Sheyenne River Valley Scenic Byway
Country Junction at King School, ND

The earliest days of school in North Dakota were markedly different from today's standardized system. One-room schoolhouses from the 1870s often met in farmhouses or attics, but as the population grew, Barnes County townships began to build their own schoolhouses. Most of these buildings were frame buildings similar to King School.

Law required that all 8-14 year old children attend at least 12 weeks of school per year. However, these weeks were arranged around the crucial work of planting and harvesting, when all family members, including young children, were needed to help on the farm.

Today, the last one-room schoolhouse in Barnes County to close its doors now has a new life as a craft shop. School has been out in the King School since 1967, but the feeling of the little local schoolhouse is still there even though it now has air conditioning and indoor running water. Coffee is always on as you browse through the wide variety of crafts available for sale.