Town of the Week

Enderlin, North Dakota
April 22, 2000

Head over to Enderlin, North Dakota; just listen in.

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Midway between the Twin Cities and the Canadian border, on the Soo Line, stands the Ransom town of Enderlin, North Dakota, population 1050. Enderlin, in the southeast corner of the state, is 55 miles southwest of Fargo on the southernmost bend of the Maple River. Enderlin is not far from the ruins of the old Fort Ransom Historical site, one of a series of frontier posts established in the late 1860s.

Enderlin is thought to be the name of an English novel favored by the wife of one of the Soo Line officials, or a derivative of the cry "...end of the line..." when the railroad was extended that far west in the 1890s. As a railroad division point, the town prospered, then declined as rail fortunes dropped.

For years, Enderlin was known as the smallest town in North Dakota with city mail delivery. Visitors spent some time at Pat Pierce and Baxter parks. You'll recognize Baxter park because it's the one with the locomotive and caboose on display.

Enderlin hosts the annual Great River Race, a weekend festival starting June 19th, with inner tube races on the Maple River. Along with agriculture, the town's leading business is National Sun Industries, a sunflower processing plant. The Enderlin Independent is the paper of record carrying accounts of the Enderlin-Sheldon Eagles, whose baseball team has taken the district crown for the past 6 years.

Other noteworthy sights include the old Fort which is now a state park, and Standing Rock Hill. It's the town with the new dike built be the Army Corps of Engineers, and our town of the week, Enderlin, North Dakota.