Submitted Photo The Wabek Consolidated School, which has been undergoing restoration, is expected to be 95% restored after next July.

BISMARCK – The State Historical Board will review the nomination of the Wabek Consolidated School for listing in the State Historic Sites Registry at its regular quarterly meeting Friday, Jan. 10. The meeting begins at 9 a.m. in the boardroom at the North Dakota Heritage Center in Bismarck and is open to the public.

Wabek Consolidated School is located about four miles south of Plaza in Mountrail County on Outlot 2 in the southeast quarter of Section 20, Township 152 North, Range 88 West. It was established in 1917 when two one-room schoolhouses were moved together and physically connected. This consolidation accommodated more students and expanded educational opportunities with the addition of a second teacher.

In the 1930s, this school served more than 100 students, offered high school courses, had a grass ball field and its own baseball team. As a large building with two acres of land, the school also hosted many social events, including a speech by Gov. Lynn Frazier in 1920. Today, this physically consolidated school is one of only three remaining in the state.

The State Historic Sites Registry’s documentation process for listing demonstrates the resource is significant in some aspect of the state’s history. Listing in the State Historic Sites Registry does not prevent owners from altering their property, restrict the use or sale of the property or establish times requiring that the property must be open to the public. Entry into the State Historic Sites Registry does give a property prestige and requires the state and political subdivisions to cooperate with the director of the State Historical Society of North Dakota in safeguarding these sites.

Hunter Andes of Makoti nominated the Wabek Consolidated School for consideration. Individuals interested in providing written comments should contact the State Historical Society of North Dakota by Jan. 8.