Zenith School (Stark County, N.D.)

Zenith is located in western North Dakota in Stark county. The small town lies five miles northwest of South Heart. Zenith was founded Henry Truelson in 1902. Truelson believed that Zenith could have been the second Duluth because of the coal deposits that surrounded the town. The floods of 1906 and 1907 signaled the end of the rapid growth of Zenith. With each year the floods waters rose to record height, which resulted in most residents leaving Zenith. The Zenith School was one of the three schools in the South Heart School District No. 9. The Zenith School consisted of three main rooms: Primary, Intermediate, and High School. Next to the school was a teacherage, where the teachers lived so they could be near the school. The Zenith School offered their students a wide variety of activities from athletics to Hot Lunch Club. On December 13, 1946, the main building of the Zenith School burned to the ground. The cause of the fire was a defective chimney. The rest of the school term was held in the teacherage.