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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What do James Russell Lowell, Edward Greenleaf Whittier, and Longfellow all have in common? Apart from being renowned poets, they all had the pleasure of sharing company with Wild Rose, also known as Anna Dawson, a young Boston socialite and a member of the Three Affiliated Tribes. She would later become an activist during the relocations caused by the Garrison Dam. -
On this date in 1948, a flood of oratory marked the closing of the trial of August Pusch, who was charged with the poisoning death of his wife. The jury began deliberations in what was headlined as Wahpeton’s most bizarre murder trial.
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The start of a new school year brings excitement and a fresh beginning for both students and teachers. At Mandan High School, the announcement of a new school librarian was just one part of the excitement surrounding the return to school.
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Canada entered World War I on August 4, 1914, when the United Kingdom declared war on Germany. Canada showed solidarity to the United Kingdom by also declaring war.
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Decades of interaction with white Americans reshaped Native culture as they adapted to horses, guns, and trade goods. Eventually, the free-ranging lifestyle of Native peoples was permanently altered as they were forced onto reservations.
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On this date in 1909, Wahpeton newspapers congratulated Eugene Schuler on his federal post office and Catholic church construction at Kearney, Nebraska. His firm soon secured federal contracts across the western U.S., including the Wahpeton post office in 1915. Schuler’s Northwestern Construction Company built public buildings, Catholic churches, schools, private residences, and commercial and industrial facilities in at least 12 states.
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On July 5, 1902, William Ross traveled to a farm near Willow City and broke into the home of Thomas Walsh. There, he committed what newspapers called one of the most cold-blooded murders ever committed in Bottineau County. He shot Walsh while the elderly man was asleep, then stole three horses and a wagon before fleeing south.
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The process to ratify a constitutional amendment is complicated and time-consuming. The Archivist of the United States, who heads the National Archives and Records Administration, oversees the procedure. Congress can propose an amendment by a two-thirds majority in both the House and Senate. Alternatively, two-thirds of the states can call for a constitutional convention, though no amendment has ever been proposed in that manner. Once an amendment passes Congress, it must be approved by three-fourths of the states.
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North Dakotans were both alarmed and annoyed by a crime spree in 1925. People kept an eye out for anyone who looked suspicious. In November, thieves visited the turkey farm of A.L. Orange, just outside of Jamestown. When neighbors returning from town noticed a suspicious car parked by the farm, they acted. The car sped off at high speed, and the neighbors followed, resulting in a high-speed chase that reached fifty miles per hour. The chasers got close enough to obtain the license plate number and a description of the getaway car. They shared the information with law enforcement, but the thieves managed to escape with nine turkeys.
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The entire country was shocked when news came of the Battle of Little Bighorn. Two hundred sixty-eight soldiers of the 7th Cavalry were killed, including the handsome and popular Lieutenant Colonel George Armstrong Custer. With the regiment posted at Fort Abraham Lincoln, residents of Dakota Territory felt they had a personal interest in the 7th Cavalry. They were stunned when Captain Grant Marsh piloted the steamboat Far West to the dock, and they watched as the wounded were unloaded.
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.