FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Contact: Amy Munson
April 16, 2008
(701) 328-3573

STATE HISTORIC PRESERVATION BOARD TO CONSIDER FIVE
BUILDINGS, TRAIL FOR LISTING IN NATIONAL REGISTER APRIL 25

BISMARCK – The North Dakota State Historic Preservation Review Board will meet Friday, April 25 at 10 a.m. at the North Dakota Heritage Center in Bismarck to consider five buildings and a trail for listing in the National Register of Historic Places.  The National Register is the federal government’s list of properties it considers worthy of recognition and preservation.

The meeting is open to the public.

The properties that will be considered are:

• The United Methodist Church of Devils Lake in Ramsey County was built in 1915.  The Methodist Episcopal Church (now known as United Methodist Church) derives its significance from being one of the first congregations organized in Devils Lake contributing to the religious history of the area and is a significant example of the work of Devils Lake’s first bona fide architect, Joseph A. Shannon.  The Church is an important example of the architectural skill and is an excellent example of the architectural planning principles and construction methods of the Akron Auditorium church design concept, reflecting important liturgical and cultural connections between Devils Lake and protestant church designs originating from sources in the established American Midwest.
• The Westminster Presbyterian Church of Devils Lake in Ramsey County was built in 1915.  The church is an important example of the architectural skill and expertise of one of North Dakota’s earliest architects (Joseph A. Shannon).  The church is a locally prominent landmark that derives its significance from three principal areas: religion, architecture and social history.  It is architecturally significant in the context of local architecture during the period of 1898 to 1915, the Second Dakota Boom.
• Oscar-Zero Missile Alert Facility in Griggs County is significant as remnant of the Cold War and North Dakota’s contributions towards the arms race and national security during that time.  Oscar-Zero was an integral part of the Minuteman missile system built in the 1960s, one of 15 MAFs associated with Grand Forks Air Force Base Wing VI (the last missile wing formed by the Air Force), and the control center for 10 unmanned missile launch facilities.  Originally armed with Minuteman II ICBMs, it was upgraded in the early 1970s to accommodate Minuteman III missiles.  In accordance with the arms reduction treaty (START), the Grand Forks missile wing was deactivated in the late 1990s.  The Oscar-Zero facility is now managed by the State Historical Society of North Dakota to be preserved and developed as historical interpretation sites.
• The Coghlan Castle in Rolette County is an excellent example of a regional stone masonry technique.  Thomas Bowyer, a stone mason from Killarney Canada, constructed the building for Maurice Coghlan in 1906-09.  The building is significant for its contribution to our understanding of the settlement patterns and economic intercourse of the North Dakota/Manitoba borderlands during the construction of the dwelling, and the Coghlan family’s contributions to the development of the local area.  
• The John Stern Homestead of rural Hettinger County was constructed by 1907.  The site consists of a large house that sheltered both the family and the animals.  Sandstone rocks used to construct the main building were mortared with clay and straw.  The Stern Homestead stands as a testament to thousands of German-Russian people that immigrated to America and brought with them building traditions and work habits from their lives on the Russian Steppe.  Hundreds of German-Russian style homes like Stern’s have been removed or deteriorated over the century, but this one stands in remarkably good condition. 
• The Custer Military Trail Historic Archaeological District in the south-central badlands of western North Dakota on the Little Missouri National Grasslands encompasses part of a military transportation corridor and five historic sites (a military trail, two military campsites, Initial Rock and the Battle of the Badlands).  All sites are associated with the Northern Plains Indian Wars period of 1864 to 1876.  Six separate military expeditions passed through various parts of this transportation corridor.

The North Dakota State Historic Preservation Review Board consists of five professional and two citizen members and meets quarterly.

If approved, nominations are then submitted to the Keeper of the National Register in Washington, D.C. for review.  Properties approved at the federal level are then listed in the National Register of Historic Places.

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