Volunteer at Green School

Members of Green School Community Center are looking for volunteers to help document playground equipment and to complete an inventory of school records and ephemera. The work day will be held Saturday, June 4, 2011 from 10:00 AM to 2:00 PM. GSCC will provide work gloves and masks; volunteers are asked to dress appropriately for the weather, as the school is not air conditioned. A wash station and port-a-potty will be available. GSCC members will serve lunch and provide water throughout the day.

Green School Work Day
Saturday, June 4, 2011 from 10:00 AM to 2:00 PM
Green Consolidated School
11108 39th St SE - Valley City
From Valley City: Take I-29 west to ND Highway 1 (south) exit; travel south on ND Highway 1 4 miles; take gravel road west 2 miles to school
For more information: Jennifer Pickard, GSCC President - greenschool@live.com

About Green School Community Center
GSCC is a 501(c)3 organization and member of PND's Local Affiliate Program. GSCC's mission is to preserve the historic Green School and what it meant to the rural community, and to continue to use it as a community gathering place.

Green Consolidated School was built in 1916, mainly educating children in grades 1-8 until it closed in 1974.

1916 Green Consolidated School - rural Barnes County

Classroom - Green Consolidated School

Merry-Go-Round at Green School

Swing Set & Teeter-Totter at Green School

"Many Hands Make Light Work" - Work Day at Manfred a Huge Success

On Saturday, May 7th, volunteers from across the state met in the tiny village of Manfred, ND (approximately 80 miles SE of Minot on ND Highway 52) for the first widely-publicized volunteer work day to clean out the 1910 Manfred School and 1899 Solheim House.

With the help of twenty-five volunteers, members of Rural Vestige Alliance (a PND Affiliate) accomplished this enormous task in just under seven hours. Both the school and neighboring house had been used as storage and eventually were abandoned with mounds of "stuff" inside, but this did not discourage RVA members who knew that with a little help, these places could be cleaned out and restored to be one day used again.



1899 Solheim House & 1910 Manfred School



Second floor classroom - before

Second floor classroom - after

Burnable garbage - out the window, into a sturdy farm truck, and headed to the burn pile

The other second floor classroom - before



The other second floor classroom - cleaning up nicely! The football helmets were saved...

In other Manfred news...

The east grain elevator has finally given up the ghost, so to speak. It was demolished shortly before the work day. What a huge change to the landscape...



East grain elevator - Fall 2010




Remains of east grain elevator - Spring 2011




Remains of east grain elevator - Spring 2011




2011 Most Endangered Places List

Country Schools of Traill County

Country schools of Traill County, in various forms, were in use from Dakota Territory days through the 1960s. Countless children attended these rural community schools in days gone by but changing times now put many school buildings in danger of being lost from the landscape. Sadly, the numbers of schools, in Traill County alone, have dwindled from about seventy structures noted in the 1927 atlas to only five schoolhouses in their original locations today. Each of the five schools has unique building features and conditions range from poor to good.

These schools were surveyed as part of the State Historical Society of North Dakota project to document potentially historic school buildings in the state. They are nominated as “Most Endangered” as examples for a statewide listing of rural schoolhouses, to call attention to the likelihood that many may vanish in the near future. It is hoped that recognition of their plight might spur interest in saving these irreplaceable prairie places.

Roseville #1

Norway #1

Kelso #3

Hillsboro #4

Wold #3



McLean County Courthouse

In 1908, McLean County constructed a portion of the Romanesque courthouse designed for them by the Hancock Brothers. This original portion was two floors above a full basement, made of brick and sandstone on a cut-stone base. T.F. Powers built this portion of the courthouse. Nine years later, Andrew Person got the job of building the first addition to the building. The 1917 addition on the east end was built from the original plans by the Hancock Brothers and blends nicely with original portion by using the same materials. The modern addition in 1966 departed from the idea of trying to blend with the existing style.

When the courthouse was listed in the National Register of Historic Places in 1985, it was one of 46 historic courthouses in North Dakota. A few of these courthouses have been demolished or their government use discontinued.

The idea of a new courthouse in McLean County is not a new one. Ten years ago the county commissioners were moving forward with a plan to build a new courthouse and demolish the old one. Numerous citizens were upset and asked the State Historical Society of North Dakota (SHSND) to invoke North Dakota Century Code 55-02-07, which required the SHSND’s approval for any political subdivision of the state to gain permission from the SHSND Director prior to altering or demolishing an historic building. The issue of building a new courthouse eventually went to the county for a vote in 2001 and the citizens voted against the plan. Later, the county also voted against a major renovation of the existing courthouse.

However, the courthouse has again become threatened after a November 2010 vote in which a county measure was passed to demolish the courthouse and build a new facility in response to health concerns.

Minnewaukan, ND

Due to the rising levels of Devils Lake, city, county, state and federal partners are working on plans to remove portions of Minnewaukan to a new site a couple of miles to the northwest. Currently, portions of the town may be able to stay, but other portions of it will have to move including the water tower, utilities and school.

Historic areas of Minnewaukan may or may not be affected; however neighborhoods and the community as a whole will certainly be feeling the effects of the move.

Benson County Courthouse

Grace Episcopal Stone Church

Historic Homes on South Main Street



Back to School with the Country Schools of North Dakota Survey (Part 2)

By Jen Wilkie - Director, PND

I've been blogging and promoting the latest survey project being conducted under the direction of the State Historical Society of North Dakota because we really need people to come out in support of this work for it to be successful. If you haven't already, check out the SHSND website for more information about how to volunteer for this exciting project!

This is Part 2 in the series about surveying schools in Traill County, so if you're just joining me, you may also want to read Part 1.

Our second trip took us across the central and northern townships in Traill County, as well as revisiting a southern township to document a school we had missed. Here's a photo tour of our site visits:



Kelso #1 has been moved a short distance from it's original site and converted into a home. The owner, a former school teacher herself, has photos and other school ephemera in the entryway to commemorate its life as a school.



Bloomfield #3 has been moved onto private property and re-purposed as (what appears to be) a storage shed of some kind.

We believe this former school is Buxton #2, and as you can see, it has been moved onto private property and is currently used as a garage.

Hillsboro #4 is on its original site and appears to be in fair condition. The back of the school is charred from fire and some modifications were made as the school had been converted to a home before being vacated.

Wold #3 is still in its original location and is in good condition as well. With its gable roof and lack of significant architectural detail, we believe this may be one of the older schools in the county. It would have been nice to go inside, but a rather large nest of crabby wasps above the door didn't care to let us in!



Kelso #3 is still in its original location. This school was used for migrant laborers after it closed, and, unfortunately, the interior has been infested with various wild animals. Check back for more info as we finish the survey forms and add more info about Traill County country schools...



Back to School with the Country Schools of North Dakota Survey (Part 1)

By Jen Wilkie, Director, PND
In 2009, the State Historical Society of North Dakota announced a new cultural resources survey documenting country school buildings across the state. The key to conducting a successful survey, of course, lies in the willingness of volunteers to pick up their cameras and tape measures and record these structures. Thanks to the hard work of several volunteers, nearly 100 schools have been surveyed to date and are listed on SHSND's website: http://www.history.nd.gov/hp/recordedschools.html.

This summer, PND member Marilu P. and I have been recording schools in Traill County. Of the approximately 80 country schools built in the county, we have documented only 10 standing structures, 5 of which are in their original location. One schoolhouse has been moved to Hillsboro and restored to interpret the history of education in Traill County. The other 4 structures have not only been moved, but also repurposed as farm buildings, garages, and homes.

Our first trip out into the county was on a beautiful Saturday in June. Armed with a few county atlases and Marilu's research notes, we headed out to the southern townships in search of the elusive country school. We only documented two schools that day, although we did find one that we were sure had been moved only a short distance and converted into a garage. The property, however, was clearly marked "No Trespassing," so we didn't get a very good look.

Here's a quick photo tour of our first day on the job:

While scouting out a possible school site, Marilu spotted these buildings through the trees. We were ready for adventure, so we trekked into the tree strip to make sure our school hadn't been moved; it wasn't there, but we found this abandoned farmstead.

We surveyed this country school, still in its original location in Roseville township. The landowner's daughter saw us on her way to work and stopped to apologize for not having the grounds mowed.

The remains of a double grain elevator sit in a field across from the school in Roseville township.

This darling school with a hipped roof and brass ridgepole is in Norway township. There are a few broken windows, but the grounds are kept up and the building seems to be in good condition. We were able to go inside the school in Norway township! Notice the original light fixtures and washstand in the corner; there was a small mirror and cabinet hanging above the sink and a hand pump to the left. It is likely that students sat on the benches for class. Once the school closed, it served as the township hall. On the left standing against the chalkboard are the township's voting booths and the doorway on the right leads into a small room with a large metal case containing what we believe are township records. This is the school in Norway township as view from the south; across the road is Norway Lutheran Church, and to the north of the school is the church cemetery. Check back here for part 2 of our adventures in Traill County...