| dc.description.abstract | By 1911, many North Dakota community farmers recognized the need for training youth in the fundamentals of agriculture. On March 6, 1911, a bill was introduced by Senator A.S. Gibbens and Governor John Burke that would allow County Agricultural and Training Schools in North Dakota. As stated in Chapter 265 of the 1911 Session Laws of North Dakota, the establishment of these schools would become effective on July 1, 1911.
In 1912, a petition was signed and presented to the Benson County Board of Commissioners to ask the Benson County community to vote for establishing a county agricultural school during the June primaries. The State’s attorney advised the Commissioners to deny the petition as it did not comply with the provisions of the law. A new petition was signed and the community voted in favor of establishing the Benson County Agricultural and Training College on November 5, 1912.
According to Chapter 265 of the 1911 Legislature, the purpose of the school was originally planned to give instruction in agriculture, domestic economy, manual training, and to train teachers for rural schools. County commissioners were authorized to levy as much as $20,000 but no less than $10,000 to use in the construction of buildings, grounds, and equipment. After the school was established, it was to be maintained jointly by the county and the state, each contributing one-half of the cost of operation.
The State Superintendent, president of the North Dakota State Agricultural College, and three farmers made up the Board of Directors that would create the course of study in the school. The first principal of the Benson County Agricultural and Training School in October of 1914 was William Jackson; there were a total of four teachers and seventy-six children. By 1915, Frank Cowing took over as the new superintendent until A.T. Felland stepped in by March 1919. Superintendent A.T. Felland spent the next twenty-six years developing a school devoted to farm education under the Smith-Hughes Act of 1917.
Superintendent Felland provided a leaflet called The Benson Booster to update patrons quarterly on the progress of the school as well as any modern farming techniques recommended by the North Dakota Agricultural College in Fargo, N.D. The first annual student publication was created in 1923, called the Bensonian. A monthly four-page school paper called The Bobcat Echo started in 1947, and the official school yearbook The Bobcat started in 1946.
Thomas Tate replaced A.T. Felland as superintendent in 1945 for the next fifteen years. During this time, a new two-story boy’s dormitory was built housing students on the top floor and the main floor dedicated to farm shops. He upgraded the campus by improving landscaping and renovating all the classrooms. Enrollment in the Benson County Agricultural and Training School (BCATS) increased in 1947 when the Maddock High School discontinued and those students were sent to BCATS.
Leonard Wick was the last superintendent of the school from 1963 to 1969 when the school and grounds were purchased by the Maddock Special School District No. 9. A new school was built behind the BCATS building in September 1968 and became known as the Maddock Public School, accommodating all twelve grades. The Benson County Agricultural and Training School was demolished June of 1969. | en_US |
