Bostonia doesn’t seem to exist anymore, if it ever really did. A stamp on the mat says “Halliday’s Studio, Bostonia, ND.” There was a post office on a farm there from 1908 to 1913, and Halliday’s studio was probably also in a home, although the closest Halliday families I found in Census records were several counties to the east. The school in the photo was probably in a larger community than Bostonia.
The schoolhouse looks brand new and well-constructed. Curtains are hanging in the windows. An outhouse is visible just behind the main building. Winters on the plains are windy and bitterly cold, so the outhouse had to be close by.
Most of the children seem pleased to be at school and to have their picture taken. It was probably a rare event, and the day must have felt like a special occasion.
There’s a fascinating website with recent pictures of abandoned North Dakota buildings, called Ghosts of North Dakota, which may have a photo of the schoolhouse on one of its pages. I saw several school buildings that looked very similar to this one but not exactly like it.
Tokens of Companionship 
“Bostonia.” That sounds as if someone wanted a place name to commemorate Bostonian origins. What a hugely different landscape to end up in!
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Exactly right, Carol. The postmaster had taken college courses in Boston. My guess is he went there from ND and then came back. The culture shock at both ends must have been quite something!
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Lovely photo. I’d never have known this was a school if you’d not said so, I would have thought it was just the children of a family outside their house… but then there are the steps up to the door…
Would this have been taken in the spring or summer? They don’t look dressed for the harshness of a N.Dakota winter (and the light is very bright.)
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One giveaway that it’s a school is the flagpole. I wondered about the season as well. I’d guess it was the beginning of the school year, because everything looks so clean and new.
Love the photo you just shared of the two girls and the piano!
https://colouringthepast.com/2018/02/06/musical-children/
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Does the school year in America, start in the autumn (Fall) like here, or a different season? I hadn’t spotted the flagpole.
Thanks for the link and glad you like the pic!
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When I was growing up in the ’80s, school started after Labor Day, which is celebrated on the first Monday in September. Many schools start in August now. I have no idea what they did in North Dakota circa 1910. The school year was probably much shorter, though, since the kids were from farm families.
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Sounds like school holidays have become shorter.
Would these children have been the only kids in the school at that time, do you think? I’ve heard of small schools – but this seems very small indeed!
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Yes, the Dakotas have always been sparsely populated, and it would have taken too long to travel to larger schools. A very different kind of life!
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I love your opening line…it conjures stories in my imagination. We take photographs for granted in this day and time. But you’re right. That day in that place having a photograph taken must have felt incredibly magical! Thank you for the reminder.
I know a structure like this one. I think it too was once a school and a church and anything its community needed it to be. I had the pleasure of visiting it this last year. It was comforting to be inside. It had a lovely full feeling even though it was quite empty.
This was a charming post, thank you 🌷
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I’m so glad you found this post, because it’s one of my favorites! I can picture you in a schoolhouse like this, teaching a group of children of different ages, giving each child the attention he or she needed. They would have loved coming to your school. 🙂
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I believe this is related to my family. Could it be Holliday Studios? My mother who was born in 1925 in Tuttle, ND told me her either grandfather or gr. grandfather named a town in North Dakota Bostonia. He had lived in Boston and loved the city naming it from the memory. I have repeatedly looked for evidence of this town. This is the first I’ve found. I would love to learn more.
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adding…my family were among the first photographers in the Tuttle area. Also, my grandmother taught at the school there.
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Hi Angela, thank you for the very interesting comments! I wonder if your mother’s grandfather or gr-grandfather was the postmaster in Bostonia. The name of the photo studio appears to be Halliday, rather than Holliday, although it’s hard to read. When I created this post, I wrote that the name was “Halliday’s Studio,” but that’s slightly wrong, as it’s simply “Halliday Studio.”
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