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: LOON LAKE #4; OLSON SCHOOL
ID: 32BU00774
County: Bottineau     Township: 163     Range: 074     Section: 11
Geographic Location Key: 016307411BU
Name: HILTON SCHOOL #1
ID: 32BU00775
County: Bottineau     Township: 163     Range: 075     Section: 09
Geographic Location Key: 016307509BU
Name: HILTON SCHOOL #3; LARSON SCHOOL
ID: 32BU00776
County: Bottineau     Township: 163     Range: 075     Section: 11
Geographic Location Key: 016307511BU
Name: RICHBURG SCHOOL
ID: 32BU00777
County: Bottineau     Township: 163     Range: 080     Section: 26
Geographic Location Key: 016308026BU
Name: VINJE SCHOOL #1
ID: 32BU00781
County: Bottineau     Township: 162     Range: 076     Section: 22
Geographic Location Key: 016207622BU
Name: LOON LAKE #3
ID: 32BU00782
County: Bottineau     Township: 162     Range: 074     Section: 03
Geographic Location Key: 016207403BU
Name: LINCOLN SCHOOL #1
ID: 32BU00783
County: Bottineau     Township: 160     Range: 074     Section: 09
Geographic Location Key: 016007409BU
Name: SHERWIN SCHOOL #3
ID: 32BU00784
County: Bottineau     Township: 159     Range: 074     Section: 18
Geographic Location Key: 015907418BU
Name: BOTTINEAU SCHOOL #3
ID: 32BU00786
County: Bottineau     Township: 162     Range: 075     Section: 09
Geographic Location Key: 016207509BU
Name: SERGIUS SCHOOL
ID: 32BU00787
County: Bottineau     Township: 161     Range: 079     Section: 17
Geographic Location Key: 016107917BU