After a pleasant drive from Bemidji, MN I arrived in Moorhead, MN (just across the Red River from Fargo, ND) around 11:20 this morning. Trouble is that nothing in the Fargo area seems to open up before midday on Sundays. I killed some time filling up, finding an ATM and taking a circuitous route to my first destination, the Hjemkomst Center.

This is a museum of local history for the Minnesota side of the river but I focused on two special exhibits that celebrate the Norwegian heritage of the area. The first is a replica viking ship that was built in the 1970s and 80s by a local family and then sailed from Duluth, at the tip of Lake Superior, to Oslo. It was built by hand using locally sourced wood and materials copying the techniques used around 900 AD. The other exhibit was an exact copy of a famous wooden church in Norway which was built by hand by just one local carpenter. It was a short, but enjoyable, visit.

My next stop is the number one attraction in Fargo according to TripAdvisor reviewers – the local visitor center. The building is large and I was expecting great displays about the area but there were none. There were helpful employees, plenty of maps and brochures, even free popcorn but it is number one because it has the wood chipper prop from the movie Fargo. This was a very short stop but I did take advantage of the photo op.

My final stop was at a place called Bonanzaville USA. Based on the name, I initially thought it was a theme park but it’s a pioneer village and museum run by the local historical society and it is one of the best local history museums I have visited. The exhibits include almost all aspects of life in Fargo from, literally, the first house built in the city (preserved and open to visitors)  to modern times. There are dozens of historical buildings that have been moved here and each is used to house appropriate artifacts – e.g. an early 1900s bank has been filled with a safe, office equipment and a counter from the period. There are churches, jails, shops, town halls, courts, a railway station etc. and many historical homes. The one unfortunate aspect is that it lacks funding and relies mainly on volunteers so the information and displays areas are lacking. For example, they have a car museum that contains over 50 valuable cars but they are just lined up as is, with many leaking fluids, and only labeled with make, model and year. Nonetheless, it captured my attention for almost three hours.

Follow along on the map or watch the road video here.

The replica viking ship and church at the Hjenkomst Center in Moorhead, MN
The Fargo wood chipper
A view of just part of the pioneer village at Bonanzaville USA.
Just a few of the mystery cars in the Bonanzaville USA collection.