The Remains of Munster Schoolhouse

When we set out to photograph this school, we believed it was still intact, so it came as a surprise when we arrived to see this.

This burned-out shell of Munster schoolhouse is all that remains of a town that never really was. Munster was a Great Northern Railroad loading station, established in 1912, about 30 miles southwest of Devils Lake  — there was a grain elevator, and this school. The grain elevator was torn down some years ago. You can see a 2009 photo of the school before it burned on this Flickr page, and compare it to Terry’s first photo below which is from a similar angle. Another North Dakota place which will soon be only a memory.

Munster School, Munster, North Dakota

Update: We found ourselves passing through Munster again and, as expected, the school had deteriorated even more.

Munster School, Munster, North Dakota
Munster School, Munster, North Dakota
Munster School, Munster, North Dakota
Munster School, Munster, North Dakota
Munster School, Munster, North Dakota


10 Comments on “The Remains of Munster Schoolhouse

  1. So sad. Why destroy something that serves as a great memory for past, present, and future generations? Some type of protection bill should be put in place so these abandoned places stop getting demolished!

  2. When we were in High School in the early 80’s that is where the girls changed when we would jump off the bridge into the river just North of there.

  3. You right. It´s too bad no one cares about places like this. They have history, memories in them. And they are slowly disappearing before our eyes, because no one is interested in preserving them. I understand it must be troublesome to care about such an old building, but if people just leave it there it will only rot slowly. Old ghost towns can be very sad sometimes.

  4. I photographed this school a couple years ago for a project at the state historical society… It was in tough shape at that point but very sad to see it today! The walk through for pictures was a trip into history.

  5. When I look at these structures I can see they are interesting to many people because they have many memories associated with them. However, I think far too many people want to “save” something that truly is not worth saving. If the building serves no current purpose and is damaged beyond repair, or would cost 3 times its value to repair why would you want to save it? I think the thing people fail to sometimes realize is these towns are abandoned because people couldn’t make enough money to live in this area so it became unfeasible to stay. All of this stuff is very interesting but the structures show are what they are, no more no less.

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  8. I attended that Munster School, and I am very sad that somebody took it upon themselves to burn it. It was still a neat building until it burned. So sad…………..
    Diane Holth Jaeger

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