NPS Form 10-900 Ol\ilB No. 1024-0018 United States Department of the Interior National Park Service National Register of Historic Places Registration Form This form is for use in nominating or requesting determinations for individual properties and districts. See instructions in National Register Bulletin, How to Complete the National Register of Historic Places Registration Form. If any item does not apply to the property being documented, enter "N/4" for "not applicable." For functions, architectural classification, materials, and areas of significance, enter only categories and subcategories f¡om the instructions, 1. Name of Property Historic name: Sons of Jacob Cemeter)' Other names/site number: 3?.R\.t sl Name of related multiple property listing: (Enter "N/4" if property is not part of a multiple property listing 2. Location Street & number: gSh Ave NE. % mile north o City or town: Garske State: County: Ramse)¡ Not For Publication Vicinity: 3. StatelFederalAgency Certifïcation As the designated authority under the National Historic Preservation Act, as amended, I hereby certify that this x nomination _ request for determination of eligibility meets the documentation standards for registering properties in the National Register of Historic Places and meets the procedural and professional requirements set forth in 36 CFR Part 60. In my opinion, the property x meets _ does not meet the National Register Criteria. I recommend that this property be considered significant at the following level(s) of signifi cance : _national _statewide 4local Applicable National Register Criteria: -r--A _B _C _D Signature of Date ¡/ùrì+Po State or Federal agency/bureau or Tribal Government In my opinion, the property meets does not meet the National Register criteria. - - Signature of commenting official: Date Title: State or Federal agency/bureau or Tribal Government United States Department of the Interior National Park Service / National Register of Historic Places Registration Form NPS Form 10-900 OMB No. 1024-0018 Sons of Jacob Cemetery Ramsey County, ND Name of Property County and State ______________________________________________________________________ 4. National Park Service Certification I hereby certify that this property is: entered in the National Register determined eligible for the National Register determined not eligible for the National Register removed from the National Register other (explain:) _____________________ ________________________________________________________________ Signature of the Keeper Date of Action ______________________________________________________________________ 5. Classification Ownership of Property (Check as many boxes as apply.) Private: x Public – Local Public – State Public – Federal Category of Property (Check only one box.) Building(s) District Site x Structure Object Section 1-6 page 2 United States Department of the Interior National Park Service / National Register of Historic Places Registration Form NPS Form 10-900 OMB No. 1024-0018 Sons of Jacob Cemetery Ramsey County, ND Name of Property County and State Number of Resources within Property (Do not include previously listed resources in the count) Contributing Noncontributing _____________ _____________ buildings ______1______ _____________ sites _____________ _____________ structures _____________ _____________ objects ______1_______ ______________ Total Number of contributing resources previously listed in the National Register __0______ ______________________________________________________________________ 6. Function or Use Historic Functions (Enter categories from instructions.) Funerary: cemetery____ _____graves/burials___ ___________________ ___________________ ___________________ Current Functions (Enter categories from instructions.) Funerary: cemetery____ _____graves/burials___ ___________________ ___________________ ___________________ Section 1-6 page 3 United States Department of the Interior National Park Service / National Register of Historic Places Registration Form NPS Form 10-900 OMB No. 1024-0018 Sons of Jacob Cemetery Ramsey County, ND Name of Property County and State ______________________________________________________________________ 7. Description Architectural Classification (Enter categories from instructions.) ___N/A____________ Materials: (enter categories from instructions.) Principal exterior materials of the property: marble, granite, tin Narrative Description (Describe the historic and current physical appearance and condition of the property. Describe contributing and noncontributing resources if applicable. Begin with a summary paragraph that briefly describes the general characteristics of the property, such as its location, type, style, method of construction, setting, size, and significant features. Indicate whether the property has historic integrity.) ______________________________________________________________________ Summary Paragraph The Sons of Jacob Cemetery is located in the E ¼ of the SE ¼ of Section 27 in Sullivan Township, Ramsey County, North Dakota, about seven miles southeast of Starkweather or six miles northeast of Garske and about 25 miles northeast of Devils Lake, North Dakota. A strip of treeless prairie rises to a small hill. The cemetery is on the hill, is fenced, and measures 140’ x 145’. The Jewish community owns five acres that include the cemetery, the access trail, and native prairie area surrounded by cultivated fields. It is the only permanent physical reminder of the Ramsey County Jewish farming community, the second settled agricultural Jewish settlement 1 in North Dakota, and is the oldest surviving Jewish cemetery in the state. 1 William C. Sherman, “Finding Aid to William Sherman’s Jewish Settlement in North Dakota,” Institute for Regional Studies and University Archives North Dakota State University Libraries, 2009, Pg 2. Section 7 page 4 United States Department of the Interior National Park Service / National Register of Historic Places Registration Form NPS Form 10-900 OMB No. 1024-0018 Sons of Jacob Cemetery Ramsey County, ND Name of Property County and State ______________________________________________________________________ Narrative Description The Cemetery Location and Land View of Sons of Jacob Cemetery in 2004 from trail leading to cemetery off 88th Ave. NE (Slide from “A Journey Through Time” by Hal Ettinger) Hal Ettinger, ancestor, explained this survey map was obtained from the American Jewish Archives, Cincinnati Campus. As for how much of the 140’ x 145’ cemetery plot is in use; the directional North arrow (right margin) is about where the current sign and gate into the cemetery are located, concluding the northern half has most gravesites (see figure on page 6). There is doubt whether the Jewish Cemetery Association (in 1933) considered placement of existing burial locations when they mapped out all the 12’ x 18’ plots seen on this survey map. Section 7 page 5 United States Department of the Interior National Park Service / National Register of Historic Places Registration Form NPS Form 10-900 OMB No. 1024-0018 Sons of Jacob Cemetery Ramsey County, ND Name of Property County and State 1933 Sons of Jacob Cemetery survey map We, Julius Glickson, Pres., and Alex Canter, Secy., of the Jewish Cemetery Association, do hereby certify that the Jewish Cemetery Association is the owner of the within described property and course the same to be surveyed and platted. Signed by Julius Glickson, President and Alex Canter, Secretary. I, H.E. Stenseth, do hereby certify the following is a correct description of the above property; beginning of a point 1520 feet North and 1010 feet West of the SE corner of Section 27-157-63; thence due West 140 feet; thence due North 145 feet; thence due East 140 feet, thence due South 145 feet to the place of beginning. Signed by H.E. Stenseth. Subscribed and sworn to before me this 31st day of August, 1933, signed Herman Stenseth, Clerk of the District Court. General Overview The Jewish community referred to as the Garske Colony began forming in the 1880s along with the Jewish burying ground named the Sons of Jacob Cemetery with burials from about 1888 until 1935. The Sons of Jacob Cemetery name derived from the Sons of Jacob St. Paul Synagogue Section 7 page 6 United States Department of the Interior National Park Service / National Register of Historic Places Registration Form NPS Form 10-900 OMB No. 1024-0018 Sons of Jacob Cemetery Ramsey County, ND Name of Property County and State whose members sent financial assistance to the Garske Colony.2 The Sons of Jacob received an organizational charter from the North Dakota Secretary of State in October 1929. It is unknown why the group did not get a charter until this time. The twenty individuals who made up the initial membership had the task of determining whether they would build a synagogue. Since Jewish worship does not require a special building, they never did. The congregation conducted religious activities for the Jewish families of Devils Lake and those who lived in nearby areas in several homes, the township school, and later at the Devils Lake courthouse. The Sons of Jacob Cemetery is the oldest cemetery of the three-remaining visible Jewish homestead cemeteries in North Dakota, the other two being the Ashley Jewish Homesteaders Cemetery and the Regan/Wing Jewish Cemetery.3 The Sons of Jacob Cemetery was the major site for burial of the Jewish homesteading farmers and families close to the Devils Lake community, and between Winnipeg, Manitoba, Canada