Arena, ND

Singer/Songwriter Stephen Berg

Arena, ND

Arena was the first real and intact ghost town we had ever gone to. We had gone to Wing to enjoy some good Knoephla soup at the Chat and Chew and discovered that they did not have any soup that day. As we left wing we continued down the road and nestled nicely in the distance looked like a neat little small town. As we moved in closer we realized it was abandoned. There is even a sign pointing the way.

In the book Main Street, North Dakota Volume II, Geneva Roth Olstad writes of Arena: "Arena was named to note its location in a shallow valley surrounded by hills - a natural arena." Looking at the postcard from approximately 1924, several businesses are listed such as a hardware store, General Merchandising, pool hall, and a Farmer's store. It is also noted that at one time there were five cream buying stations located there.

There was a population claimed of 150 in 1920, but by 1930 only35 residents were counted. (Wick, Douglas A, North Dakota Place Names, Hedemarken Communications, p. 7)

I am very curious to find out what denomination this church was, and any help would be greatly appreciated. I had originally thought Mennonite but the Arena Mennonite church was approximately 5 miles away from the actual town.

These pictures below are of the school that was torn down. These are a couple of old scans of mine and you get an idea of where it was in relation to the town.