Traill County Historical Society

08/30/2026

If you’ve been planning all summer to take a tour of the beautiful Plummer House Museum, Hillsboro, local Traill County Historian & TCHS Board President, John Wright will be giving tours Sunday, August 30 from 3-5 pm.

We will be open again on Monday, August 31 from 6:30 - 8 pm which will end our summer open house schedule.

Tours can be scheduled at other times by calling 701-636-5571 to set up a tour time.

08/17/2026

Do you have a skill you would be willing to share at our Fall Festival? We would love to have you come and share for part of the day.

08/14/2026

Edited to correct information: When I am wrong, I’ll be the first person to admit it.

The building in the photo is actually of the old 4-H Livestock Barns here in Hillsboro located by the county road department. No wonder it looked familiar to me (I previously worked with the Traill County 4-H program for 38 years 🍀).

The equipment in the photo belonged to the Traill County Road Department.

John Wright gave me the correct information tonight and I have linked his information in the comments.

But hey, I was half right - Lynn Sarles was the district dealer for Russell Graders. The rest, not so much.

We received an email from someone from out of state who came upon this photograph and contacted us to see if we had any information regarding where and why this photo was taken.

The sender of the email let me know that the equipment in the photo was Russell Elevating Graders. This led me, as so many inquiries we get often do, to search the Traill County Newspaper online archives.

There I found that Lynn Sarles of Hillsboro, was the NE District Dealer of Russell Graders.

Side note: A 1929 Hillsboro Banner article reported that the Russell Grader Co. became part of the Caterpillar Company.

If anyone else has more information to share about this photo, please do so.

If you want to do some of your own Traill County-related research, the link below includes only the Traill County newspaper archives from the North Dakota Newspaper Archives at the Historical Society of North Dakota.

It is a long URL, but it should make it easier for you to search for local information. https://ndarchives.historyarchives.online/search?i=f&bcn=1&t=34284%2C46146%2C52473%2C50038%2C39423%2C41250%2C52471

08/13/2026

Our Annual Traill County Historical Society Fall Festival is scheduled for Saturday, September 26 from 10 AM to 2 PM.

We still have room in our Vendor/Flea Market Show for more booths. Let us know if you would like to join us for this event. There is no fee to participate.

08/13/2026

So glad you got the deluxe tour from Traill County Historian and Board President John Wright. Stop by again soon!

Last week NCHS had a museum crawl to Hillsboro's Trail County Historical Society and the Plummer House. If you haven't toured Plummer House, take the time to stop by. It's gorgeous! We had lunch at the Hillsboro restaurant with everyone raving about the food. Great day, well spent.

08/04/2026

To whoever has been leaving the little painted rocks around the grounds of the Plummer House, thank you so much. They have really brightened my day. ❤️❤️
Leann Beck, Curator

07/17/2026

Thank you, Mary Ann

As a young man, I was honored to join the Traill County Historical Society. I found myself among people I greatly admired: Marlene Diehl, Aagot Nysveen, Charles Hanson, Sally Thompson, Bernard Gill, Thurston Nelson, Jack Beach, and Mary Ann Boeddeker – each of whom helped teach me what true service to a community organization looks like.

I knew some only by name and others as the parents of my former classmates. At first, I knew Mary Ann simply as my classmate Jan’s mother. Yet from the beginning, she and the rest of the board welcomed me and treated me not as an outsider, but as a valued peer.

Mary Ann served as board treasurer and kept records with remarkable care. More than that, she set a quiet and powerful example of how a board member should serve-with responsibility, dignity, kindness, respect, and trust.

I was also privileged to serve with Mary Ann on the Hillsboro Medical Center Board of Directors. Together, the board recognized the need to improve our facilities, including a new clinic, an updated hospital, and eventually a new nursing home and assisted living complex.

As foundation director, Mary Ann accepted the challenge of leading the fundraising effort with determination and grace. Because of her leadership, persistence, and hard work, our dreams for these medical facilities became a lasting reality for our community.

Mary Ann leaves our community with a lasting legacy-stronger institutions, better places of care, and a deeper example of service lived with humility and purpose. Her contributions went far beyond the museum and medical center, but those are the two places where I was especially fortunate to witness her dedication firsthand.

Thank you, Mary Ann, for your years of dedication, leadership, and faithful service. You touched many lives and truly made our little part of the world a better place. May God hold you gently in the palm of his hand.

John Wright, TCHS President

Mary Ann’s service will be livestreamed below starting at 2:00 PM Monday, July 20, 2026 central time. Mary Ann (Veen) Boeddeker, 89, of Hillsboro, ND, and Mesa, AZ, joined her Heavenly Father ea

06/18/2026

06/18/2026

Be sure to stop by the Pioneer Building at the Traill County Historical Society's Heritage Park location from 2 - 6 PM this Saturday, June 20, to see the Ringsaker Church & Frog Point Exhibit. This is the building next to the site of the Hillsboro Days Tractor Pull.

06/16/2026

And one more question for the day. This photo was donated by Nelmer Talmo or his estate. Do we know who is in the photo?

Thanks for your help.

LeAnn Beck, TCHS Curator