A Gift From Ireland
3/28/05, pictured above is small china container, possibly a ladies hair pin dish, which was sent to the City of Forman and donated to the Museum by Jim Street. Mr. Street is from Kilronan, Aran Islands, Co. Galway, Ireland. Mr Street not only donated the item but paid for the postage to ship it to Forman. We would be interested in any information about the item. Please email us at:
Museum acquires Log Cabin & School House
The Sargent County Museum houses the Sargent County Historical Society's Collection of memories from the past 100 years. The log cabin is from the early 1800's and was donated by Bob Cookson. The school house is from Willey Township. Both are being restored.
We would like to give anyone interested in helping us save a part of Sargent County History a chance to become involved. If you're interested in this project or any other Museum project we will gladly put your name, or family member's name on a plaque in your area of interest. Please contact: Sargent County Museum Treasurer Doris Hoistad, 13646 94th St SE, Rutland, ND 58067. Make checks payable to Sargent County Museum. Thank you for becoming involved in preserving the past for the future generations.
Museum Hours
Memorial Day to Labor Day
Sunday thru Friday 1PM to 4PM
Board members are also interested in helping research family histories. Contact a board member or e-mail your
New Construction
Our newest building.
was built in 2002
is just over 12,000 sq ft.
and houses the Rathert Family's
old time tractor collection.
The Unknown Graves of Herman Township Cemetery
The Sargent County Museum is interested in locating any of the
families that had relatives buried in the Herman Township Cemetery.
Herman Township Cemetery is located on the Eastern edge of Sargent County. This was one of the very first cemeteries in the county Some of the first settlers, The Harrington's are buried here.
Some of the other names are: Williams, Goolsbey, Thornton, Shaffer, Dudas, Cady, Ford and Underwood.
We believe from talking to area people that there should be about 80 people buried here There are no existing record books that we know of. Therefore if you know of any other families buried there besides the ones listed please let us know.
Please contact June Fritzen, Curator of the County Museum at:
13443 88th St. S.E., Forman, ND 58032. Phone: 701-724-3720.
Museum offers Many Attractions
The Sargent County Museum contains thousand of artifacts, antiques, and displays showing the history of the area. Especially prominent are examples of the types of equipment our ancestors used to turn the rolling prairies of North Dakota into the great agricultural state we are today. As you walk through the museum, you will experience an early farm kitchen, a dentist and doctor's office, a bank, a butcher shop, and a school. You'll see looms used for weaving, a linotype used for printing the news, a movie projector from the Forman theater, Indian arrowheads and artifacts, examples of early clothing and military uniforms, plus a variety of mounted wildlife exhibits and furs. Another feature is an area for each of the townships in Sargent County to highlight their history. The Sargent County Museum has become a facility that everyone in Sargent County can be proud of.
The following was submitted by e-mail for the Forman Website...
19 April 2002
THE SCHOOL BELL
In 1915 Rutland Consolidated School, Rutland Twp. Sargent County, ND built a new school building. A bell tower was also built and a new 20-inch cast-iron bell was hoisted up and secured. The pulley was equipped with a new rope which was snaked down to a convenient location. To get a chance at bell-ringing, a student had to be in good standing scholastically.
The bell's loud and clear, melodic peal could be heard at least three-quarters of a mile. It rang every school day at 9 A.M. and at 1 P.M. Kids would scramble at Noon to skate on the frozen slough east of the school and reluctantly leave the ice only when they heard the bell.
The bell, still in good condition, returned to Sargent County this week. The Sargent County Historical Museum in Forman accepted delivery on Thursday. I asked that it be dedicated to my sister, GRACE SUSAG PFAU, who was a student at Rutland Consolidated twelve years. After getting a degree she returned toteach there. She also taught at Ransom Township, Cogswell and Grand Forks before moving to the Panama Canal Zone where she taught Special ED at the American School. Her husband, James, also taught there.
I decided to put the bell in the museum after learning that Orville Nelson had located and restored a replica of the wood school "bus" I drove for Rutland Consolidated. I was age 15 when I first began driving the bus, which was an old Watkins Co. delivery wagon which the school adapted to hold six students. It was pulled by a team of gray mares, Dolly and Polly. Pictures of this bus are at the museum, along with the early riders and me. During the winter we removed the wheels and placed the enclosed box on its bob-sleigh.
I purchased the bell at auction when the school closed in 1963. Among other items I purchased that day was the wall clock, the world globe with solar system, a couple of chairs, two framed prints "Sir Galahad" and "Harp of the Winds" and the sandbox which almost everyone remembered fondly. I have learned that some of these items, which I had contributed years ago to a school building on display at the county Fairgrounds, made a journey to our mother-land, Norway. The school building came from Marboe Township and was shipped to Norway to join the old Brampton Church which was sent their earlier and re-assembled.
If you have not been to the Sargent County Historical Museum, I hope
you will find time to go. Orville Nelson, one of my life-long friends,
has done an excellent job, as has others who contribute their time and energy to
this worthy project. The new building was built, courtesy of Mr. and Mrs.
Harlan Klefstad's generosity. It is spacious and modern with plenty
of light, space and display cases. A wide-ranging collection of historical items
has been contributed by generous North Dakotans and others. Orville Nelson's
most recent acquisition for the museum is an intact log cabin with sleeping
loft from the Civil War era, which is now on display on the museum grounds.
[Contributed by Lloyd G. Susag, a Sargent County native, who farmed
near
Rutland until 1973.] TJSUSAG@aol.com
Admission, Memberships and Board Members
Admission: Adults $5.00, Ages 7 to 17 $3.00, Under 7 free.
Memberships: Single $7.50, Family $15.00.
Board members:
President: Norman Alme
V. President: Ron Narum
Secretary: May Bopp
Treasurer: Doris Hoistad
Curator: June Fritzen, 701-724-3720
or contact Roger or Shirley Kudelka at 701-724-3338 for an appointment to tour our Museum.