Honeyford, North Dakota Explained

Official Name:Honeyford, North Dakota
Settlement Type:Unincorporated community
Pushpin Map:North_Dakota
Pushpin Label:Honeyford
Subdivision Type:Country
Subdivision Name:United States
Subdivision Type1:State
Subdivision Name1:North Dakota
Subdivision Type2:County
Subdivision Name2:Grand Forks County
Timezone:Central (CST)
Utc Offset:-6
Timezone Dst:CDT
Utc Offset Dst:-5
Elevation Ft:896
Coordinates:48.0333°N -97.4706°W
Area Code:701
Blank Name:GNIS feature ID
Blank Info:1029521

Honeyford is an unincorporated community in eastern Grand Forks County, North Dakota, United States. It lies approximately 21miles northwest of the city of Grand Forks. Honeyford's elevation is 896feet.

History

Honeyford began in 1887, as a Northern Pacific Railway station named "Bean", after S.S. Bean, who owned the land along the right-of-way. A post office bearing the Bean name was opened on March 29, 1888. Samuel White was postmaster until the office's closure on April 27, 1891. Mail was routed through nearby township Gilby until July 25, 1891, when a new post office opened with the name Honeyford, named after new postmaster William J. Honeyford. The train station was renamed Honeyford to match the post office, and the name has been in use ever since.[1] At the towns peak it had roughly 40 residents, and at one point several shops, four elevators, a school, and a tavern.

Today

Today, most of the businesses in town have closed or moved to Gilby. On the morning of October 11, 2011, the last house in Honeyford caught fire. While no one was injured, the house was deemed a "total loss" due to the extent of the damage caused.[2] With the loss of this house, the elevator along the Northern Plains Railroad became the last structure in town. On November 1, 2021, the elevator loaded the longest unit train in U.S. history, measuring in at 1.6 miles long.[3]

Notes and References

  1. Web site: Origins of North Dakota place names. digitalhorizonsonline.org.
  2. Web site: Fire totals last house in Honeyford, N.D.. October 6, 2011. Grand Forks Herald.
  3. Web site: North Dakota grain elevator loads longest unit train in U.S. history. Joel. Crane. November 16, 2021. www.kfyrtv.com.