Have you ever heard the expression, "If walls could talk?" Well, the Plaza Community Museum has an incredible story to tell. According to Rev. Charles Hall in "One Hundred Years on Fort Berthold", a steamboat that came up the Missouri River delivered the lumber used to build the Indian mission chapel. That steamboat carried supplies into the Dakota Territory for Gen. George Armstrong Custer, then stationed at Fort Abraham Lincoln south of Bismarck/Mandan. The mission chapel was the beginning of Congregational mission work at "Like-a-Fishook" Indian village. The Indian village, eventually known as old Fort Berthold, was located some forty miles southeast of the present day community of Plaza.

In 1897, the mission work was moved about twenty miles upstream on the Missouri River to Elbowoods; where a new chapel, school and housing, were constructed. The mission chapel at old Fort Berthold was vacated. Sometime thereafter, the newly formed Congregational Church in Plaza secured the building. According to early records, the old chapel building was moved to Plaza in 1906. The Congregational Church of Plaza continued to serve the community until 1960.

In 1975, the old Congregational Church building was set up as a museum for the community of Plaza. Artifacts from the early history of the area have been donated for display, and volunteers have managed the museum.

THREAT
The museum building, now owned by the city, is suffering from years of deferred maintenance, a leaking roof and general disrepair. In 2002, Preservation North Dakota was asked to make a site visit to provide some technical and possibly financial assistance towards a restoration effort. Since our first visit to the site, a section of the foundation has collapsed. Interior plaster and the pressed tin ceiling in the bell-tower are being destroyed due to the leak in the roof. Immediate repairs are necessary to stabilize the property, so a restoration of the building can begin.

SOLUTION
Preservation North Dakota has helped to organize a local affiliate in Plaza. Its Board of Directors will oversee the restoration project. Preservation North Dakota has also offered additional technical and fundraising assistance to the effort, and has awarded the project a $3,000.00 "Grassroots Grant" to begin the stabilization of the building. The community hopes to have the museum restored and open for its centennial celebration in July, 2006.

CONTACT
For additional information, contact Doris Yri at 701-497-3454.