Balfour, North Dakota Photo Album. C. 1915
BALFOUR, NORTH DAKOTA PHOTO ALBUM
Scarce photo album from the library of Muryl F. Gould which offers an invaluable historical record of the down of Balfour, North Dakota, situated on the Great Northern Railroad route, which presently (2016) has a population of only 26 individuals. The town was founded in 1898 about 35 miles southeast of Minot, North Dakota with its namesake being Lord Balfour. Due to it being on the railroad its populations grew to about 400 residents. The 32 photos (5.25 x 3") show the Balfour public school which was built of brick between 1899 and 1902, a photo of young Muryl Gould and his sister, the Gould family in their buggy, several residences, the First State Bank which was established in 1900 and the German American State Bank and Odd Fellows Hall. Other views show the two churches in town, the grain storage and feed buildings, F.P. Gould on his wagon drawn by two mules with the F.P. Gould, City Dray advertising stenciled on the wagon, the post office, hardware store and several showing the Great Northern Train station and cargo platform and the train steaming into town.
Muryl Frederick Gould (b. 1905) was born in Balfour, ND which at the time was a small German town of about 400 residents. His father, Frederick P. Balfour operated the City Dray service at the beginning to the 20th century which hauled cargo and packages for the Great Northern Railroad. They moved to Glasgow, MT around 1930 along with the population expansion that took place during the building of the Fort Peck Dam. Later in the 1930's he moved to Kalispell, MT. Upon his wife's death he married Mary S. Miller Gould of Kalispell in 1967.The album descended in the Gould family of Balfour. The first photo bears the ownership signature of "Mrs. F.B. Gould".
In summary there are 32 photos mounted into a contemporary 16mo tooled limp leather string tied photo album. The first photo is torn in the upper right corner. Several photos have creases but all have nice contrast and overall it is in vg cond.
