- State Historical Society of North Dakota
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The State Historical Society of North Dakota is an agency that preserves and presents history through museums and historic sites in the state of North Dakota. The agency operates the North Dakota Heritage Center in Bismarck, which serves as a history museum for the state, oversees the preservation of the state's historic places, and presents the history of the state to the public in exhibits and branch museums.
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Organization
Headquartered in Bismarck, the State Historical Society consists of one governing board of appointees and four divisions, each with a different function.
State Historical Board
The State Historical Board consists of twelve members. Seven members are appointed by the governor to staggered three-year terms.[1] The current board president is Chester Nelson, the vice president is Gereld Gerntholz, and the seretary is Richard Kloubec. Nelson's term was scheduled to expire on July 1, 2010, pending reappointment by the governor.[2]
Historic Preservation Division
The Historic Preservation Division prepares a statewide historic preservation plan and inventories, evaluates, and nominates sites to be listed on the State and National Register of Historic Places. The division assists in the preservation of North Dakota historic properties at all levels, and also reviews and comments on federally assisted projects to ensure that historic values are considered in project planning and execution.[3]
State Archives Division
The State Archives is responsible for the documentary collections of the State Historical Society of North Dakota. It is the official state archives, and acquires and preserves all types of research materials relating to North Dakota and the Northern Great Plains, including manuscript collections, books, periodicals, maps, newspapers, audio and video materials, and photographs.
Museum and Education Division
The Museum and Education Division presents the history of North Dakota through exhibits in the North Dakota Heritage Center as well as in branch museums (such as the Pembina State Museum) and traveling exhibits. The Division staff provide technical assistance on exhibit design and collection care to the public and other museums in the state. The division is responsible for preserving and exhibiting the artifacts in the collection, including approximately 650,000 pieces in the archaeological collection and 43,000 artifacts in the history, ethnology, and natural history collections.
Support Services Division
The Support Services Division provides general supervision of all programs and responsibilities of the agency through the office of the director. Support and coordination are provided through budgeting, accounting, purchasing, personnel services, communications, inventory control, and overall security functions.
Ronald Reagan Minuteman Missile Site
The new Ronald Reagan Minuteman Missile State Historic Site actually consists of two sites, both telling the story of North Dakota military activities during the Cold War years: the Oscar-Zero Missile Alert Facility and the November-33 Launch Facility. These two facilities are the last of the 321st Missile Wing, a cluster of intercontinental ballistic missile launch sites that were spread over a 6,500-square-mile (17,000 km2) area around the Grand Forks Air Force Base. These dacilities played an major part in how the United States responded to the training and testing of responding to a nuclear threat. The Oscar-Zero Site is the last launch control center intact for the public to visit, along with the top-side access to November 33 missile facility.[4]
References
External links
Categories:- History of North Dakota
- State agencies of North Dakota
- Historical societies in North Dakota
- State history organizations of the United States
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