The town of Bentley, ND was founded in 1906, fifteen miles south of its present location. In 1915 the town was rebuilt at the present location. Bentley should not be confused with Sanger in Oliver county, a town which was also named Bentley for a time.
At one time it may have been home to as many as 200 North Dakotans, but the 1960 census indicated a count of 51, and today it’s home to maybe twenty.
Photos by Troy Larson and Terry Hinnenkamp
Ghosts of North Dakota 
Gasp! You went into the Bentley church. Wow. Brave. I didn’t dare–worried about the floor. It was probably about 2006 when I was there. But also, it was getting dark.
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I use to work for a grain elevator repair crew back in the 1970s I worked all over No.Dak. I worked on the bentley grain elevator I remember a Mr Meyers Dont remember his first name Maybe Frank he was a very out spoken men And a rembember a giy named Leo that worked there
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please refer to this website: http://newleipzig.com/townofbentley.htm where you may download images of the Bentley 50th anniversary book (published in 1960). The town of Bentley at its present site was formed in 1910. The cemetery iron gate has this date.
Liberty used to be the first ‘Bentley’ which was located about 12 miles or so SW of its present site.
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I would also like to add that when visiting these old ‘ghost’ towns, visitors must not enter buildings, as many of them are still owned & maintained, even though they may seem ‘abandoned’.
As a resident on Bentley, I would appreciate future visitors refrain from entering buildings. We locals actually use them for various purposes.
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My great grandmother’s house is still standing in town. In the fall, I drive past Bentley and sometimes through it every weekend from the beginning of pheasant season through the end of deer season.
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Does anyone have a picture of the Depot that was in Bentley? My dad, Otto Wolff was a depot agent there.
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My grandfather had the post office and pool hall in Bentley. My great grandparents are buried in the Wheatfield across from the general store. My dad was raised there
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My grandfather was from Bentley. He never talked about his families past. His father was Joseph Kelsch his mother was Minnie Kelsch. Do those names sound familiar to you?
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I visited Bentley about 1968 and met Joe Kelsch. He was in his 90’s at that time.
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