From the kitchen you proceed into the next room which appears to be a dining room with basement access. A quick glance at the basement reveals the stairs aren’t in the best shape so we opt out of going down. Plus, we can see it’s full of old tires so we’d have to navigate those, as well. Instead, we continue on into what appears to be a living room that has deck access straight ahead and stairs in the back right of the room. An old, green recliner still sits in the corner.
Continuing on, we tested the stairs out with some ginger steps at first, but they seemed really solid so we proceeded up the stairs.
Up the stairs we found a second level that spanned the entire first floor of the house. While we could surmise this from the outside, it was still surprising to see. We rarely find old rural homes of this construction. They typically only have a small bedroom or two upstairs, but this one had an entire second floor.
The final surprise in this great find was a keyboard! It’s not exactly the newest model, so it gives some idea of when the house was last used. It’s really incredible how quickly these homes deteriorate in the harsh conditions of North Dakota!
