The schoolhouse is located at Wabek, about four miles south of Plaza.

Hunter Andes, Makoti, chairman and creator of the 501(c)3 organization, “Friends of Wabek,” said nearly all his free time in the last two years has been focused on saving the building from the township, repairing what he can on it, as well as raising money.

“On Aug. 3, 2018, I circulated a petition in Plaza Township (Mountrail County) to save what was once known as ‘Wabek Consolidated School,'” Andes said. “Word around town was the township board wanted it gone, so I responded by getting piece of paper and a township atlas – I figured out how many people I needed for 52 percent of the township’s population and then started knocking doors.”

Andes said the entire process has been a learning experience.

Submitted Photo Hunter Andes has been working for the past two years on saving the Wabek School, a two-room country schoolhouse.

“From starting and managing the charitable organization, to working on the building, to finding donations – it all takes a lot of time. But now, all that time is starting to pay off.”

He said his top priorities from the start were to get the school painted and a new roof put on.

“Most of my time at the schoolhouse has been dedicated to making the building weather-tight,” Andes said. “That’s the most important because it’s amazing the damage a little bit of rain can do. I hired Kent Krebsbach to get the roof job done, and he has been nothing but phenomenal to work with. And last year, Brian Buoye and his bee crew offered to paint the schoolhouse, so that was definitely a game changer.”

Roofing

“My fiancee is from Fortuna, and when I was up there for Christmas a couple years ago, we took a drive looking for township schools one afternoon,” Andes said with a laugh. “During our exploration, we stumbled on the Troy Township Lutheran Church, which had the most beautiful shingles I’d ever seen. Naturally, when I got home, I picked a name out of the telephone book in the Crosby area and after a few more calls, I found out they were steel shingles made in Minnesota by EDCO – designed to look like wood shingles.”

Submitted Photo Hunter Andes plans on having a fully functional historic playground. The teeter totters seen here are exact replicas of what was previously there, and the pull-up bar is original. Andes said he is still looking for an old slide and a set of swings made out of pipe.

Ever since, Andes said he’s been trying to find grants and raise money to make the new roof at Wabek a reality.

“It all comes down to funding and help from others,” he said. “This roof project was able to happen because of a man who went to school at Wabek, and his son; they both donated large sums of money for the project. This, along with other local donations as well as grants from Preservation North Dakota and the Plaza Community Club, made all of this possible. Not to mention a lot of physical help from friends and family.”

Historic Significance

“Many people, including myself at one time, think just because a building is old, it can qualify for the National Register of Historic Places – that’s not the case,” Andes explained. “What you’re nominating has to have a historical significance – Wabek Consolidated School qualified under two of the four criteria, and last fall the school officially made it onto the register.”

He said Wabek’s schoolhouse isn’t just another ordinary township school.

Submitted Photo This photo shows the Wabek School before Hunter Andes began a restoration project.

“In 1917, in an effort to consolidate, Plaza Township relocated its two schools from opposite ends of the township and built them together on one foundation in Wabek,” Andes said. “I’ve done some research, and I’ve only come across about a dozen that were ‘physically consolidated’ such as the one at Wabek. Out of the roughly dozen, Wabek has the cleanest architectural design; some were just smacked together because money was tight. One example people may be more familiar with is the two schools from Eureka Township that were recently broke apart and moved by Ward County Historical Society. They were ‘physically consolidated’ together into an ‘L’ shape.”

Kathy Holtan Wilner of Bowdon, who Andes calls the “Township School Lady” has documented over 600 township schools in North Dakota for the State Historical Society of North Dakota in the last decade.

“Wabek is the most ornate school I’ve come across,” Wilner said. “It’s definitely one of a kind.”

Future

Andes said people always ask him what purpose the Wabek schoolhouse is going to serve and his answer is, “To preserve our heritage.”

“I want my future kids, grandkids and their generation to be able to see what the homesteaders had to endure out on the open prairie,” he said. “When you’re on the two-acre property the Wabek schoolhouse sits on, it feels like 1917 again in so many ways – it’s incredible how much of a time capsule and time machine the property actually is.”

Andes said Friends of Wabek plans on making the property a venue for events, and wants to start an annual event once the schoolhouse receives the additional repairs it needs. So, for now, Andes said attention will be completely focused on the building.

“We still have some work to do – the windowsills on the north side are pretty weathered and some of the floor joists in the basement have seen better days,” he said. “The challenging part is, everything of this nature is so expensive, and when you have to try and follow federal guidelines when making restorations, it tends to get even more expensive.”

He said he is going to have a large plaque made when the school is complete with the all the donors who made the project possible.

“I want the people who have donated, and any others who may donate in the future to know how appreciated they are,” Andes said. “I want to personally assure them whatever amount they give to preserve this history will not soon be forgotten.”

For anyone who wants to see inside the Wabek school, Andes said it would be best to contact him in the evening to set something up. He can be contacted at 701-898-1535 or by e-mail at hunter.andes@outlook.com

For those interested in making a donation, send to Friends of Wabek, Box 151 Makoti, N.D. 58756.