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.
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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.
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May is National Historic Preservation Month, when we remember historic sites and places around North Dakota. Today, we talk about some of these places listed on the National Historic Register because of the people associated with them. -
The first decade of the twentieth century was known as the Edwardian Age, named after King Edward VII of Great Britain. Fashion was a distinctive and important element of the era. Women wore corsets and long skirts. Men wore suits. Edwardian fashion was known for its excess, elegance, and, above all, strict social rules.
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Inventors in the late 19th and early 20th centuries were busy perfecting self-propelled vehicles. They experimented with steam-powered as well as gas-powered automobiles. It was exciting to zip down the road at the blazing speed of eight miles an hour but the risks of such travel became apparent almost immediately. With no traffic laws and no safety features, even a slow-moving vehicle could be a menace.
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In Wahpeton, there is a regal-looking house built for Ellen Seely by renowned architect Eugene Schuler. Mrs. Seely came to town in 1881 to establish residency for a divorce in the Dakota Territory. Known locally as "Madame Seely," she was a Rockefeller in-law and an opera devotee. Her son, W.A. Seely, had arrived in Wahpeton earlier and prospered. To help pass the time, he built the Seely Opera House downtown. On this date in 1885, Shakespeare's The Merchant of Venice had a successful run there.
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Even as he was overseeing the Civil War, President Lincoln was determined to move the country forward. In 1862, he signed several bills into law that directly affected Dakota Territory and, by extension, the land that would become the State of North Dakota.
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The American economy was booming in the 1920s, but things weren’t rosy for everyone. Farmers were in trouble.
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In 1912, the first Boy Scout encampment in North Dakota took place in Valley City. It was clear: the Boy Scouts were a big hit.
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The North Dakota Badlands have much to offer visitors and travelers—if cultivated into a national park, proclaimed Delta R. Connolly on this date in 1927 to readers of the Hettinger County Herald.
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We live in a time of abundant food, easily found at the grocery store, a big-box retailer, or a restaurant. Some people prefer natural food stores, farmers markets, or their very own gardens. A few stalwart purists even pursue wild foods, foraged from nature. Today, we’re taking a look at one of the best edible wild plants ever known: the cattail.
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The country was in dire straits when Franklin Roosevelt took office in March of 1933. He immediately declared a four-day bank holiday and signed the Emergency Banking Act to ease the banking crisis. But there was little he could do to improve the weather.
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.