North Dakota has close ties with Minnesota, sharing many overlapping interests, with business being one of the biggest. On this date in 1925, the city of Bismarck prepared to welcome businessmen from St. Paul to discuss potential business ventures. In anticipation of their arrival, the Bismarck Tribune extended a “right royal welcome” to those coming to “where the West begins.” The newspaper noted that the two states shared common interests “that bind them in a lasting bond of personal interest and friendship.”
The Tribune hoped that by the time the businessmen returned to Minnesota, they would have a better understanding of the advantages North Dakota had to offer. The newspaper highlighted things that would make the trip more enjoyable for the visitors, including the state's three transcontinental railroad lines and its top-quality public education system. North Dakota was also home to twenty-two thousand square miles of coal, and top-quality pottery was being made from North Dakota clay.
The article pointed out the state's evolution, from its early farms to a more diversified agriculture, including beef cattle, dairy cows, hogs, sheep, and poultry. Vast fields of alfalfa, corn, and wheat stretched across the state. In the previous year, North Dakota’s agricultural sales had amounted to over four million dollars, equivalent to more than seven billion dollars today.
By 1925, North Dakota had made tremendous progress in the thirty-six years since statehood. There was a sense in the state that, while the eastern states were older and played out, North Dakota was on the rise. Despite having a late start, North Dakota had achieved first place in the production of hard wheat, flax, and winter rye, second in barley, and third in rye. The state was proud of its claim to “the best agricultural climate, plenty of pure water, enough lakes and rivers, ample rainfall, and abundant sunshine.”
The newspaper proudly stated that North Dakota farmers produced crops and livestock “with the season’s rainfall, without irrigation, inoculation of the soil, or a single ounce of manufactured fertilizer.” However, the article’s authors could not have known that hard times were ahead, with the Dust Bowl just around the corner.
Dakota Datebook written by Dr. Carole Butcher.
Sources:
- Bismarck Tribune. “North Dakota: Best of the West.” Bismarck ND. 6/5/1925. Page 1
