Town & Country Shopping Center

An area in Minot one time known as the Highlands, next  to a major highway, a hilly chunk of ground which many people thought useless, was transformed in 1963  to Minot’s Town & Country Shopping Center. In 1968 a sign proclaimed Town & Country to be the largest shopping center in North Dakota. The cost of building the center in 1963 was about $1.8 million. When it opened, Town & Country had 16 businesses operating. I recall working at the JJ Newberry Cafeteria and later at Piggly Wiggly in the mid 1960’s. I also remember Town & Country as a gathering place and full of activities. One of those in 1966 or 1967 was a Battle of the Bands.

The area to the left of the Westlie's Sign is the future home of T&C Shopping Center (1960)