Fort Totten

Devil's Lake, North Dakota

Client: State Historical Society of North Dakota

Cost: $750,000

In eastern North Dakota, near Devil’s Lake, the former post Fort Totten served the regions’ inhabitants continuously from 1874 to 1959. At different intervals, it housed the first boarding school for Native Americans, it became a tuberculosis preventorium, and from 1939 to 1959, the property was converted back to a school for the children and adults of the surrounding community.

Bauer Latoza Studio authored Historic Structures Reports for Fort Totten. The Report benchmarked the condition of buildings, and enumerated recommendations for their restoration. They covered in detail such subjects as how to repair historic wooden structures with modern materials, the replacement of antiquated mechanical systems, and the restoration of wood siding and windows.

Based on the recommendations in this report, BauerLatoza Studio then designed and established a vocational training program. Specifically targeted to train the Native Americans in the region, this “hands-on” program conveyed in written and experiential form the techniques and methods needed to restore and renovate the buildings.