Country School House Project

In 2009, the theme of the ND Governor's History Conference was education. As part of that conference, the State Historical Society asked members of the public to help document the country school houses that remain on our landscape. Several individuals sent in information about schools, but one lady, now known in many parts of the state as "The School Lady," has compiled information on over 730 country schools. Kathy Wilner started with one school in particular, the Ingersoll School, and then decided to do some schools around her county. Over time, she partnered with County Historical Societies and won grants to continue documenting schools around the state. Ms. Wilner was awarded the Heritage Profile Honor Award in 2017.

Hard copies of all the information Ms. Wilner compiled are available for viewing at the County Historical Societies, and digital copies are available on this page. In some cases, the names and locations of schools have changed over time, and these records are based on the information available at the time the record was made. The State Historical Society will continue to add records about country schools as it receives them.

Name: JANESBURG SCHOOL #3
ID: 32GT00335
County: Grant     Township: 132     Range: 087     Section: 20
Geographic Location Key: 013208720GT
Name: CARL SCHOOL #2
ID: 32GT00336
County: Grant     Township: 134     Range: 087     Section: 14
Geographic Location Key: 013408714GT
Name: HEIL SCHOOL
ID: 32GT00337
County: Grant     Township: 134     Range: 088     Section: 26
Geographic Location Key: 013408826GT
Name: OTTER CREEK SCHOOL
ID: 32GT00338
County: Grant     Township: 135     Range: 085     Section: 17
Geographic Location Key: 013508517GT
Name: HOBSON SCHOOL
ID: 32GT00339
County: Grant     Township: 135     Range: 088     Section: 09
Geographic Location Key: 013508809GT
Name: LARK TOWNSHIP SCHOOL #2
ID: 32GT00351
County: Grant     Township: 134     Range: 085     Section: 29
Geographic Location Key: 013408529GT
Name: SCHRADER SCHOOL
ID: 32GT00491
County: Grant     Township: 130     Range: 090     Section: 11
Geographic Location Key: 013009011GT
Name: HEART RIVER SCHOOL
ID: 32GT00492
County: Grant     Township: 136     Range: 090     Section: 08
Geographic Location Key: 013609008GT