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2000 Most Endangered Places
[Saved!] Built in the 1930s by the Works Progress Administration (WPA), this handsome fieldstone building has served as a community focal point for more than 60 years. The structure, located near the center of town, once provided employment for financially strapped area residents and thereby contributed to the economic recovery of the area from the ravages of the Great Depression. Currently housing the Steele City Hall and a Steele community museum, the building was once the scene of high school basketball games, community dances and area wide gatherings of many kinds. Unfortunately, the Community Center has begun to show the effects of time and deferred maintenance. The community has recently made efforts to repair roof damage and obsolete plumbing and heating systems. Still, there is much costly work to be done to return the building to full utility. In June, the community will voice its intentions for the future of this one time community showplace with an advisory vote on preservation or abandonment. Fairview Lift Bridge: at the Yellowstone River, near Cartwright, McKenzie County [Saved!] The Fairview Lift Bridge symbolizes the transition of North Dakota's transportation system from river boat to railroad. Designed by the Kansas City, Missouri firm of Waddell and Harrington, the bridge was manufactured by the American Bridge Company of Gary, Indiana and constructed during 1912-1913 at a cost of $500,000 an using 2,250 tons of steel. Constructed to carry rail traffic across the Yellowstone without obstructing steamboat traffic, the 1,320 foot bridge has a 271 food long lift section weighing 1.4 million pounds. Although the lift span was test raised once, it was never actually used to facilitate passage of a boat since steamboat traffic on this reach of river ceased after the 1912 season. In 1925, a wood plank roadway was laid on the rail deck to accommodate automobile traffic and the bridge was used as a combination railroad/highway bridge until 1955 when a highway bridge was constructed nearby. The bridge continued to handle rail traffic until 1986. The second longest clear span lift bridge in the United Sates, it is the only such bridge in North Dakota and is listed on the National Register of Historic Places.
The effects of time and weather compounded by the absence of a regular maintenance program; potential vandalism and the absence of a dedicated protection. Currently the Burlington Northern Santa Fe Railway is trying to divest themselves of ownership, but the costs of repair, maintenance, public safety measures, interpretation and management are prohibitive for potential acquirers. Hutmacher Complex: West of Killdeer/Manning, Dunn County [In Progress] Read more about the PND Hutmacher Farmstead Special Project. The Hutmacher Complex is an early Twentieth century farm constructed in the stone slab method, one of the traditional ethnic architectural forms that originated in the Black Sea region of Russia and Ukraine and was carried to North Dakota as part of the broader, ethnically distinct German-Russian folk tradition. The buildings were highly labor intensive to build and maintain, but also highly environmentally appropriate and efficiently functional through use of locally available materials. The farm's principle residence, used from 1928 to 1963, was expanded as needed. Its rooms are aligned along a single east-west axis with a traditional, protruding entry vestibule. Badlands cedar rafters and a cottonwood ridge beam support a roof of small branches and straw sealed with clay. Exterior walls of ashlar sandstone slabs and clay mortar were originally covered with a plaster made of clay and chopped straw. Other buildings in the complex include ruins of a barn, a summer kitchen/butchering house, a poultry barn and a garage, which may also have served as a stable. The Hutmacher Complex is listed on the National Register of Historic Places.
The ravages of time and weather. The Dunn County Historical Society assisted by the State Historical Society of North Dakota and a cadre of volunteers have provided periodic maintenance and repairs using donated as well as purchased materials and equipment. The task is monumental, however, and in the absence of a program of systematic repair, maintenance and protection the site faces continued deterioration. Without a program of research and interpretation the site's potential value is diminished. |
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