Tag Hettinger County

Neuburg Congregational Church

Neuburg Congregational Church: Back from the Brink

Troy Larson 15 Comments

In 2014, we paid a visit to Neuburg Congregational Church, in Hettinger County, after we ran across a newspaper article which billed Neuburg Congregational as the most remote church in North Dakota–nearly 25 miles from the nearest town. We found the place on the brink of dereliction, with weeds growing up around the foundation, the paint thoroughly peeled, and pigeons making a home in the steeple. You can check out our original post to see how it looked at the time.

Neuburg Congregational Church

Sometime after our visit, someone decided to bring Neuburg Congregational Church back from the brink. The rapidly deteriorating roof was replaced with steel roofing, fresh paint was applied, and the grounds were tidied up. Even the sign out front was repainted. Our friend Tim Riley from Lost Places on the Prairie got these photos of the much improved Neuburg Congregational in 2016.

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Neuburg Congregational Church

Neuburg Congregational Church

Troy Larson 23 Comments

This is Neuburg Congregational Church, in Hettinger County, rural Mott.  The church, which is quite remote, nearly 25 miles from the nearest town, was built in 1925 and it was placed on the National Register of Historic Places in 2007.

Neuburg Congregational Church

We visited Neuburg Congregational Church in July of 2014. The sky was thick with haze from forest fires (in Washington, Oregon, or Canada, depending on who you ask) which lent some weirdness to the look of the sky. The light changed by the minute.

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Ten Lost North Dakota Places

Troy Larson 22 Comments

It’s always a thrill to see enthusiastic residents get involved in saving historically and culturally significant places in their communities, but in North Dakota’s vanishing small towns, the losses frequently outnumber the wins by a significant margin. It’s something we’ve seen time and again in over ten years of photographing North Dakota.

What follows is our personal list, by no means exhaustive, of ten significant North Dakota places that have unfortunately lost their battle with time.

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Bentley, North Dakota

More Bentley

Troy Larson 2 Comments

These photos have been in our archive since we visited Hettinger County in 2007 and we are posting them here for the first time.  The church shown below has since partially collapsed.

Bentley, North Dakota

Bentley was founded by Arthur A. Bentley who, after moving from Eden Valley, Minnesota, started a photography business in Fargo in the 1890s.  In 1907 he moved to Hettinger County and founded the town of Bentley.  Someone has started a Bentley webpage where you can read more, and see the condition of the church now… see it here.  See the rest of our Bentley galleries here.

Bentley, North Dakota

Bentley, North Dakota

Bentley, North Dakota

Bentley, North Dakota

Bentley, North Dakota

Bentley, North Dakota

Bentley, North Dakota

Bentley, North Dakota

Bentley, North Dakota

Order the Book

Bentley, North Dakota

Bentley, North Dakota

There were vehicles parked in front of this old school and we were unable to get a good shot.

Bentley, North Dakota

Photos by Troy Larson and Terry Hinnenkamp, copyright Sonic Tremor Media LLC

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Burt, North Dakota

Burt, ND

Troy Larson 18 Comments

Burt, ND is along Highway 21 in Hettinger County, roughly sixty miles southwest of Bismarck/Mandan. The post office was established in 1910 at Burt, which had previously been known as Alton. The name was changed to avoid confusion with Alton Junction.

Burt once had 200 people but is now home to a couple dozen.

Burt, North Dakota

Burt even had a newspaper once upon a time — the Burt Echo was the “official paper for Hettinger County” from 1914 to 1919 and featured both English and German-language columns for the predominantly German settlers in the area.

Burt, North Dakota

We visited Burt during a trip to check out a bunch of abandoned places in the southwest part of North Dakota — places like Lefor, Haley, Bucyrus and Gascoyne.

Burt, North Dakota

Burt, North Dakota

The main occupants of this place now are horses.

Burt, North Dakota

Burt, North Dakota

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Burt, North Dakota

I really loved this place. That facade really says “frontier.”

Burt, North Dakota

Burt, North Dakota

Photos by Troy Larson and Terry Hinnenkamp, copyright Sonic Tremor Media LLC

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adjective: abandoned

1. having been deserted or cast off.

verb: abandon

1. cease to support or look after; desert.

2. leave (a place or vehicle) empty or uninhabited, without intending to return.

3. condemn someone or something to (a specified fate) by ceasing to take an interest in or look after them.

Bentley, ND

Troy Larson 11 Comments

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.

The steeple on this church has collapsed since we took these photos
This church is now badly saddle-backed and will collapse soon, if it hasn’t already.
Panorama 1
Panorama 2

Photos by Troy Larson and Terry Hinnenkamp