Automobiles gave Americans more mobility than ever in the early 1900's. Tourists hit the roads even though there were few paved or marked highways. Even the very wealthy who traveled to America in an automobile were content to "rough it" in a roadside camp. Had they rented a "hotel" room they would not have been able to protect their cars from "joyriders", early car thieves. Soon towns along major highways understood to draw business into their communities they needed a clean, safe, camp for tourists. By the early 1920's there were campgrounds in 1200 cities and towns around the US. The best auto camps provided clean water and toilets. Some provided a place to cook, electric lights, and shelters.
Our property originally traces it origins back to 1926 when C. G. Foye founded it as the Steele Tourist Camp, known as one of the first of its kind. In its initial year, the camp offered tent spaces, with travelers paying a mere 50 cents per night for tent space with a table, shelter, and camp stove. Foye used a generator to provide electric lights for the camp.
Foye sold the property to F. Gebhard in the mid 1930's, additional cabins were added, as well as a service station. Frank's brother John and his wife managed it for several years. Frank would haul water during the summer years to keep many of the young trees planted by Foye alive.
You will now find this small service station remodeled as our "Camp Store". You will find the original Conoco sign, returned to us by a community member hanging near by. The property sat along "Old Highway 10" which made the service station very prosperous during the 40's. By the Mid 1940's the property was sold to the Anderson Family. They added on to the house that had been added to the property by Gebhard and moved the garage to the west and made a two room cabin out of it.
With the purchase of the property by the Anderson family came a name change, for a short period of time it would be called the Anderson Cabins. During the Anderson reign the service station was discontinued due to the re rerouting of the highway 1/2 mile north (Now current I94) which was detrimental to business. During the early 1950's the Anderson family went on to other work and moved away. For about 5 years the property sat vacant until about 1955 when Louise & Henry Holzhausen purchased the property and started to renovate. Sewer and water hook ups were put in and the cabins were modernized. Henry passed away in 1963 and his wife Louise carried on with the business. Four of the small cabins were moved away in 1963 to make way for a new 4- unit motel.
In 1964, Otto Kuss arrived marrying Louise after some time and helping to finance and build the motel and it was named officially the "OK Motel" after his initials.
In 1992, Otto's son Rodney and his wife Mary took over ownership and operation of the OK motel. More modernization took place when phones were added, cable television, and air conditioning, and the addition of the 4 motel rooms that run north and south in 1997. And in the early 2000's an addition of the OK Motel Laundry Mat was added on the north side of the block. The OK Motel was a very popular stop for visitors including many hunters going back over the years. Rodney and his wife Mary continued to run the property up until around 2018. The property did sit vacant for some time until it was put up for sale in 2020.
Through its evolution as a campground into a small motel and lodging business, this property was home to the longest running family business in Steele. It is remarkable that a humble campground that began in 1926 eventually became a thriving motel business that lasted for several decades; a testament to the entrepreneurial spirit and ingenuity of our citizens.
Welcome to Nineteen26 Campground & Lodging! We are excited to offer you a unique experience that encompasses the history of our local community. Each of our lodging units boasts a distinctive theme, providing a diverse range of experiences.
In September of 2022, my husband Chase and I decided to take a leap of faith and take on an enormous renovation project on this property. I drove by the vacant property to many times and decided that this could not be the end of a business that has survived since 1926. This property was part of our communities history and deserved some much needed renovations. By October 2022, our demo process was well under way, removing close to 90 dump truck loads and three 30 yard dumpsters of debris and old housing from the property. By mid- October it was decided that we would be doing a complete renovation on the Laundry Mat into housing, the 7-unit motel, and the 1940's Service Station.
I'm Erin Dewitz, together with my husband Chase I am co-owner and manager of Ninteen26 Campground & Lodging. Although I hail from central Minnesota, I have called Steele, ND home for the past 17 years. I have the honor of being married to a North Dakota farmer and rancher. Together, we are blessed with the joy of raising twin boys, who are now six years old, and a three year old little girl.
While I am a nurse practitioner by trade, I've also discovered a passion for the lodging and tourism industry. I thoroughly enjoy engaging with economic development initiatives and contributing to the improvement of our community. This project has been a true labor of love, and I sincerely hope that you enjoy it as much as we have enjoyed witnessing its journey to realization.
Along with offering a unique lodging experience we take great pride in featuring handpicked, homemade, homegrown products from our local community members and others in our Camp Store. We hope that during your stay you choose to shop local and support our wonderful businesses showcased at the Camp Store.
Whether your planning a short visit, or extended stay, we cater to both nightly reservations and longer accommodations. Our guests come for various reasons, including hunting trips, family reunions, weddings, and baseball tournaments, just to name a few. In addition to our lodging options we are excited to announce the opening of our 12 campsites in the Summer of 2024 equipped with water and 30/50 amp electric hookups. For guest convenience there is also a new public RV dump site on the southeast corner of the property.
We hope that you enjoy your stay with us and hope that you come back year after year!
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Adam Ramer Steele, ND
Adam & Becky Emter Steele, ND
Shane Aleshire Bismarck, ND
Bismarck Heating & Air- Bismarck, ND
Dale & Heather Lang Bismarck, ND
Coles Plumbing & Heating Bismarck, ND
Johnny Ellis with Ellis Custom Works- Bismarck, ND
Justin & Sunne Modin- Wilton, ND
Mike Krumm- Menoken, ND
Micheal & Darci Mittlieder Steele, ND
Travis & Danielle Sayler Steele, ND
Kathy Oster & Debbie Lang Steele, ND
Arlen Lundberg Lincoln, ND
Jorey Kartes & Additional Crews Steele, ND
BEK Crews Steele, ND
Jacob Nolan and Additional staff Bismarck, ND
Rob & Jolene Dewitz
Mackenzie & Adam Ramer
Kevin Schafer & Sharon Tekka
Carsen Kartes
Norm Fries & Leigh Nolan
The City of Steele, City Council Members
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