Beaver Township School, York, ND

OLD SCHOOL OF THE DAY

Beaver Township School

Highway 30

York, ND

Outside of Rugby ND, there is a one room schoolhouse that is sitting in the middle of nowhere. Rugby, founded in 1886, is the county seat of Pierce County, has a population of 2,876 in the 2010 census, making it the eighteenth largest city in the state, and is often billed as the geographic center of North America.  The Beaver Township Country School/Township Hall, on Mud Lake in Benson County, is about 23 miles southeast of Rugby, just a short drive south of York, which is a city in Benson County with a population of 23 in the 2010 census.  Beaver Township is also in Benson County, and in the 2000 census its population was 39.  The location of the school, right on the water, is very beautiful. Inside are two chairs, a blackboard, a bench, an old desk, a picture of the Ten Commandments, information maps about the county, and a furnace, along with a voting booth and cans to put the votes in.  Beaver Township is on the front door.  There is also a two seat outhouse.

It is evident that the pioneers of the area realized the immediate need of an education for their children, for on July 3, 1894, Beaver School District No. 15 was created and on August 11, 1894, the first Beaver School Board was organized.  Records available show that the first board consisted of five members. At a special meeting held at the Kingsbury home on September 25, 1894, it was decided to have 6 weeks of school, this to be held upstairs of the Kingsbury home.  The district operated one to two month sessions in farm homes until Beaver #1 was opened in 1898. The first register shows that there were 9 pupils enrolled.  On October 28, 1902, a special election was held to select a site for a second schoolhouse in the northwest part of the township. It is evident that a site for school No. 3 was selected at the same time. Beaver #2 was opened in 1903 and #3 in 1904. School No. 4 located in the southeast part of the township was approved in 1924 and opened in 1916.  Beaver School District #15 became part of Leeds School District #6 on June 30, 1958. Beaver School #3, located on Hwy. 30, is still in existence and is as of 2008 used as the Township Hall.