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The Ghost Town of Griffin, North Dakota
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- เผยแพร่เมื่อ 11 ก.ค. 2024
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Griffin, North Dakota is a town that’s so poorly documented, so forgotten, and so wiped out, that its story is, without exaggeration, a step away from being lost forever. Hopefully with the help of this documentary, we can change that.
The Bowman County town was originally settled in the 1890's and was originally named Atkinson, but when the Milwaukee Road railroad came through in 1907, Atkinson was renamed Griffin. It was also a stop on the Yellowstone Trail.
In this video, we explore the remaining structures on the site, including several homes and trailers, as well as the beautiful old Atkinson Schoolhouse and a Milwaukee Road boxcar.
It was never a massive settlement, but it was full of life and stories that deserve to be remembered.
Visit the Pioneer Trails Regional Museum at ptrm.org/
Visit the Milwaukee Road Heritage Center at www.montevideomrhc.org/
I live in Bowman and have driven by and stopped at Griffin 100's of times and am glad someone has stopped by and taken the time to explore and learn the history of a forgotten place like Griffin.
Love to follow you on your channel.
I'm just glad people still know that we're a state and not part of Canada.
@@scottn8 your state may be the least known in the Upper Midwest Region but still American through and through. Cheers bud
That cassette came through so damn clear, it was almost as eerie as the town itself.
Right? No USB drive can survive that exposure. Analogue wins.
My dad agrees with a number of the posts here about the unknown structure being recycled timber. He grew up in rural ND, though moved away 15-20 years ago. I asked him to take a look and he replied:
"Recycled high line poles and cross arms. Looks like it was started and not finished. We used a lot of old poles and cross arms when we built the one pole barn. The one at the west end of the sheep barn"
He's in his early 70s now, so would have been growing up about the time Griffin was in hard decline. I suppose his guess is as good as any.
Word to your father for this info.👏
Fact checks from an original area resident: 1. The Atkinson schoolhouse was moved to Griffin in the early 1980's, when Stanley Soderstrom was trying to build a ghost town at Griffin to attract tourists. 2. The site of Griffin was private property of the Soderstrom family for at least the past century. Godfrey Soderstrom (the G.W. Soderstrom in the image when talking about the post office), Ernie, Stanley, etc. During all this time, only one family at a time ever lived there; at certain times it was families other than the Soderstroms. Ernie had a small cattle ranch there, around the 1950s. At no point in the last century did multiple families live there - never six families. 3. The cellar with no building over it belonged to a dormitory-like building where railroad workers would stay. 4. Most of the buildings at the site were brought in by Stanley Soderstrom, again, to create a ghost town. There was also a lot of other random "junk" brought in by Stanley over the years, so most of what you would find there would have absolutely nothing to do with the town. In fact, Stanley's son Stanic (sp?) opened an antique store in Bowman with his wife Carrie in the mid-1980s; not sure if that was related to some of what Stanley brought in or if it was a separate endeavor. 5. The random poles were indeed previous telegraph poles but this was a pole barn that was started by Stanley Soderstrom and never finished. 6. The building south of Highway 12 was the Wilson schoolhouse that Stanley moved in from south of Bowman (I'm not sure the exact site but my dad attended dances in that schoolhouse before it was moved in). The Wilson schoolhouse was brought in sometime after the Atkinson schoolhouse was moved. The wagon was also moved in by Stanley at some point. 7. The building you call a "henhouse" was also something brought in from outside, but was too large and well-built to have ever been an actual henhouse at its unknown original location.
Thank You for the detailed and interesting information.
Thank you.
Thanks for your excellent story. 👍 It's good to hear from locals on stories about towns and places.
Fun hater lol
cool. thank you.
R.R.B. Macintosh lives another day, fro we have spoken his name. Perhaps for the last time.
Robroy/Rob Roy Bruce McIntosh!
Great point!
damn
This comment immortalises him. Good job!
"...for we have spoken his name. Perhaps for the last time." Nuh-uhh, this is the internet, R.R.B. Macintosh IS now immortal! =-)
As of 22 years ago, the Griffin property was owned by Stan Soderstrom, who grew up there but was a minister in Ellendale. I tried to buy the windmill and tower from Stan in 2002, but he said it had too much sentimental value and that it would be hard to see either of the "Griffin towers" (there's also a windcharger tower visible in the aerial shot) gone. It makes me happy to see that it's still intact and standing, especially since it probably hasn't been serviced since the 1970s. Nicely done video and history!!!
I detest people who put "sentimental " value on material objects, especially someone who claims to be a "minister"
History, no matter how seemingly insignificant, should not be forgotten
But, it will be, as will you and i soon, to never be remembered by anyone
This is just a wild guess, but those strange beams with the pegs might be the cross-pieces from old telegraph poles along the railroad. It’s not impossible that when they were no longer needed, somebody collected all of the wood to reuse it.
Could have been some sort of electrical substation as well for providing the town with power off the main line?
this seems most likely to me also, maybe reused into making a chicken run that was covered?
They are old telegraph poles. Most likely, that was where the railroad stored them after they didn't need them anymore.
Could also be a training location for utility pole workers. I have been looking into this myself for my own job: before bucket trucks really existed (and even still today) you just climbed the poles. It looks like the training locations I've seen pictures of.
At 30:00 I think it's a frame from an old greenhouse. The clear plastic sheeting long gone. It also has a spigot for hose for irrigation.
There is something deeply meaningful and melancholic about these videos. We are getting a small window into a world that not even most of our grandparents remember. A world before our time. It is incredible to me how these people lived their lives and how in just a few generation because of outside forces a place can be so nearly and totally forgotten. I was partially raised by my great grandparents and their parents and it takes me back to my youth when I see these ruins and ghost towns because of the stories they told me but I am also reminded how they all passed away from dementia. It feels like America is dying of dementia.
My grandma had that exact same piggy lightswitch cover (23:19) back in the 90's. I'm not sure why that information stayed in my memory, but it's kinda fun that it did
Tom, the RRB McIntosh is 2LT Robroy/Rob Roy Bruce McIntosh, service number O-744731. It took a bit of digging, but I was able to find him thanks to one Air Force journal from July 1946 and a lot of searching military records/Ancestry. He was actually taken as a POW after baling from his plane near Nuremburg, Germany in March 1944 but escaped 14 months later. He died of cancer in September 1999 in Mississippi. Throughout all of this research I could not find a single tie to Griffin or North Dakota- I have no idea why his bag would be in that trailer of all places.
Fantastic job finding that! I was hoping his story would be found. That’s absolutely incredible. Any idea what he flew in?
I just found a little bit more. He was with the 354th Pioneer Mustang Fighter Group, so looks like he may have flown a P51
Thank you for preserving his memory for a little longer. He certainly deserves to be 😊
could have been a thrift/second hand store donation, or a simple gift to a friend who was moving there who needed a bag and he had the perfect one. Strange things happen.
Well done, Jeannie.
Nüremberg, nearby Augsburg and their surroundings were a very contested area in air operations due to the large aviation factories producing aircraft for the Luftwaffe. A long, long flight from Italy, probably. He probably escaped during one of the several marches POWs were subjected to, with the Germans relocating entire camps in the closing stages of the war. But that is just my assumption.
Thanks for sharing.
Cheers.
I love these old Ghost Town adventures. Thanks for taking us along.
Pretty sure it's an old greenhouse (or tried to be one), which is quite ambitious for such a windy location. Tomatos, cucumber, stuff like that, vital for living there. Just makes me so sad, so much effort, so many work hours that have been put in that town, and now it's all gone. Thank you for this video - you may have just saved their memory!!
That makes sense with the plumbing valve for water.
I was thinking this same thing greenhouse
That was my first thought too! Especially with the spigot and hard line he shows.
The ''bizarre structure'' you showed is for growing hops on. They are an ingredient in beer. The numbers on the poles are from old telephone or telegraph poles that were reused for the hop growing operation. They came with numbers nailed to them. When i was a kid those poles were everywhere. Now you dont see them with numbers like that anymore or at all.
I've seen those, and I'm not that old. I don't think. Lol
We have seen things like this in Bavaria with hops growing on them.
Nice
Terrific opening quote!! I never thought of death in that manner, when your name is spoken for the last time. Thank you for your extensive research and well executed productions. Wishing you continued growth, for your benefit and for us viewers. 👍
I’ve been a sub for a couple of years now and this one hits the closest to home….literally. My grandmother’s parents were German immigrants who settled on some farm land directly north of there in a now defunct community close to Grenora North Dakota. This is where my grandmother was born (well over a century ago as she has passed many years back) and she spent her early years in their farm. They eventually moved away and like many of the unnamed people in your video, landed elsewhere.
Furthermore, I lived in North Dakota for a few years as a teenage and actually enjoy some of its unique beauty. There are amazing and wonderful people who still call those small communities home. So I try to do a pilgrimage there every few years and ponder on my ancestors (and others) who worked the land in one way or another…
So this was very moving and a beautiful video. Thanks you for doing it and spending sometime in a place that most people don’t care to visit.
that is a beautiful spot, thanks for sharing the perspective
Loved the tale of the immigrant who helped those in need during the outbreak. I'm sure he earned his place in paradise. And the tale of the cunning and smart cowboy who fooled the residence into betting on his horse.
Your work is IMPECCABLE ! How in the world did you find all that information ? Love your work. THANK YOU FRANK FROM MONTANA.......
It always makes me both sad and amazed at seeing abandoned homes. Thinking about all the life that happened within its walls and now it's empty and alone
Nicely said.
I loved the school house CLOAK ROOM with the coat hooks. It reminded me of my fifth and six grade years at Lincoln Elementary school, in Hamilton, Ohio. The CLOAK ROOM (In my mind, I can still see the sign/name of it up over the door) held our coats and boots throughout the school day. I’m sure my school was built in the late 1800s. The CLOAK ROOM was always full of friendly excitement … especially when school was let out! The walls were made exactly like the Griffin school building. In this video, made of the small slat looking wood, probably out of pine wood. It was a medium golden color and had a semi gloss coating on top. It’s interesting how seeing a small video of Atkinsons CLOAK ROOM brought back a flood of memories from my childhood. Thank you so much for preserving some memories of the town of Griffin. You did a great job! 🤩
I've seen posts and hooks set up like that for growing hops to make beer. The poles look like they may have been previously used for telegraph poles, and someone saved them to re-use for their project. Thank you for documenting these old settlements, it's important to remember the heritage. I enjoy your videos. Keep up the good work.
This was also my guess…hops
That's the only thing I have seen growing on them. Although I imagine any vining plants are a possibility.
6:25 These transition comparisons get better and better. Astounding editing.
I love your Ghost Town series, it is so fascinating to hear about these towns lost to time thousands of miles away.
I love that quote. Sometimes I feel that way about how I was raised, growing up in the 1990s and 2000s in a rural area of western WA.
"I don't regret my age in the least, for I was born early enough to enjoy a sort of freedom that no American will ever know again." -Mert Buckley (spelling?), cir. 1890
Another great video, Tom! North Dakota is a place that has a lot of sentimental value to me, as my Mom grew up there, and came from a rural farming community in Ramsey County, and we would visit relatives in ND many times each year. Though it is not a ghost town yet, check out Edmore, ND.......when we would pass through it when driving through ND, it always had a lonely feel to it, a very small town. Just checked the population, and it is 139 as of 2020, and more notably, they closed the high school down this year in 2024, after only two (!!) students graduated. I looked at the census stats right now, and they lose about 50-60 residents each decade, so in about 20-25 years, there will likely be nobody left there. They have a really cool story; seven brothers who served in WW2 lived there, and the remaining residents have hung on for dear life to make it a viable town in some manner, despite the inevitable. They have some nice pictures from the early 1900's, and you can see a Main Street with many more buildings.
I was through that area last year on vacation and spent the night in Bowman. There was a little town we went through on US 85 just north of the RR tracks on our way there. Places like that and Griffin make me think of the lives that were lived there. Everybody has hopes and dreams. What were theirs I'd asked and in the end was it a good life..
Dude, you're awesome! I love what you're doing to help preserve Americana. Your boat/ship stuff is cool, too. But these old town America videos hit something in my soul.
Edit: Your use of background music in this video is exceptional. It has that old-time feeling with an eerie undertone.
Agree!
Man videos like this just make me sad. The mid west, northern plains are full of towns like this. 😢
My sisters and I wondered where this school was. Our mom had attendance records for it. Thank you.
I cannot stress enough how well this documentary has been made. From the background music, to the building old picture layovers with the current state and storytelling. Hats off (again)!
Loved this. Thank you. I'm from South of Jamestown and have lived in Western ND for 27 years. I had never heard of Griffin. Love the history.
isnt that the white buffallo spot? i was jus tellin someone bout that, cuz the one that was born in yellowstone
This is such a great community - every single comment I have read has contributed something interesting, thoughtful, and contemplative. Everyone is also respectful which is a reflection of the video and its creator.
Can’t watch it right away, but I’m excited to see it! Your videos are always so well made, often times I watch them 2-3 times in the background while I do different house or recreational things
Now THAT is a backhanded compliment. 👏
@@kcnmsepognln it’s a real complement. Some people work, don’t have time to watch it right away
Thomas, yet another great exploration and history lesson. I truly appreciate what you do and the way you bring history to life. Last year I watched your episode on the old coal mining town in either W.V. or Virginia and I was instantly intrigued in your channel. Now I wait patiently until the next video comes out because I know for a fact that it will be an awesome adventure.
Thank you sir.
28:32 - A 'two holer' was DeLuxe, indeed.
The catalogs were for wiping as well as for reading. Sears Roebuck was the favorite.
That outhouse pit is likely full of bottles and other artifacts discarded there while in use.
The lime green children's clothes and short pants suit and extremely short dresses I would date at sometime between 1961 and 1964 when Jackie Kennedy was the first lady and mom's across the country wanted their children dressed just like Caroline and Jon Jon.
It would be cool Below the Plains TH-cam channel could do a dig at outhouse sites there.
I love watching these old ghost town adventures and learning about their history. Thank you so much for sharing this with us all :).
Just found you today... glad the algorithm brought me here! New sub 😊
I agree I hate the vandalism but as you said it is actually pretty nice keep up the good work exploring the ghost towns of this country
I really enjoy your videos. I had surgery recently and have binged a pile of them I've somehow missed.
I grew up outside of Flaxton , North Dakota. I LOVE hearing about other old ghost towns! I’d suggest looking up the history of Leith…. So disturbing!
what happened?
I love this so much, bc just you making a video about this place immediately stops the third death. We all know its name now, and it permanently has its own space in my mind. Love this!!
Interesting video, I’m sure I drove by Griffin 45 years ago with cattle that I bought across the line in Montana. Got stranded by a snowstorm and had to stay overnight in nearby Marmouth which is an interesting old town.
Watching this video, I was amazed when you mentioned the blinds made by Luther Draper of Spiceland Indiana. I live in a town close to Spiceland and Drapers is still in business!
I really enjoy your videos.
Well it's a pretty big business if everyone was buying from them. Also, convenient name
Well researched, well documented and excellently narrated. This is what a travel/history channel should strive to be. When I watch these types of videos, they have little meaning without the backstory, history and personal stories that give them the depth of satisfying entertainment and educational value. I can't travel by myself anymore so I greatly appreciate your taking the time to produce this video. Thank you and well done. You've earned a new subscriber.
glad I found this channel, love these videos
I believe that array of posts where an old feed barn and stable, my fathers parents had a barn built in the 60s or 70s of almost that exact same layout it was hand-built out of cedar and is still standing today. The numbers probably numbered the stalls, most barns use one or two sides of the interior as stalls and the rest feed and hay storage. Wonderful to see old towns like this have there stories told. Thanks!
This is fantastic! Having not seen a "Town reel" from you in a bit , I am savoring this one! Thanks Tom!
I truly wish you could put one of these videos out per week. Godspeed on your adventures.
Thank you for your work. I really enjoy this.
I just love these old towns. Brings a tear or 2 to my eyes though.
I love the parting words regarding freedom that no American will know again. So true. 😢😢😢
Such a great presentation, as always! Thank you!
Narration and vedit was outstanding for a documentary! I can't imagine once a wonderful town back then, just vanished in time. But thanks to you man who documented it and others who contributed to research! I appreciate your hard work! Cheers!
The poles you were seeing are the old stockyards. Griffin had the largest in the county for a long time. Also Griffin used to have a uranium kiln to process raw uranium from nearby mines.
My family used the rock tumbler from the uranium mine to make a colvert on the Cold Turkey Creek. It's still in great shape after all the years. It was just a bit radioactive ...
The locals were definitely enthralled by the music they were hearing. Amazing video as always :)
I enjoyed this very much! I appreciate your pleasant manner of speaking and your respectful ways. The ghosts of Griffin and I thank you.
Thankyou for this. My folks were born on farms near Tuttle and Arena ND. It was a hard life out there on the prairie, but I am forever grateful for my ancestors, and very proud of them. Germans from Russia
My two cents: I think it could have been a hops grow made of recycled railroad "telegraph" poles (actually carry transmission signals for CTC or block signals). The numbers are to keep track of sets so that they can be easily identified for replacement/re-enforcement at the end of their expected life. I think someone batched them all together to make a hops growing area maybe as a test or for their own use. The strings would have long-since rotted away. Although hops is not common in the plains states, at least by my experience. We used to hunt pheasant when I was a kid, and the old-style hops fields were very similar to what you see. Now hops are harvested by machine, so the fields and towers look a lot different than back then.
Thanks for another excellent and high-quality documentary.
I live in Ohio I have been traveling out to Mammouth North Dakota to go prairie dog hunting since 2011. This is one of the spots that my friend and I would stop and look along the way as soon as I saw this on a video I told my wife I know that building I know that town I know I’ve been through there. It is really cool thank you so much for taking the time to video document, the town of Griffin
I absolutely love these ghost town explorations! But Im also relieved that you seem to be acting cautiously to not put yourself into dangerous positions. Your respect for the towns, their history, and even the birds/wildlife is so nice to see
this is such a small part of the video, but i appreciate your consideration for the birds. i know it's a bizarre takeaway but i love that you didn't want to disturb them and you were respectful of the nest
NEW PART TIME EXPLORER JUST DROPPED
I'm sure the people from that more recent trailer from the 50s were so nice and wholsome. Type to have that cute piggy chef light switch in the kitchen and hang their nice puzzle on the wall. Proud of their nice puzzle and the good time they had.
Awesome documentary! 😊😊😊
i wonder why they'd have all those barrels and things stashed in a rail car near all that grain... history is such a mystery. It looks like, with some cleaning and sterilizing, that rail car could still run. I believe that carriage was running decades after the tracks had all been stolen.
This was great I love how you always investigate ahead of time what your filming. You make it very interesting and most just show the area and guess!! So I’ve watched quite a bit of your videos and want to thank you for sharing!! Take care, be safe and God bless ♥️
Love your new intro!!!! Well done Tom. Great content as usual. Thank you for what you do!!
Drove through a couple of times for the past few years, my dad would take me and we would explore a bit
It is sad that this is the story of so many of the small towns across our great nation that continue today. And sadly, it also speaks to a nation that has lost its way. So sad, so very, very sad.
Im really pleased that Legal Vices suggested this channel. 😊
Excellent historical and visual presentation. Good job.
I love the new intro.
And everything starting with music to sfx was done outstanding
Just when I needed a low key video PTE comes through
Thank you just found your channel. Follow the Milwaukee Road out to Western Montana, a few years ago. Planning another trip. Great video, thank you for sharing.
There's no such thing as a small story. Kudos to the bus driver of old for being the right person at the right time. 59k people know of him at this point. And that'll do.
There was some love put into building that school. Some of the timber used had a beautiful and clean grain to it.
Such a beautiful and desolated expanse reminds me of the Pampa region in Argentina. Vast, endless flat terrain with a house or a town here and there. Heals one soul, always used to so much visual pollution in the big cities.
Excellent video, Tom & Emma. Well done.
Funny side note: Montevideo is the capital city of our brotherly rivals Uruguay. Wonder how the name got there. (Lovely little museum, by the looks of it. The train setup is very nice.)
Cheers.
It is too bad you weren't able to visit and explore _Buffalo Alice_ North Dakota. It still existed in 1974 when I graduated from Jamestown College. The prairie is full of the hopes and dreams of the early settlers.
Buffalo and Alice are both still around, if not very large.
isnt there a white buffalo there too?
You are my favorite history explorer! You tell a fantastic story!
This town was my first real ghost town shoot. Shot plenty of abandons before, but never had the chance to snoop around an actual town before. Was not a ton there, but was still very interesting.
I know its going to be a good saturday morning when I see one of you videos pop up!
I really look forward to these videos, great quality and makes my day.
Thank you for sharing and for a very well done narration. Love hearing about old ghost towns.
Nice easy to understand video . Keep them coming ! Very helpful .
Great video, you do this stuff so well.
You make a few broken buildings sound much more interesting than one would first think . Thank you for your hard work . That 60s Bathroom fittings were so horrible , I remember they were Pink ,light Blue , Yellow and Green and all awful lol
Playing around with historic aerial photos, it appears the schoolhouse was moved to its current site somewhere between 1973 and 1983. Also of note, in 1957 the long building at the northern edge of town was L-shaped, but the part that is gone seemed to decay sometime between '57 and '72, with what appears to be a LOT of work being done on the land as a whole between '72 and '73. This appears to be when one of the mobile homes was dropped in, but I'm not 100% certain.
A large grove of vegetation tall enough to cast a shadow also used to "wall in" the town to the west, northwest, and north, but it appears this has also all decayed down to a single pocket to the NW now? Worth noting, that grove was also nestled directly against the "L" building.
The 3 circular grain hoppers for livestock had been clearly there since at least 1957, if that helps you at all.
Actually, it appears the second mobile home might have been placed on the site sometime in the early 1990s, which makes nearly zero sense from anything I've seen. This would be the one that is currently eviscerated, I'm sure, so if you got to look inside you might have found clues to the fate of the end of the end of the town.
I actually live in Fargo (originally from Phoenix, AZ), about 5 hrs away. I know ND is littered with places just like Griffin, or pretty similar. nice video 👍
I love the research you did. Great job documenting. ❤❤❤❤❤
Telegraph poles & cross arms. They are soaked with creosote & last for years. I really enjoyed this. Looks like nice country. I wonder about water, is it too deep to reach easily.
It's wonderful that you're documenting these nearly forgotten towns, they were filled with people that all had their own hopes, dreams, and ambitions, and to see their homes and lives fade away is a shame. I was the last resident of Nahon, SD and I've made it a goal that even a failed railroad town like my home will remain in someone's memory long after I'm gone.
On another note, if you ever pass through North Dakota again you should make a point to stop in Valley City. They have an absolutely spectacular museum in town that documents a multitude of ghost towns in the area, among everything else they have on hand. Also you could check out the Hi-Line and Karnak rail bridges, definitely worth a visit.
It's possible that those posts had tarp covering and was used as a makeshift green house or soft shelter.
Your videos are always fantastic. Thank you for making these.
Yess another Tom L upload!!!!
Bowman dairies started in Chicago, owning over time, several smaller dairies. I guess the railroad helped with all that. Just looking it all up here in the UK. Fascinating video.
I drive by this little town on a regular basis. I was under the impression it is private owned. Always wondered the history, neat to find some of it out.
Subbed, this is great stuff. Keep up thr good work
30:00 The 'bizarre structure' was likely support posts for growing 'hops', used in brewing beer. Hops are a thirsty plant so the place was likely abandoned when the well went dry. It also makes sense because it's on 'the Milwaukee road' which was grain and hops destined for the breweries.
I grew up 2 miles from Griffin and there is no chance hops would grow there.
Cowboys and Railroad Workers. I remember playing that as a kid.
Well done & very enjoyable!!!
Thank you very much for this fabulous video!
😀👍
Whenever I see old towns and or ranches like this, I often wonder what the laws would be on buying the land and living there off grid.,
👌😊
There was a Monitor windmill factory in my home of Fort Dodge, Iowa. The building is still there and the Monitor logo is still painted on the side, barely legible. I wonder if the Wisconsin location was some sort of corporate headquarters? Or perhaps they just had multiple factories?
Very well done documentary watching from NJ I really enjoyed it thank you.