Pat Finken - City Magazine

Travel
Ghost Towns
By Lauren Lesmeister
Town Lost In Time:
Blabon
“On the Great Northern route, about 79 miles
to the northwest of Fargo, you will find the town
of Blabon, in the heart of Steele County’s best
agricultural district. There, back from the Valley of
the Red River, three large elevators buy the wheat of
the community...”--from an article in the Bismarck
Tribune, Nov. 4, 1913
Dennis Horner grew up in Blabon. His
family moved in 1956, when he was 16: “I believe
we moved into Blabon in the 1930s, but not sure
when,” said Horner. “I had older brothers and sisters
that were born in the house in Blabon. We would
always play baseball in some empty lot. Most was
played with my four brothers, but there was a family
of five boys just across the road. Most of the work
was farm work and that is what I did, mostly driving
tractor, picking rocks and driving grain truck. My
pay was $5 a day.”
Located about seven miles from the present
day city of Hope, Blabon was founded in 1900
when the Post Office was established. It was never
incorporated into a city and the municipality was
administered by the Melrose Township board, along
with a Justice of the Peace. Town site lots sold for
$60 in 1903.
In 1914, the population was around 140 and the
area continued to grow until the Blabon State Bank
was closed in 1927. By 1980, there were only 17
residents, and at one point, Ed Tranby was the sole
In 1922, lightning struck and destroyed the
Monarch Elevator of Blabon. It was rebuilt
and again destroyed by fire in June 1946. No
elevator was built to replace it.
inhabitant. As of 2004, there were approximately
eight residents.
The first store carrying general merchandise
was opened by Andrew Holt in 1900, and in late
1901, the Post Office was located in the store. It also
was home to a number of other businesses and also
had schools – the last one closed in 1956.
A number of businesses were destroyed by
fires–and not all of them were rebuilt. Some
business owners and their families relocated, rather
than rebuilding their business in Blabon. This also
contributed to the town’s eventual decline.
Lauren Lesmeister is a writer, living in Bismarck, who is
the co-author of “The Lewis and Clark Cookbook” and “The
Sacagawea Cookbook.”
40 thecitymag.com