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
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
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
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
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
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
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
“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
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
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
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
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
“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
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
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
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
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
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
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
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
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
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
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
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
“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
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
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
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
[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
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
Elizabeth Preston Anderson, Valley City resident, Pres. ND Woman’s Christian Temperance Union, worked for Women’s Suffrage 1893-1920. — — Map (db m205621) HM
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
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
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
