Rugby: Geographical Center of North America

By Todd Moning
FMCA.com editor

Rugby, N.D., is a colorful place at night. You'll find that out if you visit this town located 60 miles east of Minot on state highway 2.

And when you visit, you're bound to hear Rugby referred to as the Geographical Center of North America. You might not have known that tidbit, even if you really know your geography.

A towering tribute
Every night in Rugby, beautiful blazes of colored light appear in the sky near a stretch of U.S. highway 2. It's not fireworks creating these waving and swirling paintings, but an emulation of northern lights. Northern lights, also known as aurora borealis, is an atmospheric wonder that displays a diffuse glow in the sky in northern regions.

Rugby's Northern Lights Tower, completed in 1999, is an 88½-foot-tall monument made of steel pillars. "We consider it an artistic sculpture unto itself," said Don Sobolik, director of the Rugby Chamber of Commerce.

When the sun goes down it becomes a tribute to nature's natural artistry. Multicolored, high-intensity beams of light project from below the painted pillars, sending shades of red, yellow, green, blue and violet into the night.

The true northern lights usually appear on clear winter nights. They're created when charged particles from the sun interact with the Earth's magnetic field. The aurora can take an array of forms: arcs, bands, curtains, streamers.

During summer in Rugby, the best time to view the Northern Lights Tower aurora is from 10 to 10:30 at night, Sobolik said.

Interpretive center
Visitors can learn more about northern lights at the interpretive center adjacent to the tower. Built in 2004, it's a gazebo containing an interactive kiosk.

The touch-screen kiosk enables visitors to watch live video of northern lights from Alaska and learn about the science behind the phenomenon. The gazebo also displays a collection of pictures taken in North Dakota by a top photographer of aurora borealis.

The interpretive center connects to the Prairie Village and Museum, which is devoted to 19th-century pioneers who settled in the area. It includes historic buildings and antique automobiles and farm machinery. The facility also has a unique gift shop, called the Cottage, and an attached restaurant. Admission to the museum is free.

Plenty of free motorhome parking is available around the Northern Lights Tower and the interpretive center.

Hours, directions
The interpretive center, a free attraction, is open May through September from 9 a.m. to 6 p.m. View the tower at your leisure year-round.

The Northern Lights Tower Interpretive Center is located east of the junction of U.S. 2 and state highway 3 in Rugby. From the junction of U.S. 2 and state highway 3, head east on U.S. 2. Turn right at first light, onto Frontage Road. Go east on Frontage for 300 yards. The center is in front of the Prairie Village and Museum.

Geographical center
In 2006 Rugby will celebrate the diamond jubilee of perhaps its biggest claim to fame. The United States Geological Survey, in 1931, established Rugby as the Geographical center of North America.

"That's probably what we're most known for," Sobolik said.

A 15-foot-tall stone obelisk celebrates this designation. It's located about an eighth of a mile west of the Northern Lights Tower, on U.S. 2, in the parking lot of a Rugby Conoco station. Flags of the United States, Canada and Mexico fly on poles on one side of the obelisk.

The structure presents a popular photo opportunity for tourists, Sobolik said. A few concrete steps lead up to a park-type bench in front of the structure, beckoning visitors.

Ample motorhome parking is available around the obelisk.

Sobolik noted that Rugby is not actually the physical center of North America, when taking into account Central America, but is close. Center of gravity, changing tides, and the irregular size and shape of the North American continent factored into the "geographical center" designation.

Local RV campground
Oakwood Inn and Campground (601 US. 2 SW; 701-776-5272) in Rugby offers 39 sites for motorhomes. Most are full hook-up sites. The campground is minutes away from the obelisk and Northern Lights Tower.

Rugby Chamber of Commerce
www.rugbynorthdakota.com