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If we’re going to live in this level land we call the Great Plains — and I expect to do so until I die — then there are some fundamentals we need to come to terms with. Like the Homestead Act, signed by Abraham Lincoln on 20 May 1862. Unless we are Indigenous, we should think about what it means to be the heirs of a landed, settler society. Fortunately, we have Richard Edwards and his book, Great Plains Homesteaders, to help us out.

On this date in 1922, Joseph Gleason fell ill after enjoying a hearty pork steak dinner at his restaurant and rooming house near the Northern Pacific depot. He had also eaten some candy purchased elsewhere. Blind Joe, who lived with his mother and business partner, Mrs. Skeel, was a well-known figure on the streets of Wahpeton for 23 years.

On this date in 1909, Professor Benjamin Shambaugh, a professor at the University of Iowa, delivered a convocation speech at the University of North Dakota titled "The History of the West."

On this date, in 1883 Jamestown College was incorporated. The Presbyterians had been considering founding a college in either Minnesota or Dakota Territory and began receiving offers from interested cities the year before. Grand Forks made a bid, but with UND opening the following year, its appeal diminished. Fergus Falls was more established, offering a location in an official State of the Union. Reverend C.B. Stevens of Fargo favored a beautiful setting on the rim of the James Valley at Jamestown, population 425. However, the Northern Pacific Presbytery chose Casselton.

On this date in 1906, in Wahpeton, the County Board of Commissioners authorized a warrant for the admission of Mary L. to the State Hospital for the Insane. Mary, a domestic worker, had been employed in the household of Dr. and Mrs. Meckstroth.

Affordable housing with Trenton Gerads of Cass Clay Community Land Trust and foster care support with Kelsey Bless and Jennifer Thoreson—safe homes for all.

Kirsten Baesler discusses education in ND, Dr. Tom Isern reflects on heroic prairie well diggers, and Rick Gion shares insights on Thanksgiving food traditions.

A love triangle is an age-old story, and it makes for good gossip. In 1912, a reporter in Mandan heard about the fallout from a local love triangle and knew it would make a juicy tale for the newspaper.

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.

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.