Grafton State School
The Grafton State School in Grafton, North Dakota is a historic campus that is now called the Life Skills and Transition Center. Construction began in 1901, and the facility opened for residents in May 1904 with schooling starting in September 1904. The campus covers about 3,427 acres and includes six contributing buildings plus a tunnel structure.
The buildings were designed by the Hancock Brothers with Joseph Bell DeRemer and Theodore B. Wells, and they show Prairie School, Beaux Arts, and Classical Revival styles. It was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1996 (NRHP reference number 96001191). It has also been known as the North Dakota Institution for the Feeble Minded.
The center was created to care for people with developmental disabilities and is associated with Dr. Arthur Rufus Trado Wylie, who led it from 1910 to 1933.
Name changes:
- 1933: Grafton State School
- 1989/1991: North Dakota Developmental Center (dropping "State" in 1991)
- 2013: Life Skills and Transition Center
In 2000 the center was administratively merged with the North Dakota State Hospital under one superintendent, Alex Schweitzer.
Today it is part of the North Dakota Department of Human Services and offers services such as adult and youth intermediate care facilities for individuals with developmental disabilities, in-home and day supports, equipment services, behavioral health services, CARES Clinic health services, and outreach programs.
This page was last edited on 2 February 2026, at 07:23 (CET).