Sanger

Overview

A county seat by the river

Sanger sits a short way from the west bank of the Missouri River in Oliver County, about 40 miles north of Bismarck. It was founded in 1879, as Bentley by Wikipedia's account, and served as the county seat until 1884. At its peak it had about 100 people. The town faded through the 20th century, and by 1985 it was empty. Sanger's best-known native is Hazel Miner, who died in the 1920 blizzard saving her brother and sister.

When Troy Larson and Terry Hinnenkamp of Ghosts of North Dakota came in September 2004, they found a true ghost town: vacant houses along the old streets with little vandalism. The most striking was the County House, a false-fronted former boarding house that had long been taken for the post office.

By their second visit, in May 2013, Sanger was no longer a ghost town. Two men were renovating one home and putting up new buildings. The County House was falling apart, and in 2015 it collapsed. Wikipedia dates the newcomers' arrival to 2015 and gives a population of 2 in 2023; the 2013 visit shows them already at work.

Timeline

County seat to two residents

1. 1879The town is founded, as Bentley by Wikipedia's account.
2. Until 1884It is the Oliver County seat. Wikipedia dates the name Sanger to 1884.
3. PeakThe population reaches about 100.
4. 1985The last residents leave, and Sanger is abandoned.
5. Sep 2004Ghosts of North Dakota finds a true ghost town: vacant houses along the old streets with little vandalism, and the County House still standing.
6. May 2013On a return visit two men are fixing up a house and putting up new buildings. The County House is failing fast.
7. 2015The County House collapses into a pile of lumber. Wikipedia dates the two new residents' arrival to this year.
8. 2023Wikipedia gives the population as 2.

What's left

Empty houses and two homes

In 2004 Sanger's vacant houses lined its old streets, among them one moved onto the lot and never finished and one left standing on stilts. In May 2013 the house on blocks was still there, the others were nine years more weathered, and two of the houses had new owners at work. Ghosts of North Dakota's 2017 guide to State Highway 200 still describes Sanger as a ghost town where two men have moved in and fixed up houses. The County House, the most significant remnant of the town in the authors' view, fell in 2015.

The 1950 Wilton and 1966 Sanger topographic sheets show the town as a few blocks on the high ground above the Missouri's west bank, with Wildwood Lake in the bottoms across the river.

The homes in use are private. Stay on the road and leave the occupied lots alone.

• Vacant frame houses and sheds
• A house left on blocks
• Two restored homes (private)
• The fallen County House (lumber pile, 2015)

Photo walk

Sanger in 2004 and 2013

Troy Larson and Terry Hinnenkamp of Ghosts of North Dakota photographed Sanger in September 2004 and again in May 2013. These are their pictures, first the empty town of 2004, then what had changed nine years later.

September 2004. The town was empty. Vacant houses stood along the old streets in tall grass, behind broken fences, with little vandalism.

The County House still stood, red vines climbing its weathered false front. It was long taken for the post office; it had been a boarding house.

Around it stood empty frame houses, some shingled, some painted, with old appliances and fallen sheds in the grass.

Inside, ceilings had come down and windows looked out on the empty town.

May 2013. Nine years later a cattle drive blocked the road into town, and two men were fixing up a house and building new structures.

The County House was failing fast. Its front still stood, but the back had caved in further and the stairs and floors inside had given way.

The white house that stood on stilts in 2004 was still up on its blocks.

The other empty houses were nine years more weathered, their rooms open to the weather.

In 2015 the County House collapsed into a pile of lumber.

Historic maps

Sanger on USGS maps, 1950–1966

Crops from the USGS Historical Topographic Map Collection, centered on the townsite. Each sheet shows what surveyors mapped that year; compare them with today's topo and aerial on this page.

19501:62,50019661:24,000

Map & directions

Getting there

Washburn, across the Missouri, is the closest town, about half an hour away by ND 200A and county roads. From Bismarck the route runs west on I-94, north on ND 25 and east on section roads.

Base map: USGS The National Map (public domain). Routes: OSRM on © OpenStreetMap contributors data (ODbL), computed October 2026. Times assume dry roads.

Photos

Sanger in photos

A house at the end of a two-track lane under a cloudy sky, May 2013Looking out through an empty window frame and branches, September 2004

Great thanks go out to Ghosts of North Dakota, Troy Larson and Terry Hinnenkamp, who released their photographs into the public domain so that their work on North Dakota's abandoned places can live on.

Visitor reports

Been to Sanger?

Been there lately? Tell the next visitor what you found: whether you could get in, the state of the road and what's still standing. Photos are welcome. We read every report before it appears here.

Thanks. Your report reached us, and we'll read it before it goes on the page.

Nearby

Other sites near Sanger

Straight-line distance from the townsite to other mapped sites in our North Dakota index.

• Sh E Rbrook E36.8 mi SW · Morton
• Saint Anthony39.1 mi S · Morton
• Arena39.3 mi E · Burleigh
• Denhoff40.1 mi NE · Sheridan
• Fallon46.3 mi S · Morton
• Breien55.3 mi S · Morton
• Dogtooth56.8 mi S · Grant
• Freda58.1 mi S · Grant

Sources

Sources and credits

1. ghosttowns.com, "Sanger": county, road, climate, best time, founding in 1879 by two brothers, the county seat, a population of 100, abandonment in 1985.
2. Wikipedia, "Sanger, North Dakota", retrieved October 2026: coordinates, Bentley, the county seat to 1884, abandonment by 1985, two residents arriving in 2015, population of 2 in 2023, Hazel Miner.
3. Ghosts of North Dakota, "Sanger, ND", on a September 2004 visit: vacant houses, little vandalism, the County House and the house on stilts.
4. Ghosts of North Dakota, "Sanger: No Longer a Ghost Town", May 30, 2013, on a May 25, 2013 visit: the two new residents, the failing County House, the house on blocks, the cattle drive.
5. Ghosts of North Dakota, "Beauty in the Ruins of Sanger", December 6, 2013: further photos from the 2004 visit.
6. Ghosts of North Dakota, "Say Goodbye to the Sanger County House", November 12, 2015: the County House as a boarding house, its collapse in 2015.
7. Ghosts of North Dakota, "Roadtrip: Ghost Towns and Vanishing Places along State Highway 200", November 8, 2017: Sanger as a ghost town where two men moved in and fixed up houses.
8. Photos: Troy Larson and Terry Hinnenkamp, Ghosts of North Dakota, from the posts above (September 2004 and May 2013 visits); public domain (CC0) by the authors' release of August 29, 2022.
9. Elevation: USGS 3D Elevation Program point query. Routes: OSRM on OpenStreetMap data, October 2026.

Photo and map credits

• Top photo: Ghosts of North Dakota, source, CC0 1.0
• A house at the end of a two-track lane under a cloudy sky, May 2013: Ghosts of North Dakota, source, CC0 1.0
• Looking out through an empty window frame and branches, September 2004: Ghosts of North Dakota, source, CC0 1.0
• A row of vacant houses in dry grass, September 2004: Ghosts of North Dakota, source, CC0 1.0
• A cluster of vacant houses among trees, September 2004: Ghosts of North Dakota, source, CC0 1.0
• A weathered house beyond a broken fence post, September 2004: Ghosts of North Dakota, source, CC0 1.0
• The County House with red vines on its side, September 2004: Ghosts of North Dakota, source, CC0 1.0
• The County House's false front against the sun, September 2004: Ghosts of North Dakota, source, CC0 1.0
• The back of the County House caving in, September 2004: Ghosts of North Dakota, source, CC0 1.0
• A dark, weathered house in long grass, September 2004: Ghosts of North Dakota, source, CC0 1.0
• A weathered house with a sagging roof, September 2004: Ghosts of North Dakota, source, CC0 1.0
• A white frame house with a green roof, its door open, September 2004: Ghosts of North Dakota, source, CC0 1.0
• A green-roofed house with old appliances in the grass, September 2004: Ghosts of North Dakota, source, CC0 1.0
• A shingled house half hidden in brush, September 2004: Ghosts of North Dakota, source, CC0 1.0
• A white house behind trees, September 2004: Ghosts of North Dakota, source, CC0 1.0
• A shingled house with its roof falling in and a rusted barrel beside it; the authors say it was moved here and never finished, September 2004: Ghosts of North Dakota, source, CC0 1.0
• Fence posts and a collapsing house in the grass, September 2004: Ghosts of North Dakota, source, CC0 1.0
• A collapsed stable and an outhouse, September 2004: Ghosts of North Dakota, source, CC0 1.0
• Peeling white siding and empty window frames, September 2004: Ghosts of North Dakota, source, CC0 1.0
• A doorway into a house whose ceiling has fallen in, September 2004: Ghosts of North Dakota, source, CC0 1.0
• A window in a dark room, September 2004: Ghosts of North Dakota, source, CC0 1.0
• A cattle drive with riders on horseback coming down the road, May 25, 2013: Ghosts of North Dakota, source, CC0 1.0
• Cattle gathered at a stop sign, May 2013: Ghosts of North Dakota, source, CC0 1.0
• Old houses across a field, May 2013: Ghosts of North Dakota, source, CC0 1.0
• The County House front, its windows open, May 2013: Ghosts of North Dakota, source, CC0 1.0
• The County House's collapsing back, May 2013: Ghosts of North Dakota, source, CC0 1.0
• Inside the County House: broken stairs and a torn-up floor, May 2013: Ghosts of North Dakota, source, CC0 1.0
• A white house standing on stilts, September 2004: Ghosts of North Dakota, source, CC0 1.0
• The same house, still on blocks, beyond the brush, May 2013: Ghosts of North Dakota, source, CC0 1.0
• A long weathered house under trees coming into leaf, May 2013: Ghosts of North Dakota, source, CC0 1.0
• A narrow enclosed porch inside a vacant house, May 2013: Ghosts of North Dakota, source, CC0 1.0
• An empty yellow-walled room, May 2013: Ghosts of North Dakota, source, CC0 1.0
• A room with the ceiling caving in, May 2013: Ghosts of North Dakota, source, CC0 1.0
• A room with an old bed and stained ceiling, May 2013: Ghosts of North Dakota, source, CC0 1.0
• Looking out a doorway across the yard to trees, May 2013: Ghosts of North Dakota, source, CC0 1.0
• Topo map, area base map and aerial imagery: USGS The National Map (public domain).
• Historic maps: USGS Historical Topographic Map Collection (public domain): Wilton 1950, 1:62,500; Sanger 1966, 1:24,000.