Ulen, MN

Ulen is a Clay County city along the South Branch of the Wild Rice River, with 476 people at the 2020 census. The community's strongest local story is a sword found in a field west of town in 1911 by Hans O. Hansen. The object, which may be Viking-era, is displayed at the Ulen Museum, formerly called the Viking Sword Museum. The museum opened its current building on Main Street in 2007 and is run by the Ulen Historical Society.

Ulen's Norwegian-American heritage sits beside a railroad and agricultural history. The Duluth and Manitoba Railway came through in 1886, the same year Ulen was incorporated, linking the city to Manitoba Junction and Red Lake Falls. Today, the abandoned rail grade forms the southern end of the 53-mile Agassiz Recreational Trail, which runs north toward Crookston. State Highway 32 serves the city, and Ulen-Hitterdal Public School provides K–12 education. The result is a prairie city with a museum built around an uncertain medieval artifact, a former railroad grade underfoot, and Norwegian family history still visible in the institutions along Main Street.