Joliette, ND
Pembina County
Inhabited as of 7/06

Joliette, ND is in Pembina County, about 20 miles south of the Canadian border. It was founded on a different site to the south-east in 1879, and moved to its present location sometime in the 1880's.

It was named after Joliette, Quebec, the hometown of one of the areas first settlers. Joliette presently has a handful of residents.

Joliette is located just off of Interstate 29 and is quite easy to find. The former Joliette town hall [4] is now being used as a barn by one of the towns residents.

There is also a structure which appears to have been a church [8] at one time, but was converted to a garage/barn at some point in the past. It is detriorating rapidly however, and does not figure to stand much longer.

Joliette reportedly had a peak population of 319 citizens in the 1930s, but that quickly declined to less than 40 by the 1960s.

Signs of Joliette's prosperity are everywhere, including the sidewalks [6] which are overgrown and cracked, but still present as a reminder of days gone by.

The elevator pictured in the background of photo [7] appears to have been in use fairly recently, although we noticed no signs of activity during our visit.

Joliette's residents were very friendly and gladly allowed us to photograph their town.

Our trip to Joliette was also captured on video. Watch GND Video Volume 4 on the Video Galleries page.

source material - North Dakota Place Names by Douglas A. Wick, Hedemarken Collectibles

If you have more information about Joliette, ND, you can make comments, suggestions, or ask questions about any North Dakota ghost town in the
Ghosts Of North Dakota forums.

Membership is suggested but not required.