All about North Dakota!

by

Hey, everyone!

Most of you all know I write a lot of books that are set in North Dakota. While I was researching my first book, I fell in love with that state and have admired the people and loved the wide-open spaces and rugged climate ever since.

I get a lot of mail asking if I live in North Dakota – even from North Dakotans! It usually surprises people when they find out I’ve never even visited. I really, really want to, though. Some day. Not this year, though.

I know I usually include a farm story on my blog, and I do have some great stories I want to share, but I just released the thirteenth book in my Flyboys of Sweet Water, North Dakota series and today I thought it would be fun to list some cool facts about North Dakota.

  1. North Dakota is home to the Enchanted Highway, which is a collection of the world’s largest scrap metal sculptures. This unique highway is 32 miles long and is definitely worth experiencing. It’s great for all ages, and kids especially love it.
  2. The state capitol is the tallest building in North Dakota
  3. North Dakota is the least-visited state in the US
  4. It’s illegal to go dancing in Fargo while wearing a hat.
  5. North Dakota has the least amount of forest land of any state
  6. The world’s largest buffalo monument is in North Dakota
  7. Milk is the official drink of North Dakota
  8. The largest metal sculpture in the world is in North Dakota
  9. The official dance of North Dakota is the Square Dance
  10. North Dakota produces more honey than any other state
  11. The geographical center of North America is in North Dakota
  12. There are 43 abandoned towns in North Dakota
  13. Over thirty-five thousand men from North Dakota fought in World War I
  14. Most of the pasta in America is made from North Dakota durum wheat.
  15. North Dakota grows more sunflowers than any other state.
  16. Fargo, North Dakota hosted the world’s largest pancake feed in 2008. The town served 34,818 pancakes.
  17. North Dakota took Hawaii’s long reigning title as the happiest state in 2014.
  18. North Dakota has consistently kept at one of the lowest unemployment rates in the country for multiple years now and continues to do so.
  19. The coldest temperature ever recorded in North Dakota is colder than the record low temperature in Nepal – even on Mt. Everest.
  20. There are more registered vehicles in the state than there are residents.
  21. There are also about three times more cows in the state than humans.
  22. English didn’t become the official language of North Dakota until 1987.

How many of those surprised you?

Just for fun, tell me something interesting or unusual or little known about the state/country you live in.

Thanks so much for spending time with me today!

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USA Today best-selling author Jessie Gussman writes sweet and inspirational romance from her farm in central Virginia. Having attended, but never graduating from the school of hard knocks, Jessie uses real life on the farm to inspire her cowboy, rural and blue-collar fiction.

When she’s not chasing kids, cows and the occasional roll-away haybale, Jessie enjoys wading in Naked Creek and not cleaning her house. Most of the time her main goal is to keep from catching herself on fire…again.

If you enjoy fun stories with vivid characters showcasing strong families with a ribbon of faith tying everything together, you might enjoy Jessie’s books.

44 thoughts on “All about North Dakota!”

    • @Denise…I mention it sometimes because I know people don’t even consider how many countries DO have it as an official language, more than 50, but the US isn’t one of them. Obviously the reason we speak it here is because of being a former colony of England. I’m a very very quiet person but one time I was in the grocery store and a woman was hassling two non-English speakers and I felt like I had to say something. I asked her what made it her business, told her we don’t have an official language, asked if she ever considered that people come here on vacation and I closed with my thoughts about being kind although I admit that I got into her business and I was not kind to her. Man.

      • My Spanish teacher in high school was the one to educate us about it. We’re a melting pot, a country of immigrants over hundreds of years, and there are important reasons for the USA to not have an official language.

  2. I grew up in Kansas and there are all sorts of thing about the state:
    1. Morrowville, Kansas:- was where the first Bull Dozer was made.
    2. Pratt, Kansas – Used to have two water towers that had the words Hot on one and Cold on the other. Local students snuck up and did the paint job; the city decided they liked it and the words stayed there until they tore the towers down.
    3. Coffeeville, Kansas is known as the town where the Dalton Gang tried to rob two banks at once. As they were from there they were spotted and their plan resulted in most of the gang being killed.
    4. The Flint Hills in eastern Kansas are not flat, but grand hills; western Kansas is flat.
    5. The Great Smith Automobile was build in Topeka and once rivaled Rolls-Royce. There are only 2 left and one is in the Kansas State Historical Society.
    6. The Brown V. The Topeka Board of Education case was picked to challenge separate but equal concept because the Topeka schools were only segregated through junior high. The high schools were not segregated.
    7. Charles Curtis was born on the Kaw Reservation and was the first minority person to hold national office. He was the Vice President of the United States during the Hover Administration, he was the President Pro Tempe of the Senate of the United States, and never hid his heritage.
    8. The Bloody Benders operated an inn on the trail and would kill travelers outside of Cherryvale, KS.. The fate of the Benders is unknown and there are two stories:
    A. The posse caught up with them and they were hung.
    B. They got away and vanished.
    They are now believed to not actually be related although they had presented themselves as such.
    9. When the Good Friday earthquake hit Alaska the Federal Government looked at the 1951 Kansas Flood to figure out possible costs.
    10. The Curry mural of John Brown is famous, but there is a detail painting Curry did when planning the mural in the Hermitage Museum in Russia.
    There are many more, but that will do for now. 🙂

  4. North Carolina is know as the Tarheel State because of it’s early pitch (pine tar) industry for ships, and it has the beach, plains, foothills, and mountains.

  6. Hey Jessie! Loved the cliff notes on North Dakota! What I find interesting about Florida, my home state, is it was under water 23 million years ago and is expected the lower half of the state will be under water by 2100. Florida is also the flatest state in America. So, if the creeks do rise, there isn’t a hill to find! LOL I read about this last night before your post because there was a documentary about the rising waters in Miami. Florida has the most lakes(7,100). Which shouldn’t be surprising! LOL You can reach a body of water within 60 miles. Less than that if you are near a river or lake! Florida also has the most hurricanes to ever hit! Most of this is not surprising, right? Or shouldn’t be. Or about alligators and crocodiles are both in the Everglades. But, the most reptiles in Florida is not the Gator or crocodiles it’s the Python! Yikes! And of course, we have the oldest city!

    https://graylinemiami.com/fun-facts-florida/

    Thanks for the facts on North Dakota! And I enjoyed David’s on Kansas too!

  7. The very top of Ohio was claimed by Michigan as well so to compensate Michigan, Michigan was given the UP (upper peninsula). I live in Michigan, but was raised in northern Ohio (contested area). We also have a lot of lakes. Within 5-6 miles from my house there are 4 different lakes.

    • Also we tell people where we live in Michigan by pointing to our hand. Another interesting fact is ginger ale is Vernons in Michigan.

  9. I live in New York, and when I say that most people think CITY, but there is another New York. I live in a small rural town with a population of 1800 people. Our school even has a bring your tractor to school day. We have wonderful corn in August. New York has mountains, forests, lakes, Niagara Falls, pro baseball and football teams, the Baseball Hall of Fame, dairy farms, and beautiful scenery. We also have probably the highest state taxes in the country which has driven many businesses and industry out. I have lived here my whole life and don’t see myself living anywhere else.

    • If you could cut NYC out of NY, it would be an awesome state. I love the Fingerlakes region. Such beautiful country!

  10. I don’t know about little known but we have Wick’s Pies in Winchester, Indiana and Indiana is home of the Sugar Cream Pie (state pie), we also have the Winchester Speedway here that is the fastest some kind of track (you can tell that I really follow racing, hah!, I think it’s quarter but I don’t know), Indiana does host the Indianapolis 500 every year on Memorial Day weekend, up until this year I think Indianapolis had the most homicides in Indiana. And there is “more than corn in Indiana,” that was a slogan for a long time here.

    I haven’t read any of your books so I’ll have to check them out. One last fun fact, my boss in AZ, I was a nanny, was from North Dakota. I’m guessing Norwegian was maybe the most popular language spoken there?

    • Wow! My sister lived in Indiana for a number of years and I didn’t know any of that! Super neat.

      And, I don’t know about the language, but when I was researching names and histories and such, Norway and Sweeden were the top countries that North Dakotans were originally from. Interesting!

  11. Welcome today Jessie. I didnt know any of those wonderful facts about North Dakota. I grew up in CA and moved to IL while in high school. Met my husband and have been here since.
    Illinois: 1 – he 2020 population of Illinois is 12,671,82
    2 – The Illinois State Motto: State Sovereignty
    3 – It’s the starting point of Route 66.
    4 – Illinois means “men” and “warriors”
    5 – Three-quarters of the state is farmland.
    6 – It was the first state to ratify the 13th Amendment.
    7 – The Sears Tower in Chicago is the tallest building in America.
    8 – Illinois was the first state in the U.S. to ratify the Constitution’s 13th amendment which abolished slavery 9 – The first McDonald’s was built in Des Plaines, IL
    10 – It’s reportedly illegal to give dogs whiskey
    quilting dash lady at comcast dot net

  12. I didn’t know these fun facts, but my 2 favorites are:
    It’s illegal to go dancing in Fargo while wearing a hat, & English didn’t become the official language until 1987!
    I’m not surprised at the scarcity of people (in Wyoming there are more wild pronghorns (antelope… related to goats) than people)!

  13. What fun facts you pulled together for us, Jessie! Who knew? I was especially surprised that ND is the least visited state in the country. Sad! Not a real ego-booster, is it? My brother was stationed there years ago and loved the state. Except for all the snow . . .

    Thanks for a great blog!!

  14. Jessie, Instead of talking about my state, I’ll say something about ND. I like to take Amtrak between Portland and Chicago and the first time I went I saw something right at the border of Montana and ND that caught my interest. It’s a recreation of Fort Union which was a trading post (not military) from the 1820’s to the 1860’s. It’s on the Missouri River and the parking lot is in Montana and the fort is in ND.

    I knew I’d like to take a closer look so when I got home I flew to Montana, rented a car and drove up to see it. Took a circuitous route and went through a small slice of ND, stopped to see an old military installation, Fort Buford, which is where the Yellowstone River runs into the Missouri. Then I made my way to Fort Union, a really beautiful and interesting National Historic Site worth going out of the way for.

    One difference I’ve noticed between ND and Montana, at least during the times I’ve been there, is that in ND they basically follow the posted speed limit while in Montana they drive much faster. When you hit the state line on Hwy 2, you can feel the change. 🙂 Another thing I realized during that car trip is that Montana is a BIG state. I’ve been back many times because I fell in love with the area.

    • My son, who has spend years on harvest crews going all over the western US from Texas into the breadbasket of Canada, says Montana is the most beautiful state in the Union. I’ve always loved it too (Big Sky country just speaks to my heart) but North Dakota is the state I’ve fallen in love with. If I ever make it there, I will have to check out Forts Buford and Union. Thanks for the tip!

      • Jessie…I’m in agreement with your son. I know you can get to ND but heck, ya already live there in a way. Don’t even need to buy a plane ticket. 🙂

  15. Wow, this is so very interesting, a whole lot of them surprised me, especially #4 It’s illegal to go dancing in Fargo while wearing a hat. 🙂 I live in Texas and this is pretty odd to me: It’s illegal to milk someone else’s cow in Texas. who would have known. 🙂

    • Haha! It’s so funny the laws that were passed for one reason or another. (A different law in ND says it’s illegal to nap with your shoes on – I think I remember that one correctly. Funny!)

  16. There is a place in Florida called “Spook Hill”. It gets it’s name honestly as you drive your car down this little hill, place it in neutral and the car backs up the hill…all on it’s own. Spooky but a lot of fun.

  17. We have been to and through North Dakota several times. I wish we had known about the Enchanted Highway. I can’t say that I had heard of many of these interesting tidbits.
    We are transplants to Northeast Tennessee, so are still finding out much about the area.
    -Tennessee was originally part of North Carolina. It was the western frontier. It broke away from NC in 1784 to form the State of Franklin.
    -David Crockett was born in a cabin along the Nolichucky River about 7 miles from our house.
    -Jonesborough is the oldest town in the state. It is the home of the International Storytelling Center. The Storytelling Festival is held the first full weekend of October very year. A wonderful people watching and listening event.
    -Tennessee was admitted to the Union on June 1, 1796, as the 16th state.
    -Knoxville was its first capital. Over the next thirty years, the seat of government alternated between Kingston, Nashville, Knoxville, and Murfreesboro, before being moved to Nashville in 1826.
    -Tennessee joined the Confederacy in 1861, but Tennessee soldiers served in both the Union and Confederate armies. Tennessee was the last state to join the Confederacy. However people in some counties in the northeast section were very loyal to the Union.
    -The Blue Ridge Mountains of East TN were a hiding place for deserters from both Union and Confederate armies as well as those avoiding service in either army.
    -The Andrew Johnson National Historic Site is located in Greeneville, not far from us. His home and Taylor shop are located there.
    -Andrew Jackson practiced law in Jonesborough and Greeneville in 1788.
    The Overmountain Men marched from this area to King’s Mountain, NC October of 1780 and participated in the Battle of King’s Mountain. It was a turning point of the American Revolution.
    -Moonshine has been a staple in the mountains around here. There are stills there to this day, but it has become a booming legal enterprise.

    There is much more. There is a lot of history in this area.

  18. Danny Thomas (St. Jude’s Hospital as well as actor) and Jamie Farr (from MASH fame) were both born in Ohio. Thank you so much for sharing. God bless you.

  19. Not sure if it’s still true but NC also has the largest zoo land wise. We have a beatiful zoo with wonderful natural habitats. I’m blessed to live in the town where it is. My kids love it! It’s a full day!
    Loved the facts about North Dakota. I went to a small town Farmer’s Day last night and thought of Sweetwater.

  20. I live in Illinois…The Land of Lincoln.There are a lot of things to do in this state, That attract tourists, by the score. I, myself like to be a tourist here, but not a resident. My heart belongs to Arkansas! That is where both my parents are buried, and that is where the old homestead is. someday…soon, I hope to be back there, on the land of my parents.

  21. @Jessie – I just finished the 13th book in the Flyboys series, which I think is just the absolute shining star on top of the Christmas tree of a series, but I was wondering if you have a book out or in the works that finishes June’s story?

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