Arena, North Dakota: Ghost Town

Out on the prairie of central North Dakota, not far northeast of Bismarck, lies the ghost town of Arena. A frequently photographed church is the most noteworthy structure that remains in this slowly decaying, former town. Harsh winters and stormy summers are taking their toll, as what is left of Arena continues to wither away, back into the earth.

Founded in January of 1906, Postmaster Harry A. Mutchler named the community “Arena,” due to the fact that the area resided in a natural basin, surrounded by rolling hills, resembling an arena. Legends of America, Arena North Dakota Ghost Town.

By 1910, when the Northern Pacific Railroad was built through Arena, the town quickly began to flourish. A mixture of German, Jewish and American settlers came to Arena, largely for farming and agriculture endeavors. Arena turned into a bustling small town at the time with 150 residents by 1920.

A postcard from approximately 1924 shows several businesses along Arena’s Main Street. At this time, Arena featured a train depot, two general stores, a hardware store, a schoolhouse, St. John’s Lutheran Church, five creameries, a pool hall, butcher shop, a bank, a sale barn and livery and a telephone pay station, according to Kathy Weiser of Legends of America.

Weiser says that Arena’s original wooden school building was moved south of town to be used as a church. It is likely that Arena’s larger, more prominent two-story brick schoolhouse was built around the mid-1920s, as a modern replacement. As quickly as Arena started to prosper, harder times would suddenly take over.

The Great Depression and Dust Bowl took a toll on Arena. The town rapidly declined through the 1930s, as did many other communities out on the prairies at the time. As a result, Arena’s population dropped by more than 75% from its peak in 1920 to just 35 residents by 1935.

Despite the sudden decline of Arena, the town pushed forward. The school remained in use until 1961. Residents say that St John’s church was used for weddings and baptisms over the years. The church held services through at least the start of 1966, according to Rev. K.C. Jenks, who served as the church’s pastor from June 1963 until January 1966.

If the 1930s marked the beginning of the end for Arena, the 1960s seemed to write one of the closing chapters. After the school closed and the church saw less use the population fell to nine in 1968, according to Marlon Leno via Ghosts of North Dakota. Arena remained an active community over the following few years and an old schoolhouse was moved to town in the 1970s for voting purposes.

The Deehr family occupied the yellow house in Arena for a short time in 1980 or 1981. This marked the last time a family called Arena home. After they moved away, a few years probably passed before Mike Forth moved in. He rented the house, at some point later in the 80s, and is believed to be one of the last residents of Arena.

Selma Rice owned the general store, which also served as a post office. At some point, a gas station may have also been connected to this business. Rose Eide later became the last owner and operator of the general store/post office, which was the final business to call Arena home.

The 1990s were not kind to Arena, as the town was taking its final breaths. Arena’s post office was officially discontinued on November 23^rd, 1996. An obituary for Rose Eide confirms that the store/post office building was burned to the ground by vandals. While it is believed that Eide wanted to rebuild the post office and start over, that never came to fruition.

The abandoned brick school that used to be explored by area children started crumbling in the 1990s. Photos from Dale Fisher in 1992 show the school relatively intact, but in the years to follow, bricks suddenly began vanishing from the structure. Deemed too unsafe, area resident George Pehl demolished the school in the second half of the 1990s. When Pehl told the county school district that he tore down the school, they simply said “thanks!”

Information is limited, but a mention of George Pehl from Arena on the internet says that he died in 1997. If this is the same George Pehl, perhaps he razed the school in his final years, to ensure it wasn’t left for someone to get hurt in. Considering that the post office was lost in 1996, it is possible that the school was torn down around the same time. 

Fast forward to the 21^st century and Arena has managed to hold on. While no residents or businesses remain, stories continue to be told. Sometime in 2016, a house was moved to Arena on cinderblocks. Out Here on the Prairie spoke to a local farmer who suggested that the house was being used as temporary storage and that it might be set up for occupancy at some point. This and any other rumors about the house potentially being inhabited at some point have since been laid to rest. The house is damaged, both on the inside and outside. No trespassing signs are posted, but whether it’s vandals or simply Mother Nature taking a toll, it seems unlikely that the house will be used as a residence anytime soon.

Between 2016 and 2021, the remaining structures in Arena have taken a beating. The quaint yellow house lacks windows and that is causing the interior to succumb to the elements. To make matters worse, trespassers have ransacked the interior and spray painted the walls. While some venture to Arena to photograph the church or learn about the town’s history, others have less positive intentions.

A few lesser photographed structures remain decaying around Arena. At least one other abandoned home lies behind the house on bricks. Scattered across the brush, a stray shopping cart and random bowling pins still remain. One may wonder if the old pool hall or another business in town once had a small bowling alley.

Just beyond the yellow house, into the fields, an old boxcar remains, along with a car on its side. It’s curious how a vehicle wound up at such an angle. Several photographs over the years show the car planted in that same position, as if it had a dying wish, to forever rest on its side.

I first visited Arena in August of 2019. St. John’s church was noticeably sinking into the ground at that point and its original white color had almost entirely faded away. In June of 2020, I was very fortunate to photograph a thunderstorm moving toward Arena from the west.

Capturing a photogenic storm over a ghost town or abandoned building is one of my ultimate goals. While the ominous clouds in the distance created an eerie feel to an already ghostly site, I noticed that the front of the church was coming apart at its seams. I thought that might be the last time I saw the church still standing, given how the structure had deteriorated in less than a year.

In January 2021, I headed north across the Plains for a road trip to abandoned places and had to stop at Arena. The first thing I noticed were new, bright signs all over the houses, warning intruders to not trespass and claiming the area was under video surveillance. Even worse, the church was badly split apart at the front, with the two outer sections protruding outward, yet, it was still standing.

It is hard to envision this church making it through 2021. It might completely sink into the ground or partially collapse before year’s end. Bricks that once held up the perimeter are rapidly eroding, leaving very little support to keep the structure upright. Carefully peering into the basement, one can see bricks all over the place. Only a few narrow support beams remain in the basement. This is an unsafe building and there is no reason for anyone to get too close or go inside.

One can never be too sure, but I plan on visiting Arena again, sometime this spring or summer, to see what’s left. Maybe I’ll be lucky enough to capture another storm in the area. Perhaps I’ll have new stories to tell about what’s left of the site. Only time will tell.

As is the case with any abandoned town, building or other property, please be respectful. If there are no trespassing signs, don’t wander onto private property. Take nothing, except photographs, and leave the site just as it was when you arrived.

A special thanks goes out to the following sources for information about Arena:

Out Here on the Prairie – Blog, Instagram

Legends of America – Arena, North Dakota Ghost Town

Ghosts of North Dakota – Arena in 1992, Arena, ND, How Much Longer for Ghost Town Arena?

United States Postal Service – Post Offices by State, North Dakota

If you have any questions or comments about Arena, please feel free to share them in the comment section below.