Taken last summer – this house is near I-94 close to New Salem. Someone takes good care of the land it’s on; the grass is cut short in the area where this home is found. I’m guessing this was a pretty nice home for its time…it has a basement, concrete foundation, and a nice big porch. Each of these farmsteads I’ll be posting has a story…I sure wish they could talk.

Here’s another “fallen farm foto” from the area. This forlorn building sits along Interstate 94 west of town. I actually had to get the truck pretty darn muddy to even get close to this building (I have a habit of NOT approaching them too closely, as they’re still on private property) because the gravel road was poorly maintained. But you can actually see it from the Interstate as you travel towards Glen Ullin.

These buildings add a certain unique charm to the ND landscape and are in danger because of the methamphetamine epidemic. It seems that meth addicts like to use buildings like this for temporary labs, and I’ve heard of a couple of farmers being assaulted or shot at while checking out old buildings on their own property. Many farmers choose to just knock them down and avoid the danger. It’s another sad casualty of the plague of meth use that’s running rampant in our area.

I don’t know what it is about the dilapidated, abandoned old farmsteads that dot the North Dakota landscape, but I find them charming in a wistful sort of way. If I see one I’ve got to get a picture of it.

This house is actually “in” Bismarck, as it’s south of Hawktree. You can see it from Highway 1804. That’s where I took this picture…it’s nice to have some long lenses!