Carole Butcher

The establishment of a university in Grand Forks was a raucous affair, full of intense political maneuvering, typical of territories on the verge of statehood. Legislators competed fiercely to secure prestigious and lucrative institutions for their communities, like schools and hospitals.

North Dakotans were crazy about aviation right from the very start. Early North Dakota aviators include Carl Ben Eielson and Bruce Peterson. The ladies of the state were not to be left out. Florence Klingensmith, known as “Tree Tops,” was the first licensed female pilot in the state. She made a name for herself on the racing circuit in a plane she christened Miss Fargo. In 1933, Evelyn Waldren became the first woman in North Dakota to earn a transport pilot’s license.

On January 27, 1862, Captain Nelson Miner was assigned to command the first unit of the Dakota Territorial Militia in the territorial capital of Yankton.

In November 1879, the Army established a military post on the west bank of the Little Missouri River. The post became a welcome bit of civilization for hunters and trappers. Civilians added a saloon, a general store, a boarding house, and the Pyramid Park Hotel which was nowhere near as grand as its name.

As the Northern Pacific Railway made its way across Dakota Territory, it eventually reached what is now known as Billings County. The first siding there was called Fogarty, named for a railroad contractor. In 1883, it was renamed Summit, a fitting name, as the railroad was at its highest point before descending into the Badlands.

Most of Europe was engaged in World War I from 1914 to 1919. The United States entered the war in the spring of 1917. The conflict claimed the lives of sixteen million people. Buildings and agricultural land were devastated. The world was shocked by the use of powerful new weapons, including submarines, machine guns, poison gas, tanks, and airplanes.

During the first half of the 19th century, the United States government sent out expeditions to explore the western portion of the country. Government officials wanted to understand what the nation had acquired in the Louisiana Purchase.

Cattle flourished on the excellent grazing lands of western Dakota Territory in the 19th century. Massive herds roamed freely across the plains. Ranches began springing up in the Badlands before North Dakota was even a state. The most famous was Teddy Roosevelt’s Maltese Cross Ranch but there were many more. Some folded after just a few years, while others managed to hang on and become prosperous.

Cattle drives were a major economic activity during the 19th and early 20th centuries. Cattle were driven from Texas to railheads in Kansas and Nebraska to be shipped to eastern stockyards. When big Texas ranchers took note of the good grazing in Dakota Territory, cattle began arriving in 1876.

On June 14, 1777, the Second Continental Congress adopted a resolution authorizing the design of the new country’s flag. That resolution read: “Resolved: That the flag of the United States be thirteen stripes, alternate red and white; that the union be thirteen stars, white in a blue field, representing a new constellation.”