On 51st Street Southeast near 120th Avenue Southeast, on the right when traveling east.
A Tribute to Pioneer Living
This small cabin was constructed in 1878
by Norwegian immigrant Carl Bjerke
Jensen and his nephew John Bjerke.
Carl moved to Dakota Territory from
Minnesota with his father, Jens, and
brothers, Hans and . . . — — Map (db m176586) HM
On 1st Avenue (County Road 21) west of 4th Street, on the left when traveling east.
Kathryn, a typical prairie town, sprang
from the landscape with railroad
construction. Although the area was
settled by pioneers in the late 1870s, the
arrival of a Northern Pacific Railroad line
in 1900 and the establishment of a
cooperative . . . — — Map (db m176712) HM
On 51st Street Southeast, 0.3 miles west of 120th Avenue SE, on the left when traveling west.
This oak log home built in 1878
by Carl Jensen and his nephew John
Bjerkie was used as a community
center by the single men of the time.
A short distance to the north was
the Walker flour mill, one of the
earliest on the Sheyenne river.
. . . — — Map (db m175433) HM
On 120th Avenue Southeast south of 51st Street Southeast, on the right when traveling south.
Waldheim Church
During the mid-1880s, the Sheyenne
River Valley was beginning to fill with
settlers, many of whom were
Scandinavian Lutherans eager to
follow faith and tradition in providing
religious instruction to their . . . — — Map (db m177201) HM
On 51st Street Southeast (County Road 21) near 120th Avenue Southeast, on the left when traveling east.
Walker’s Best
The Walker family, Minnesota emigrants,
had milling in their blood. In 1879, Hiram
Walker established a mill in Valley City.
A few years later, his son Myron took over
and built a new mill at Oakville—he later
bought . . . — — Map (db m177164) HM
Near Interstate 94 at milepost 304 near 127th Avenue Southeast.
The gently rolling landscape here is typical of the Glaciated Plains, a vast area that extends south from Manitoba and Saskatchewan, through northern and eastern North Dakota, into eastern South Dakota. Glaciers flowed south through this area 12,500 . . . — — Map (db m162958) HM
Near Interstate 94 at milepost 304 near 127th Avenue Southeast.
This rest area is located in a Tree Claim that was planted in 1884.
A Tree Claim was issued to homesteaders if they promised to plant at least 10 acres of trees for their continuous supply of fuelwood and fence posts. They would then be given . . . — — Map (db m162955) HM
Near West Main Street (Business U.S. 10/52) 0.1 miles west of Central Avenue North (County Highway 21), on the right when traveling west.
“Ribbon” Rail carries the heavier loads of today. Although this short section seems rigid, the ribbon rail is actually flexible. It is welded into long sections which may be up to a quarter mile long! Due to its flexibility, this rail can be . . . — — Map (db m242765) HM
Near West Main Street (Business U.S. 10/52) 0.1 miles west of Central Avenue North (County Highway 21), on the right when traveling west.
These 1895 dated rails were taken up from the building site of the Rosebud Visitor Center. While the original Northern Pacific rails at this site were laid in 1872, lighter rail such as this tend to wear out more quickly. Early locomotives were . . . — — Map (db m242599) HM
Near West Main Street (Business U.S. 10/52) 0.1 miles west of Central Avenue North (County Highway 21), on the right when traveling west.
The men who organized the Midland Continental had dreams that this line would be a successful transcontinental railroad carrying heavy trains loaded with the abundant grains of the north to the shipping lines of the Texas gulf. However, the . . . — — Map (db m242708) HM
Near River Road, 1.5 miles north of 117 Avenue Southeast (County Highway 21), on the left when traveling north.
A wooden bridge was originally built at this site in 1935. Damaged over the years by farm traffic, trucks from nearby gravel pits, and occasional flooding, the bridge was reconstructed in 1969 and then totally replaced in 1995. Maryvale . . . — — Map (db m242399) HM
Near 4th Street Southwest at 5th Avenue Southwest, on the right when traveling west.
In 1879, land developer B.W. Benson cleared this land of the densely covered brush and platted it for residential development along the Sheyenne River. He set the center area aside for a park. Later, Benson sold the entire tract to the city for the . . . — — Map (db m242288) HM
Near 4th Avenue Southwest at Central Avenue South, on the right when traveling east.
“In front of the building [McFarland Hall] lies the winding and picturesque Sheyenne and beyond it the city, the whole of which may be seen in panorama from the front windows.... The grounds are reached on the city side across a beautiful steel . . . — — Map (db m242390) HM
On 3rd Avenue Southeast at College Street Southeast, on the left when traveling south on 3rd Avenue Southeast.
The original bridge in this location was a wooden structure built in 1898. The citizens requested this bridge to access new development in the "Normal Park" addition being developed at that time. The wooden structure was replaced by a concrete . . . — — Map (db m242397) HM
Near West Main Street (Business U.S. 10/52) 0.1 miles west of Central Avenue North (County Highway 21), on the right when traveling west.
The process of building a railroad has changed very little through the years (with the exception of the extensive use of power equipment today). The basic materials in a section of track is the same today as it was a century ago. After the . . . — — Map (db m242581) HM
Near West Main Street (Business U.S. 10/52) 0.1 miles west of Central Avenue North (County Highway 21), on the right when traveling west.
Caboose BN11603 retired from Alliance, Nebraska and was donated to the Valley City Park District in 1989 by the Burlington Northern Railroad. A caboose though seldom used today, was used to protect the rear of the train, provide shelter and an easy . . . — — Map (db m242595) HM
On West Main Street (Business U.S. 10/52) 0.1 miles west of Central Avenue South, on the left when traveling west.
The City Park is a peninsula created by an oxbow on the Sheyenne River. Three bridges were built on this oxbow to provide access to the park and for crosstown traffic. The original wooden footbridge, located at this site, was built in 1881, the . . . — — Map (db m242289) HM
On Valley City Memorial Park, on the right when traveling north.
Born in Germany in 1887, Herman Stern immigrated to America in 1903, where he took work at the Straus Clothing store in Carrington. Stern later managed the Straus’ North Dakota businesses from his store in Valley City, where he lived for the . . . — — Map (db m99291) HM
Near 12th Street Northeast, 0.2 miles east of 6th Avenue Northeast (Chautauqua Boulevard), on the left when traveling east.
The original line of the Northern Pacific Railroad, now the Burlington Northern Santa Fe, descended into Valley City, crossed the Sheyenne River and continued out of the valley. Because of the steep grades, "pusher" engines were required to push . . . — — Map (db m242298) HM
Near 4th Street Southwest at 5th Avenue Southwest, on the right when traveling west.
Clustered around the campus of Valley City State University is a unique neighborhood of architecturally and historically significant houses dating from the 1880s to the 1930s. The neighborhood is important for its historical association with Valley . . . — — Map (db m241099) HM
On Kathryn Road south of 39th Street Southeast, on the left when traveling south.
King School
When the last students walked out of the
King School in 1967, their departure
marked the end of an era—the closure of the last operating one-room schoolhouse
in Barnes County. Once, over 100 of these
tiny institutions dotted . . . — — Map (db m175564) HM
Near 12th Street Northeast, 0.2 miles east of 6th Avenue Northeast (Chautauqua Boulevard), on the left when traveling east.
This 1908 steel viaduct across the Sheyenne River Valley allowed the railroad to avoid steep grades. At 3886 feet (1184 meters) long and 155 feet (47 meters) high, it is an excellent example of this bridge type. — — Map (db m242299) HM
On 6th Street Northeast at 8th Avenue Northeast, on the right when traveling east on 6th Street Northeast.
Sheyenne River The river was formed by the meltwater of the Wisconsinan glacier about 13,000 years ago. The valley constitutes the glacier's western edge at that time. Flowing 581 miles from its headwaters located 15 miles north of . . . — — Map (db m242287) HM
Near West Main Street (Business U.S. 10/50) 0.1 miles west of Central Avenue North (County Highway 21), on the right when traveling west.
As transportation technology advanced, locomotives became more powerful, carried bigger and heavier cargo, and required heavier rails. Older, lighter rails were updated with increasingly heavier ones. Rail sections are stamped with the . . . — — Map (db m242598) HM
On Main Street East (Business U.S. 10/52) at 8th Avenue Southeast, on the right when traveling east on Main Street East.
“Northern Pacific Times, Valley City, Dakota, July 17, 1879 — County Commissioners ordered no swimming in sight of the new bridge, several women having complained of the sight of nude bodies when crossing the bridge.” Built in 1879, the same . . . — — Map (db m242398) HM
Near West Main Street (Business U.S. 10/52) 0.1 miles west of Central Avenue North (County Highway 21), on the right when traveling west.
At 581 miles, the Sheyenne River is the longest in North Dakota. When the Wisconsinan ice sheet melted about 13,000 years ago, it left behind the Sheyenne River and a trench that reaches up to 300 feet deep and a mile wide. Discover historic, . . . — — Map (db m242596) HM
Near 4th Street Southwest at 5th Avenue Southwest, on the right when traveling west.
There has been a succession of beautiful fountains in City Park that have been as different as its changing landscape. The first fountain, installed in the 1880s, was a bronze, one-tiered fountain with a boy holding an umbrella. The next . . . — — Map (db m242199) HM
Near West Main Street (Business U.S. 10/52) 0.1 miles west of Central Avenue North (County Highway 21), on the right when traveling west.
Rails, regardless of weight, have to conform to the laws of physics. All rails will contract in severe cold, and expand in summer heat. With prolonged heat, rails can buckle into an "S"-shaped curve called a sun kink. Mild sun kinks may shrink . . . — — Map (db m242766) HM
Near 4th Street Southwest at 5th Avenue Southwest, on the right when traveling west.
[right side]Dedicated to our old friend and musical enthusiast D. W. Clark who organized the first band in Valley City April 5, 1881 [left side]Erected July 1931 by the Valley City Municipal . . . — — Map (db m242439) HM
Near West Main Street (Business U.S. 10/52) 0.1 miles west of Central Avenue North (County Highway 21), on the right when traveling west.
The Valley City Street & Interurban Railroad was incorporated in June, 1905, by O.A. Beeman to transport passengers, goods, and rail cars between two larger lines. The Soo Line passed north of the city without a spur line to serve local . . . — — Map (db m242769) HM
On 4th Street Northwest at 3rd Avenue Northwest, on the right when traveling west on 4th Street Northwest.
Elizabeth Preston Anderson, Valley City resident, Pres. ND Woman’s Christian Temperance Union, worked for Women’s Suffrage 1893-1920. — — Map (db m205621) HM
Near West Main Street (Business U.S. 10/52) 0.1 miles west of Central Avenue North (County Highway 21), on the right when traveling west.
The massive beam on which the rails are mounted was removed from the High Line Bridge about a quarter century ago. It is made by sandwiching different layers of wood and connecting the layers with steel rods. This beam can support the weight of . . . — — Map (db m242597) HM
On Railway Street at 4th Avenue North, on the left when traveling east on Railway Street.
1830 Beginning of the railroad era in the United States.
1850 9,021 miles of track are completed, all east of the Mississippi.
1869 The First Transcontinental Railroad is completed when the Golden spike is driven in Utah Territory, . . . — — Map (db m183737) HM
On Railway Street at 4th Avenue North, on the left when traveling east on Railway Street.
1920 Peggy Lee is born Norma Deloris Egstrom in Jamestown, North Dakota.
1924 Norma's mother, Selma Egstrom dies.
1928 The Egstroms move from Jamestown to Nortonville.
1934 The Egstrom family moves to Wimbledon.
1936 Norma . . . — — Map (db m183734) HM