The Official Newspaper for Foster County
The Official Newspaper for Foster County
Cathay School building, gym marked for demolition later this spring
The Cathay School is slated to be torn down this spring. It last held classes in 1980, and was used for several years for community functions before deterioration.
A sizable portion of the south side of the gymnasium roof has rotted away and coll-apsed.
An ornate piece of stonework above the entrance.
For 60 years, it nurtured the minds, hopes and dreams of students growing up near the small eastern Wells County community on the banks of the Rocky Run.
Now, what was once a stately two-story brick structure has been empty and left to the ravages of North Dakota nature for over 40 years since its last classes were held.
The ultimate fate of the Cathay School was determined at the monthly meeting of the Wells County Board of County Commissioners on December 7, when the commission voted to condemn the building upon removal of asbestos.
Newly-elected Commission Chairman Stan Buxa said that the county claimed the school property several years ago from a private individual who gave it back for taxes.
"We hope to tear it down in the spring as soon as the weather is nice," Buxa said.
He explained that Wells County was able to secure funding for tearing down the structure, which includes the building and attached gymnasium, through a state grant program that provides for the removal of unsafe and condemned buildings.
"[The county] has the responsibility for removal of the rest of the building, and there will be an opportunity for folks to get something like a brick or small items, I believe," he added.
Demolition of the school is expected to begin immediately once asbestos cleanup finishes.
History
The Cathay School was built in 1920, and was the third and final school used by the community following the second structure burning to the ground in December 1918.
The previous school, built in 1904, was also a brick building and stood where the present school stands. Before then, a rural schoolhouse was moved into town in 1894, just north of the former Cathay Baptist Church across the street to the east.
After the disaster, classes were held in various places around Cathay, including an old bank building and the future Post Office, before the new school was ready for students.
The structure, featuring a Tudor-style archway in front of the main entrance, is two stories with an upper and basement level, and also included a boiler room on the west side of the complex.
The school opened during the heyday of Cathay's population boom. The 1920 U.S. census showed the town with 185 people, which later grew to its peak of 255 in data from a 1925 state census.
Surrounding townships in Wells County, including Fairville, Germantown and Woodward, also provided the school district with a solid population base from which to draw.
Eventually, the gymnasium was built in the mid-to-late 1950's by CHS alumnus Jackson Riedesel, and the two buildings connected by an entryway. It remained the home of the "Trojans" until closure.
The largest graduating class came in 1970 with 14 students.
In 1978, with declining enrollment, the decision was made by the Cathay School Board to close the school. The final class of nine students in 1979 took the stage for their diplomas, and the grade school remained open for one more year until the end of the 1979-80 term.
With the city of Cathay now in possession of the school and its associated property, it served as a community center and was also utilized for gatherings, suppers, funerals and other public functions before being purchased by an outside party.
Eventually, the out-migration of people from Cathay and the surrounding area would spell functional doom for the school complex, as overgrowth began to take over the grounds surrounding the buildings and moisture and neglect caused the roof and other supports to fail.
There are several large holes in the gymnasium roof as well, and the school building has been long deemed unsafe to enter because of the structure becoming compromised.
Persons interested in salvaging any items from within the Cathay School before it is lost to history are advised to contact Wells County Commissioner Leon Klocke at 653-5588 or e-mail him at leonklocke@hotmail.com.
(Editor's Note: The article's author is the son of 1973 CHS graduate Gail (Marchus) Gjovik, and grandson of the late Donald Marchus and Muriel (Hagemeister) Marchus, graduates of the classes of 1951 and 1952. Two uncles and several other extended relatives attended school in Cathay as well.
Information for this story also came from the Cathay Centennial book, published by the Independent in 1992.)
