Salem Sue!
New Salem is cow crazy. Its high school sports teams are named the Holsteins. And overlooking the interstate, on the only hill visible for many many miles, is New Salem's pride: Salem Sue, the World's Largest Cow.
She is the largest of North Dakota's large animals: bigger than the bull in Pettibone, the buffalo in Jamestown, the turtle in Bottineau, the other turtle in Dunseith, the walleye in Garrison.
You can see her mighty silhouette from neighboring counties on a clear day: a goddess of dairy, ready to be acknowledged. A steady stream of interstate pilgrims pull off of the highway and make the slow drive up the steep, narrow, twisting gravel road to the summit. A sign encourages everyone to drop a dollar into a milk can to help pay for Sue's maintenance.
Sue was built in 1974 for $40,000 put up by the New Salem Lions Club, and, thanks to dairy subsidies, by the American taxpayers of 1974 as well.
Her stats are impressive: 38 feet high, 50 feet long, six tons of reinforced fiberglass, so big she had to be built in three sections to get her up the hill. The dollars from the milk can have been put to good use; Sue is well maintained and shiny, in excellent shape.
A fun stop and ideal for the drone!
