The Strangest Town In The Midwest Is Right Here In North Dakota... And You'll Want To Visit
By Leah|Published January 13, 2018
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Leah
Author
Leah moved to North Dakota when she was 12 years old and has traveled from the Red River Valley to the badlands and many places in between. She loves small-town life and currently enjoys living on a small farm in the ND prairie. She's always had a passion for writing and has participated in novel writing challenges such as NaNoWriMo multiple times. Her favorite part about this job is recognizing small businesses that deserve a boost and seeing the positive affect her articles can have on their traffic, especially in rural areas that might have otherwise gone overlooked.
The tiny towns of the Midwest are often very similar to others. There is the water tower, the community center, a few small businesses, likely at least one bar and grill, and a few lovely churches in a Midwest small town by default usually. Beyond that not a whole lot makes them stand out. However, there are a few towns out there that break the mold. This North Dakota town does more than just that — and what’s crazy is that it is mostly all due to one man determined to put this itty bitty place on the map.
His efforts have been worth it, and now he’s made this town one of the strangest — yet fascinating — towns in the midwest. Check it out:
Regent, North Dakota — a small town that was otherwise forgotten among the many until a specific person decided to make it a tourist hot spot, even if in an unusual way.
The town is located in Hettinger County and only has a population of about 160 residents. It was founded in 1910, but remained fairly quiet since then, until local artist Gary Greff decided to change that.
Greff began creating the Enchanted Highway out of Regent by sculpting massive metal structures of various things down an otherwise boring, empty road. Pheasants, grasshoppers, fish, deer, even a family of people are all featured in larger-than-life scale.
These quirky buildings add quite a bit of character — even if a bit strange — to the town that has drawn in tourists and even gained national attention.
It doesn't end at metal sculptures, though. Greff also transformed an unused school in Regent into the Enchanted Castle. This hotel now looks like a medieval fortress that you can stay in as a hotel. The inside is all themed, as well.
Regent, ND certainly is one of a kind! Have you ever visited it before or driven through the Enchanted Highway? North Dakota has had its fair share of unusual roadside attractions, and there are even more scattered across the state — some will definitely make you do a double take!
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