Palermo, ND
Mountrail County
Inhabited as of 6/05

Palermo is quite possibly the most populous town you'll see on this website, with well over fifty people. Normally we shy away from towns with more than thirty or forty people, but the large number of abandoned structures made for some great photo opportunities.

It was founded in 1901 as a GNRR town made up of primarily Norwegian settlers. It's name was a tribute to the Italians who worked on the area railroads.

Click images to see the full-size pics.

The school pictured lower-right was built under the Works Progress (later 'Projects') Administration program using Federal dollars. It was in use until the 1970's.

The building pictured top-right is the former Palermo Firehouse and Jail. There's a story going around that Palermo welcomed transients and allowed them to use this structure as a place to bed down, but the town later changed their minds and ran off all the vagrants due to fear of vandalism.

One of Palermo's most notable former residents would be Miss North Dakota 2001, Michelle Guthmiller.

Our research about Palermo's past is ongoing. If you have any information about Palermo, please contact us or leave a comment in the Ghosts of North Dakota Forums.

source material
Silent Towns on the Prairie by Ken C. Brovald. Pictorial Histories Publishing Company

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