FEATURE STORY
Fall 2000: Roads Less Traveled
By Kris Fehr,
Past well-kept farms and tidy ranches, Barnes County Road 21 parallels the Sheyenne River in springtime tranquility partly created by the simple lack of traffic as the blacktopped road winds south.
Signed with a buffalo silhouette, the scenic byway south of Valley City yields understated beauty in lush pastures below the striking bluffs. Along the river stand elm, green ash and bur oak trees in a blur of bright green in spring and a blaze of brilliant reds sparked with golden yellow in the fall. Formed up to 40,000 years ago, the area's topography shows how an advancing glacier that carried huge rocks and deposited them deeply carved the valley upon its retreat.
It's a depopulated area. Fill the picnic basket and the gas tank in Valley City before tackling the easy, 47-mile drive that passes such charmers as the King School renovated to a gift shop. Including an immaculate lawn and rustic playground equipment, the shop marks the route's first treasure and it is open most days.
As the road traverses further south, the gently surging green of the valley's rolling hills and the quiet broken only by the occasional meadowlark's trill evoke a deep personal sense of solitude. It's a lazy journey, a half-day getaway that at day's end often offers one of the best views in the lower 48 states of the aurora borealis in the north sky.
A brick marker and one-car parking area a few hundred feet off the road show the site of Daily, Dakota Territory Ð now situated between two farms. Here's another glimpse into the region's settlement past. The town was founded in 1882 and the Daily School No. 1 organized in 1878. Nothing remains today but the marker erected in the founding families names.
The byway turns at Kathryn, population 72 in 1990, where the road gives up to gravel just past the only town along the scenic byway. There are few amenities. Signs point to the picturesque Kathryn Dam, along the road with a small, lightly graveled parking lot and well-worn trails to the dam where locals often fish and frogging can be an enjoyable pastime for kids.
Across from the dam and sheltered by trees and long grass, Wadeson Park Historic Site presents a restored oak log structure enclosed by a rustic metal fence and gate. Built in 1875, single men used the one-room building as a community gathering center. To the north was one of the earliest flour mills on the Sheyenne River.
Continuing on the township road just beyond the dam, look for the blue Viking outlined on a white road sign pointing a south turn to where the serpentine dirt road narrows as it winds along the forested river bank. The trees lining the Viking Scenic Road often form informal canopies on the artery that recommends a top speed of 45 mile per hour.
Another historic site appears along a curve in the road. It's the restored home of Norwegian homesteader Theodore P. Slattum and his family who began their life there in 1879. The site is noted for its exquisite wildflowers in early spring. Visitors may stop alongside the cabin, read the framed articles posted inside the structure and conjure up images of early valley life when the area's settlement led to a period of extensive agricultural development and further homesteading.
A short drive later the road returns to pavement and the entrance to Fort Ransom State Park. This is where the byway ends and another adventure into local and regional heritage begins. The park, named for the original Fort Ransom about three miles south, is equipped for visitors to bring their own horses for riding. There's also hiking along wide mowed trails and canoeing on the Sheyenne River. Two early farmsteads are situated within the park and show visitors the lifestyle of horse-drawn field work that includes antique machinery displays, blacksmithing and farm cooking demonstrations during Sodbuster Days held twice during the summer. For park information call 701-973-4331.
On the Internet go to http://www.hellovalley.com/valleycity/treasures/bywayMap.html