Sitting Bull to Phil Jackson, cattle to prairie dogs, knoephla to lefse. North Dakota's legacy includes many strange stories of eccentric towns, war heroes, and various colorful characters. Hear all about them on Dakota Datebook, your daily dose of North Dakota history.
—
Dakota Datebook is made in partnership with the State Historical Society of North Dakota, and funded by Humanities North Dakota, a nonprofit, independent state partner of the National Endowment for the Humanities. Any views, findings, conclusions, or recommendations expressed in the program do not necessarily reflect those of Humanities North Dakota or the National Endowment for the Humanities.
You can find all Dakota Datebooks from 2018-today below. Our archive of Datebooks from 2003-2017 can be found here.
-
In April of 1904, Wahpeton had four newspapers, each with its own political slant. At the time, J.A. Rickert was a prominent figure in Richland County. He’d served as County Commissioner, County Treasurer, County Sheriff, and President of the Board of Education. Rickert owned a significant amount of property and was known for his success in both farming and business, including a mercantile store in Lidgerwood. -
On this date in 1911, The Bismarck Tribune reported an incident involving a 4-year-old boy in Jamestown. The child, Johnny, was playing with other small boys when he slipped and fell into an abandoned well. A passerby saw Johnny and rushed to help, managing to pull him out. Despite falling around 20 feet, Johnny was uninjured aside from some cuts and bruises.
-
During this week in 1996, Roosevelt Elementary School in Fargo, North Dakota, celebrated its 75th anniversary. Among the honored guests was one of the school’s most beloved retired teachers: 91-year-old music instructor Martha Hook.
-
Voters today take for granted their right to elect their United States Senators. Americans have been directly electing their Senators for over a hundred years, but it wasn’t always this way. Our Founding Fathers believed that allowing state legislatures to elect Senators would strengthen the bond between the federal and state governments. Article I, Section 3 of the United States Constitution stated, 'The Senate of the United States shall be composed of two Senators from each state, chosen by the legislature thereof for six years; and each Senator shall have one vote.'
-
Deer hunters need to see clearly and aim accurately to bring home the big bucks. But they also need to follow basic gun safety rules to avoid harming themselves or other hunters.
-
In 1872, European Americans founded a modest settlement at what was called Missouri Crossing. It got its name because the Lewis and Clark Expedition crossed the river there on their journey to explore the Louisiana Purchase. The settlers named their new community Edwinton, after Edwin Ferry Johnson, an engineer with the Northern Pacific Railroad. Less than a year later, the name was changed to Bismarck, in honor of German Chancellor Otto von Bismarck, aiming to attract German immigrants.
-
A tattered mansion on 8th Street, which still stands today, was once the home of U.S. Senator Porter J. McCumber of Wahpeton. Five blocks north of the old silk-stocking block is the Wahpeton Indian School, now known as the Circle of Nations.
-
On this date in 1897, an 'air ship' was spotted in the skies across eastern North Dakota. The Larimore Pioneer in Grand Forks County reported eyewitness accounts of the event. Three men in particular—Chief Clerk W.A. Willian, Agent J. McNaught, and Janitor Chris Johnson—shared their observations. They said the object was first seen shortly before 11 PM, moving swiftly in a northwesterly direction, with a noticeable swaying motion.
-
"It wouldn’t be so bad if it weren’t for the wind!" Many a North Dakotan has lamented the state’s well-known whirlwinds—and for good reason. North Dakota is relatively flat, with few natural formations to block the wind. So, it’s no surprise that the weather has been a topic of interest in newspapers since the region became a state.
-
Mount Tambora is a volcanic mountain in Indonesia. It may be hard to imagine how an eruption there could affect the Great Plains, especially from so far away on the other side of the world. But on this date in 1815, it did exactly that. The eruption began on April 5, with small tremors hinting at a major event. Then, on the evening of April 10, a cataclysmic explosion blew the mountain apart. A thick cloud of hot rock fragments and gases, known as a pyroclastic flow, rolled down the mountainside. The explosion and the tsunamis it triggered killed 10,000 people and destroyed 35,000 homes. And that was just the beginning.
Dakota Datebook is made in partnership with the State Historical Society of North Dakota, and funded by Humanities North Dakota, a nonprofit, independent state partner of the National Endowment for the Humanities.
Any views, findings, conclusions, or recommendations expressed in the program do not necessarily reflect those of Humanities North Dakota or the National Endowment for the Humanities.