State Normal School at Valley City Historic District
a.k.a. Valley City State Teachers College;Valley City State College
Roughly bounded by College St., SE., Second Ave.,SE.,Viking Dr. and Second Ave., SW., Valley City, NDThe State Normal School at Valley City Historic District, which assumed its present appearance between 1892 and 1973, is a product of the need perceived by members of the state's constitutional convention of 1889 to provide institutions for the training of teachers to serve the new state's rural schools. Until the late 1920s its enrollment was consistently larger than any of the other normal schools in the state, and it was the only one which could honestly claim to serve the state at large. The district also illustrates the national pattern of such institutions to expand over time their educational roles. For the foregoing reasons the State Normal School at Valley City Historic District is eligible for National Register listing under Criterion A. Under Criterion C the district is eligible as a collection of stylistically varied buildings, designed by several of the state's best known and most prolific early architects, including the Fargo-based firms of the Hancock Brothers, Milton Earl Beebe, and Keith and Kurke. The campus which took shape through their designs reflects important historical traditions in American campus planning, as well as a campus planning ideal very much in vogue at the time. The district illustrates the tradition of organizing facilities under a single roof, which was characteristic of early American women's colleges. Such a tradition was appropriate to an institution that, during its early years, trained mostly women to teach. During the formative years of the institution, campus planning in the Beaux Arts context was quite popular. The district, open to the Sheyenne River and the town of Valley City to the north, is characterized by symmetry, axiality, focal points, and geometric clarity. These characteristics make it an excellent North Dakota example of Beaux-Arts campus planning. It is a campus which is, in the North Dakota context, uniquely defined by topographic boundaries that lend powerful impact to its setting as an academic village.
Local significance of the district:Listed in National Register of Historic Places in 1995.
The National Register of Historic Places is the official list of the Nation’s historic places worthy of preservation. Authorized by the National Historic Preservation Act of 1966, the National Park Service’s National Register of Historic Places is part of a national program to coordinate and support public and private efforts to identify, evaluate, and protect America’s historic and archeological resources.