ELWYN B. ROBINSON DEPARTMENT OF SPECIAL COLLECTIONS
CHESTER FRITZ LIBRARY
UNIVERSITY OF NORTH DAKOTA
GRAND FORKS, NORTH DAKOTA 58202

JOSEPH BELL DEREMER PAPERS

COLLECTION: OGL #744

DATES: 1896-1986 [largely undated]

SIZE: .5 linear feet

INTRODUCTION

ACQUISITION: The Joseph Bell DeRemer Papers were deposited in the Orin G. Libby Manuscript Collection by Stanley Johnson, UND Art Department, on March 11, 1982 (Acc.#82-964) and Joe B. DeRemer, East Grand Forks, Minnesota, on March 25, 1982 (Acc.#82-967).

ACCESS: Open for inspection under the rules and regulations of the Department of Special Collections.

BIOGRAPHICAL SKETCH

Joseph Bell DeRemer was born on September 14, 1871, in Montana, Warren County, New Jersey, the son of James K. and Nancy (Bell) DeRemer. Joseph Bell DeRemer sprung from a tradition in carpentry and building which his family had practiced for six generations. It was not a coincidence that he too would show talents and skills in this profession that would eventually take him to Grand Forks, North Dakota, where he created for himself an illustrious and prosperous architectural practice.

He was a carpenter from 1886 to 1896 in Warren County and became a master of the trade working with his father and brothers. His skills and talents in carpentry so impressed friends that they encouraged DeRemer to pursue architecture. Interested by the idea, DeRemer enrolled at Columbia University in a special one year course in architecture taught by Professor William R. Ware. In June 1897, DeRemer left the university and returned to Warren County to establish an architectural practice.

It is believed that between his return to Warren county in 1897 and his departure westward in 1902, DeRemer had already completed 78 commissions in New Jersey. His relocation to Grand Forks was an accidental one prompted by an initial resolve to move to the West Coast in order to find better architectural opportunities. But upon arriving in Grand Forks on March 3, 1902, DeRemer was convinced by D.H. Beecher to stay and participate in the town’s growth and booming economy. A little more than several months later, DeRemer secured the commission to build the Oxford House.

By 1904, DeRemer had became such a prominent member of the Grand Forks community that he was featured in the Silver Anniversary Issue of the Grand Forks Herald. In 1906, he joined the town’s influential people by moving to a residential home on Belmont road. By 1912, his buildings were a crowning achievement throughout the state of North Dakota and Northwestern Minnesota.

His Grand Forks buildings from 1902-1912 exhibit classical and renaissance revival detail and proportions. They include the Y.M.C.A., the Clifford Building, the Grand Forks Public Library (all of which have been razed), the Ontario Store (Griffiths), the Corliss Block (Panovitz Store), the Widlund Block, the Masonic Temple, the New Hampshire Apartments, the Elks Lodge, the Central High School Gym, and the addition to the Presbyterian Church. DeRemer residences include his own home, 625 Belmont, the McCoy home, 401 Reeves Drive, and the 1906 remodeling of the Clifford house, 406 Reeves Drive.

In 1912, DeRemer left Grand Forks for Los Angeles, California, to expand upon his architectural vision. However, this move did not sever complete ties with North Dakota, as he designed the North Dakota State Building for the Panama-Pacific International Exposition, held in San Francisco, California, in 1915. In November 1917, DeRemer returned to New Jersey and worked with his brothers in a company they operated, the Washington Casket Company.

DeRemer returned to Grand Forks in 1919 and began a partnership with his son, Samuel Teel DeRemer. Their architectural firm designed many Art Deco and Art Modern Buildings during this period, including Whitey's Bar in East Grand Forks, the New Ryan Hotel, the United Lutheran Church, the administration building for the Grand Forks Municipal Airport, the addition to the Grand Forks County Courthouse, and the first California-style bungalow in Grand Forks at 706 Belmont Road.

Joseph Bell DeRemer was the architect for several buildings at the University of North Dakota: the President's House (now Oxford House), Woodworth Hall, Commons Building, Liberal Arts Building, Merrifield Hall, Delta Gamma Sorority, and Sigma Nu Fraternity. DeRemer, along with William F. Kurke, was also the architect for the new North Dakota State Capitol in Bismarck begun in 1932, in addition to many other buildings in various cities in North Dakota and northwestern Minnesota.

Joseph Bell DeRemer married Miss Elizabeth Myers on November 11, 1891, in Stewartsville, Warren County, New Jersey. The couple had a daughter, Delores, and a son, Samuel Teel. Joseph Bell DeRemer retired from active practice in 1937, and died in Grand Forks on February 16, 1944.

SCOPE AND CONTENT NOTE

The Joseph Bell DeRemer Papers primarily include DeRemer family photographs, as well as illustrations and photographs of DeRemer designed buildings. These include: St. Catherine's Church, Lomice, North Dakota; the Eagles Building, Crookston, Minnesota; the Towner County Memorial Building; the new Devils Lake High School; the new Grade and High School, Park River, North Dakota; F .W. Mann & Sons, Devils Lake, North Dakota; the UND President's House, 1902; and the Panama-Pacific International Exposition, San Francisco, California, 1915.

The collection also includes material regarding the New Ryan Hotel and the United Lutheran Church, designed by DeRemer and his son Samuel Teel DeRemer. Samuel's design for the Grand Forks Deaconess Hospital is also included. The photographs, twenty in all, were separated and added to the Orin G. Libby Photograph Collection. One oversize folder was placed in the Oversize File Cabinets.

BOX AND FOLDER INVENTORY

Box 1
Folder

1. The Proposed New United Lutheran Church Architects Joseph Bell and Samuel Teel DeRemer
2. A Proposed New United Lutheran Church Architects Joseph Bell and Samuel Teel DeRemer
3. Joseph Bell DeRemer Logo
4. St. Mary's Church and school, Grand Forks; Eagles building, Crookston, Minnesota.
5. St. Catherine's Church, Lomice, North Dakota; New Ryan Hotel, Grand Forks
6. New grade and high school, Park River, North Dakota; new high school, Devil's Lake, North Dakota
7. National Register nomination for the George B. Clifford House, 406 Reeves Drive, Grand Forks: 1986

SEPARATIONS RECORD

Twenty photographs were separated and added to the Orin G. Libby Photograph Collection.

One oversize folder was placed in the Oversize File Cabinets.

Oversize Folder 1.

1. President's House at the University, (new building), May 25, 1902.
2. First year architect school drawings, 1896 - 1897

1. Naples, July 28, 1896
2. Plate X, the Tuscan order, August 1, 1896
3. 2 exercise paintings

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