This black-and-white photo shows the grain elevator in Burnstad, North Dakota, a tall wooden structure with an attached warehouse-style base. The side of the elevator bears the faded lettering “FARMERS ELEVATOR CO.,” reflecting its role in the town’s once-thriving agricultural trade. Power poles and dirt roads frame the scene, with open prairie visible in the background, capturing a glimpse of Burnstad’s rural past and its connection to farming and rail commerce.

Welcome to Burnstad, North Dakota. While it is a ghost town today, it was once a flourishing town on the Soo Line Railroad. To uncover the story behind the once bustling community, one must understand the story of its founder: C.P. Burnstad. At the age of 17, Christen Burnstad left Norway filled with hopes and big dreams. He spent some time in Minnesota and South Dakota before settling in North Dakota in 1905. At $800 a quarter, he purchased just over nine sections of land in Logan County from a speculator. His next move was to purchase his Y-O Brand and transport about 200 head of cattle and 25 horses, and along with his wife, and their five children, he embarked on their new start. Soon after, he laid out plans for the town of Burnstad in 1906. The little town thrived with the population reaching just over 250 inhabitants. The community had a blacksmith, a lumber yard, a post office, a school offering grades 1 through 12, as well as four churches!

Burnstad organized a Wild West Show as a side income from the ranching operation. He loaded up the cowboys and livestock on the Soo Line Railroad and performed at fairs from the Twin Cities all the way to Seattle. He also ran a ferry to expedite travels to and from his holdings.

By 1919, the town of Burnstad was one of the largest shipping points in the region. He had 10 steady cowboys on the payroll and supplied beef to the military.

Unfortunately, the cattle tycoon’s luck or good fortune wouldn’t last. Late in 1919 a shortage of boxcars and subsequent dropping prices caused a foreclosure in the highly leveraged Y-O ranch. Bankrupt, Burnstad moved on to building roads. Later he acquired a ranch near Medora, and built up another herd, but it failed around the same time as the stock market crash of 1929, which decimated the road-building operation. In 1924, Burstad’s first wife died giving birth to their 11th child. He settled just east of Beaver Lake with his second wife. Burnstad died in 1950, and was remembered as a visionary whose many endeavors ultimately benefited others more than himself.