The township was named for A.O. Eckelson, a railroad civil engineer. Eckelson used to be a thriving community with lakes, schools and many businesses.
Today it is becoming a ghost town. A town that was once thriving is now a one way street with a population around 50. The lake dried up, businesses disappeared and the only things left of the schools are the playgrounds.
When I was a kid, I remember my great- great grandma working at the grain elevator. When I would go back to North Dakota to visit family, I always had to visit the elevator. As you drive through the community, every town had an elevator at one time or another. That is what I remember the most about North Dakota.
Just like the rest of Eckelson and the towns in the surrounding areas, the grain elevators are a relic of the past. The only thing that hasn’t changed in the community is the sounds of the trains traveling through the country side, traveling past the places they once stopped.
For me, as a photographer, visiting places like this excite me. I love capturing what was. The history and stories behind these towns and the residents of these towns intrigue me. Through my lens I want to preserve the stories they have to tell.
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