Since starting this website about North Dakota’s ghost towns and abandoned places in early 2004, suggestions about places to visit have been rolling in. One of the suggestions we’ve received on more than one occasion is a place called Deisem, North Dakota.
So in July of 2012, with fellow photographer and GND co-founder Terry Hinnenkamp, we set out for Deisem. Driving through LaMoure County just south of Jamestown, we turned onto what can only loosely be described as a “highway” — Highway 34, northwest of Edgeley. We discovered what was once a bright yellow line dividing two very narrow lanes is now barely visible, and gravel pokes through the asphalt in places. Traffic is nearly nonexistent.
We arrived to discover this church is all that remains of Deisem, North Dakota. The location is remote. We were on site for about a half hour on a Saturday afternoon and we didn’t see a single car pass by.
This church was reportedly a Seventh Day Adventist church, and it is now in very tenuous condition. If it survives another heavy snowfall, we’ll be surprised. In hindsight, we were quite foolish to explore the inside at all, and we would strongly recommend you admire it from the outside if you should decide to visit. It could collapse at any moment.
According to North Dakota Place Names by Douglas A. Wick, Deisem was founded in 1880. The Post Office was established in 1907, but was closed for good when the store it was housed in burned to the ground on January 30th, 1943. The end came officially in 1984 when the railroad pulled up stakes.
According to reports by fans on our Facebook page, Deisem was quite a happening town back in the day, and was home to a well respected general store which is long gone. There are various foundations hidden in the tall grass on the former Deisem townsite though, remnants of a town now lost.
The outhouse is gone, but the hole in the ground remains, and as is often the case in abandoned places, there are other hazards which remain hidden in the tall grass. It wouldn’t be hard to step in the wrong place and twist an ankle or a knee.
The remains of several crumbled foundations are nearby, near the rail line which pulled up stakes a long time ago.
The view from the pulpit.
The stairway to the balcony.
Looking down from the balcony.
This church is far beyond saving and will soon collapse, if it hasn’t already.
As we left Deisem, I took one last look in the mirror, all too aware that we may have photographed a place called Deisem for what may turn out to be the last time.
Photos by Troy Larson and Terry Hinnenkamp, copyright Sonic Tremor Media LLC
Ghosts of North Dakota 
Any idea where the belltower ended up from this one?
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When the congregation was moved from Deisem to Edgeley, the congregation moved the bell to their new church.
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OMG! Yeah, that thing could have come tumbling down around you. I’ve always wanted to turn an old church or school house into a home. I don’t think this is a good candidate, though, do you? LOL
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Ah, you are MUCH braver than I am. I always WANT to go inside but my dislike of cellars, especially visits that are unplanned, keeps me peeking in windows only.
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So sad to see historic buildings like this fall apart and vanish forever. Wish we could save all of the remaining buildings before its to late. I am Norwegian, so i guess its not much i can do about it though. Love to read about North Dakota because some of my ancestors went to North Dakota in late 1800 century and became settlers and farmers there. One of my ancestors survived the sinking of the Oceanliner Titanic, but stayed in America until his death in 1980
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Hello. Greetings from ND! Is your ancestor Olaf Abelseth? He and Herbert Chaffee are the only North Dakotans Ive studied who were on Titanic.
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My grandfather was Olus Abelseth a Titanic survivor. He homesteaded in the southwest corner of South Dakota near Hettinger and Reeder.
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So fascinating! I grew up very near to the ND/SD border just south of this area, and wasn’t aware of this former town (then again, I’m only in my 20’s!). The photos are definitely bittersweet to look at!
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You guys are way more brave than me, especially going up to the second floor. Is the destruction of the church vandalism or the fact that it was abandon? Both? Good illustration of how our perception of being so safe and secure is merely an illusion. Nature is strong.
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Wonderful post. I enjoy her in all of her derelict beauty.
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I can remember when I was quite young going to Deisem, ND to visit the mother of one of the hired men who lived as a neighbor to us. The only thing I remember is his name was Clarence Tosh and I think he has probably long since deceased. Of course, his Mom was “Grandma Tosh” and we had the best dinner and food at her house! Glad to see this picture, even as sad as it is!
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I grew up in this church and have many happy memories of it. So sad to watch it deteriorate over the years.
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Additional photos of Deisem are available here: http://www.flickr.com/search/?w=9809159@N03&q=deisem
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My great-grandfather, Ernst Carl Wilke farmed 160 acres at Deisem, North Dakota from 1909 to 1930…His children were Freda [my grandmother], Marie, Carl Fred [the pilot and partner of Bill Boardman, Emma’s husband], Emma, Ernest, and Ralph. My wife and I took a trip to Edgeley/Deisem in 2011 and went to the site of the family farm. There was nothing there but the remains of the old family houses basement. It is so sad that a village such as Deisem has become extinct.
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Does anyone know if the church still stands?
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As of 24 July 2014 it is still standing. Just drove by it today. Looks about the same as it did in 2012.
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Still standing as of August 2016.
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Yes the church still stands , for how much longer only God knows.5/3/19
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Still standing as of September 2022…but now is in very rough condition..it doesn’t look like it has long left
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Still standing as of April 2015…
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My Great Grandmother went to school in Deisem, was there any remnants of a school? She may have even went to school in this church, any thoughts?
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was there a one room school house in Deisem or near there? My mother taught there about 1943?
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My mother’s family – that of T. Marion Graybill – were members of this church from its founding. It is such a historical and ghostly part of the prairie that it deserves restoration via reconstruction. I would be glad to contribute to such a worthy project. – Herbert Ford, hford@puc.edu / pitcairnstudycenter.org
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Thank you for showing the pictures of Deisem. My maiden name was Deisem and from what I am told this is where my ancestors had lived. Sad that it is gone.
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