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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By 1928, brothers William and Harvey Erlenmeyer, ages 16 and 18 respectively, had worked for nearly a decade on their small produce farm. It was referred to as a "truck garden" because the produce was transported by truck to nearby cities. Through their work in the garden, they earned enough profit to pay for their college education, with money left over to help cover living expenses and support their younger brother. -
Grant was impressed with Dakota Territory when he ventured onto the Great Plains in 1883. During his stop in Fargo, Grant said, "I came out here to be impressed, but I see greater evidence of enterprise in your city and prosperity in your country than I anticipated, and all promise great things for the future. Although I have crossed the United States much and visited nearly every territory as well as state, this is the first time I have ever set foot on Dakota soil. I am glad to be on so solid and substantial a foundation."
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The Missouri River, the longest river in North America, begins its journey at Three Forks, Montana. It travels 2,341 miles before joining the Mississippi River just north of St. Louis. For 390 of those miles, it winds through North Dakota. It is such a literal force of nature and such a major presence in the state that it has been called "one of the defining attributes of North Dakota's landscape."
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Born in 1897, Carl Ben Eielson grew up in the small town of Hatton, North Dakota. In 1903 the Wright brothers invented and flew the first "flying machine." Eielson was fascinated with airplanes since childhood. In 1917, during World War I, Eielson enlisted in the U.S. Army Air Service. By the time he completed flight school, the war was over.
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Lieutenant Colonel George Armstrong Custer was a popular public figure throughout the United States. He was young and handsome, with a beautiful wife. It was widely thought that he would run for president and, as a genuine Civil War hero, many believed he was a sure bet to win the election. Custer was especially popular in North Dakota since his cavalry was based at Fort Abraham Lincoln.
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Paper money has been part of United States currency since the Continental Congress authorized a two-dollar note in June 1776. But those notes were not the paper money we know today. They were bills of credit used to fund the defense of a new country's struggle for independence. When the Constitution was ratified in 1788, it prohibited states from issuing bills of credit or using anything other than gold and silver as legal tender.
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Have you ever found a green dollar bill just lying there on the street? Have you ever discovered a ten-dollar bill caught along a chain-link fence, where the wind had blown it, and picked up that paper money, slipped it into your pocket, thinking, "Finders keepers, losers weepers"?
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Ragnvold Anderson Nestos was born in Voss, Norway, on April 12, 1877. His name highlights his Norwegian heritage. “Ragnvold” is a traditional Norwegian name. “Anderson” comes from his father’s name, indicating he is the son of Anders. Nestos was sixteen years old and spoke no English when he came to the United States. He received his education at the Mayville Normal School and the University of Wisconsin. In 1904, he earned his law degree at the University of North Dakota and opened a practice in Minot.
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“The Black Death” swept Europe in the mid-14th century and killed millions of people. Hundreds of years later, North Dakota also grappled with plague. The first cases were detected in dozens of ground squirrels shot at a golf club and on ranches in the Crosby area in 1941. The rodents carried dozens of fleas infected with plague bacteria.
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William Gardner was a Turtle Mountain Chippewa from North Dakota, born in 1884. He attended Carlisle Indian School in Pennsylvania and excelled in academics and athletics. He was on the famed "Carlisle Indians" football and track teams with Jim Thorpe, future Olympic legend. From 1904 to 1908, Carlisle defeated top football teams including Yale, Harvard, Princeton and Pennsylvania State.
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.