2019 Map of Ranum

About this map

The agricultural landscape of Norman County is defined by a dense network of Lutheran heritage sites and small rural crossroads. Near the central settlement of Sundal, the land is structured by a precise grid of section lines and county roads, reflecting a late-twentieth-century persistence of family farmsteads and local congregations. A striking concentration of historic burial grounds, including the Zion Norwegian Lutheran Cem, Faaberg Norwegian Lutheran Cem, and the uniquely named International Order of Good Templars Cem, provides significant data for genealogists tracing Scandinavian settlement patterns in this part of Minnesota. The topography is largely level, punctuated by water features like Mashaug Cr and the Garden Slough which drain the prairie toward the west. Small community clusters like Rindal and Ranum serve as peripheral markers for this deeply rooted farming district.