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: INDIAN HILLS SCHOOL
ID: 32GV00332
County: Golden Valley     Township: 142     Range: 104     Section: 08
Geographic Location Key: 014210408GV
Name: LAPLA SCHOOL
ID: 32GV00333
County: Golden Valley     Township: 143     Range: 104     Section: 27
Geographic Location Key: 014310427GV
Name: TROTTERS SCHOOL
ID: 32GV00334
County: Golden Valley     Township: 144     Range: 104     Section: 17
Geographic Location Key: 014410417GV
Name: BONNIE VIEW SCHOOL
ID: 32GV00335
County: Golden Valley     Township: 143     Range: 105     Section: 33
Geographic Location Key: 014310533GV
Name: Little Beaver School
ID: 32GV00336
County: Golden Valley     Township: 140     Range: 106     Section: 25
Geographic Location Key: 014010625GV
Name: HILLSIDE SCHOOL; WILLIAMS SCHOOL
ID: 32GV00337
County: Golden Valley     Township: 136     Range: 105     Section: 10
Geographic Location Key: 013610510GV
Name: WEINREIS SCHOOL #2
ID: 32GV00338
County: Golden Valley     Township: 137     Range: 105     Section: 34
Geographic Location Key: 013710534GV
Name: HAIGH SCHOOL
ID: 32GV00339
County: Golden Valley     Township: 137     Range: 106     Section: 23
Geographic Location Key: 013710623GV
Name: CLARK SCHOOL
ID: 32GV00340
County: Golden Valley     Township: 137     Range: 106     Section: 12
Geographic Location Key: 013710612GV
Name: OWENS SCHOOL
ID: 32GV00341
County: Golden Valley     Township: 138     Range: 106     Section: 11
Geographic Location Key: 013810611GV