The State Historical Society of North Dakota

North Dakota Heritage Center 612 East Boulevard Avenue Bismarck, ND 58505-0830
Tel: (701) 328-2666 Fax: (701) 328-3710 Web Site: www.nd.gov/hist E-mail: histsoc@nd.gov

Mission: To identify, preserve, interpret, and promote the heritage of North Dakota and its people.

Governing Authority: State Historical Board.
Appointed Members: Albert I. Berger (Grand Forks), President; Chester Nelson (Bismarck), Vice President; Gereld Gerntholz (Valley City), Secretary; Marvin L. Kaiser (Williston); Diane Larson (Bismarck); Art Todd III (Jamestown); Richard Kloubec (Fargo).
Ex-Officio Members: Kelly Schmidt, State Treasurer; Alvin Jaeger, Secretary of State; Sara Otte Coleman, Tourism Director, North Dakota Department of Commerce; Francis Ziegler, Director of North Dakota Department of Transportation; Douglass Prchal, Director of North Dakota Department of Parks and Recreation.

Senior Staff: Merlan E. Paaverud, Jr., Director; David C. Skalsky, Assistant Director; Richard E. Collin, Communications and Education Director; Claudia J. Berg, Expansion Coordinator/Museum Director; Gerald G. Newborg, State Archives and Historical Research Library Director; Fern Swenson, Deputy State Historic Preservation Officer and Historic Preservation Director; Chris Johnson, Acting Director, Museum Division.

Personnel Profile: Full-time, 60; part-time, 40. Volunteer program consists of 200 people who contribute 11,000 hours annually.

Facilities: Two state museums; 56 state historic sites, including nine staffed during visitor season (May 16-September 15).
Total annual attendance: 225,000.
State Museums: North Dakota Heritage Center (Bismarck), headquarters of the State Historical Society of North Dakota; Pembina State Museum (Pembina).
State Historic Sites Staffed: Camp Hancock (Bismarck)*; Chateau de Mores (Medora)*; Former Governors' Mansion (Bismarck)*; Fort Abercrombie (Abercrombie)*; Fort Buford (near Williston)*; Fort Clark Trading Post (near Washburn); Fort Totten (near Devils Lake)*; Gingras Trading Post (Walhalla)*; Whitestone Hill Battlefield (near Kulm)*.
* also features visitor center

State Archives and Historical Research Library: 115,000 books and periodicals; 10,000 maps; 150,000 photographic images; 1,650 historical manuscript collections; 2,800 archival records series; 1,400 titles of newspapers; 1,200 recorded oral histories; 3.5 million feet of film. Extensive genealogical resources.

Collections: 50,000 history, natural history and ethnology artifacts; 1.5 million archeological items. These are preserved for use in exhibitions and research, and are accessible to the public.

Educational Activities: Youth, family and school programs, field tours, History Alive! museum theater, Dakota Folks folklife demonstrations, film and lecture series, gallery docent demonstrations, for-credit teacher workshops, Suitcase Exhibits for North Dakota (SEND) Program for students and other learners of all ages, and the Traveling Interpretive Exhibit Service (TIES) Program which features 19 exhibits that reach 135,000 people annually throughout North Dakota. Field services for county, local and tribal historical societies statewide are provided through the North Dakota Local History Council and by State Historical Society staff. The annual Governor's Conference on North Dakota History is held each fall at the North Dakota Heritage Center.

Publications: Quarterly journal, North Dakota History: Journal of the Northern Plains; quarterly newsletter, Plains Talk. Published books include: North Dakota History Index for 1945-1998 (2000); Sacred Beauty: Quillwork of Plains Women (1998); A Traveler's Companion to North Dakota's State Historic Sites (1996); The Centennial Anthology of North Dakota History: Journal of the Northern Plains (1996).

Historic Preservation: By administering a federal historic preservation grant program, the State Historical Society serves as the State Historic Preservation Office and has the responsibility to identify, evaluate and protect historic properties in North Dakota. Services include evaluating architectural and archeological properties, providing assistance to historic property owners, nominating properties to the National Register of Historic Places and State Historic Sites Registry, administering the Preservation Tax Credit Program, reviewing the impact of federally-related projects on historic properties, and providing information about historic preservation and restoration.

Foundation: The State Historical Society of North Dakota (SHSND) Foundation. Tax exempt, 501(c)(3). Virginia A. Nelsen, Executive Director. A private, non-profit organization which supports programs and activities of the State Historical Society. Members receive the quarterly publications, North Dakota History and Plains Talk, a 15 percent discount on all gift items at the State Historical Society's museum stores, and other benefits. For membership information, call (701) 222-1966, e-mail at hstlfdn@btigate.com, or write SHSND Foundation, P.O. Box 1976, Bismarck, ND 58502.

State Museums: The North Dakota Heritage Center, located on the state capitol grounds off Exit 159 on I-94 in Bismarck, is the headquarters of the State Historical Society and the largest museum in the state. Admission is free. Open year-round, except major holidays. Opened in 1981, it features temporary and permanent exhibits that explore the story of life on the Northern Plains, from prehistory to the present. In a cooperative agreement with the North Dakota Geological Survey, the North Dakota Heritage Center houses the State Fossil Collection. It is also the home of the State Historic Preservation Office and the State Archives and Historical Research Library, where visitors research topics ranging from family roots to Northern Plains history. For more information, call (701) 328-2666.

The Pembina State Museum, located off Exit 215 on I-29 in Pembina, is open year-round, except major holidays. Opened in 1996, it includes a seven-story-high observation tower that offers a bird's-eye view of the Red River Valley and into Canada. The museum interprets 100 million years of regional history, and includes temporary and permanent exhibit galleries. Admission is free; the elevator ride to the observation tower is $2 for adults and 50 cents for children 13 to 18. Children 12 and under ride free. For more information, call (701) 825-6840.