The Peace Garden's 1937 Civilian Conservation Corps lodge will be restored starting this fall. (Dean Poll)

Harmony soon will be restored to the 75-year-old International Peace Garden, a park that serves as a reminder of the long-standing accord between the U.S. and Canada.

After decades in the grips of overgrown weeds, the park and its 180 structures will soon get some much-needed care, thanks to $5 million allocated to the garden's restoration by North Dakota lawmakers last month.

The garden opened in 1932 on lands spanning Manitoba, Canada, and Dunseith, N.D., to celebrate and commemorate the longest undefended border in the world between the U.S. and our northern neighbors. "Once you experience the peace and serenity of this space, it stays with you," says Doug Hevenor, chief operating officer of the site since 2005.

The U.S. and Canada equally fund the garden, located on approximately 2,400 acres of land donated by Manitoba and North Dakota.

"Over the years, various [groups] supported the buildings in the garden by fundraising or volunteering," Hevenor says. But volunteering isn't what it once was, Hevenor laments, and many of the structures deteriorated as resources for upkeep became scarce.

Last month, the North Dakota legislature voted to double the funding normally allotted for the garden, pledging to provide $5 million over the next two years towards repairing the property, including funds to restore the 1937 Civilian Conservation Corps lodge, a wood-and-stone pioneer log home that Preservation North Dakota named one of the most endangered buildings in the state this year.

That's just the beginning: Over the next seven to 10 years, $32 million will be spent to restore gardens and structures throughout the park. The park is raising funds to erect new structures, such as an interpretive center, an indoor botanical conservatory, and a conflict-resolution center.

Work is set to begin this fall. At the moment, the garden is only open to the public about three months a year.

"The ultimate goal is to have year-round access to interpretive displays and the conservatory," Hevenor says. "To stroll through a tropical garden in the dead of winter in North Dakota and Manitoba … I know I'd appreciate that."

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