Search results for

9/29/2014: Expanding the Northern Pacific rail line to the west was dangerous work in the 1870s, and the U.S. Army was ordered to Dakota Territory to provide protection. Fort McKeen was built in 1872 across the Missouri from Bismarck. The fort was expanded to include a cavalry post, and it moved five miles south, renamed Fort Abraham Lincoln.

10/1/2014: On this date in 1961, North Dakota native Roger Maris stepped up to the plate. A hush came over the crowd. Would the great Babe Ruth’s record of 60 home runs be broken? Spectators were on the edge of their seats, as they just might witness sports history.

10/30/2014: Hugh J. Hughes, director of markets for the Minnesota Department of Agriculture, spoke in Moorhead on this date in 1923. The Fargo Forum reported that he addressed a gathering of businessmen and farmers, many of them from North Dakota. Hughes expressed concern about the future of agriculture in the Red River Valley. He caused a stir by saying wheat couldn’t be profitable in the area. He didn’t mean wheat in the valley was a dead issue, but he urged farmers to develop a plan of crop rotation. Farmers, he said, could profit by diversification.

11/4/2014: It may seem odd that the Gatling gun, forerunner of the machine gun, was invented by a doctor, but so it was. Dr. Richard J. Gatling invented the gun in 1861. He received a patent on this date in 1862. He created the new weapon to reduce the size of armies, reasoning that one gunner could do the work of many soldiers. Gatling thought that combat deaths and injuries would likewise be reduced.

11/7/2014: Author Willa Cather was born on this date in 1873. Although born in Virginia, she will forever be identified with pioneering on the Great Plains. She described the Plains as the great passion of her life. She wrote, "When I strike the open plains, something happens. I'm home. I breathe differently.”

11/13/2014: A woman of Plaza, North Dakota was reported to have received quite a shock on this day in 1913. The woman, Mrs. Hendricks, learned that her husband had been spotted in Minot, North Dakota after eight months of absence. Gust Hendricks had not been seen since last spring, and his anxious wife had reported the man missing since his disappearance.

11/21/2014: The Von Hoffman House was built in Medora, North Dakota in 1884 for the Baron and Mrs. Von Hoffman. Athenais von Hoffman had asked her husband to build the home so they would have a place to stay when they visited their daughter Medora, the wife of the Marquis de Mores. The home is veneered in brick and is not typical prairie construction.

11/26/2014: On this date in 1912, Eric Sevareid was born in Velva, North Dakota. His family moved to Minot and then to Minneapolis. He was an adventurous young man. After he graduated from high school, he and a friend embarked on a canoe trip of over 2,000 miles. He wrote his first book, Canoeing with the Cree, based on this adventure.

12/2/2014: North Dakota was quick to embrace the horseless carriage. In 1904 there were almost 60,000 miles of roads in the state, although only 212 miles were surfaced with gravel or stone. The rest were dirt. By 1921, North Dakota ranked seventh out of the states in road mileage. In 1924, the Highway Department printed 5,000 copies of a North Dakota road map. The map immediately sold out and the Department printed 2,000 more. In 1925, there were 130,000 automobiles in the state. That same year, a seven mile stretch of road between Bismarck and Mandan was the longest stretch of paved road. By 1929, North Dakota ranked third in the nation, with 4,300 miles of road.

12/3/2014: North Dakota is no stranger to dinosaurs. The state has a fascination with them. Fourteen dinosaurs are on display at the Dickinson Dinosaur Museum, including a 37 foot tyrannosaurus rex. In June, 2014, “Discover the Dinosaurs” presented an exhibit of animated dinosaurs at the Bismarck Civic Center. It proved to be very popular. The Hell Creek Formation in North Dakota is well known for dinosaur discoveries. Fossils can be seen in museums all across the state. But the most spectacular North Dakota dinosaur was only recently put on display.