3/28/2014:
On March 2nd, 1861, the United States Congress first created Dakota Territory. It included the lands of present-day North Dakota, South Dakota, and most of Montana and Wyoming. After a while, the Montana and Wyoming portions were carved away, leaving the land that would become North and South Dakota.
On this date in 1961, as part of the centennial celebration of this historic start to statehood, the North Dakota section of the Dakota Territory Centennial Commission prepared to kick off a season of centennial celebrations. The Morton County News reported that "the North Dakota office will work closely with the South Dakota office in making this Dakota Territory Centennial year a memorable one in both states in developing state pride and attracting tourists to the area."
The commission had produced commemorative buttons, the first of which it presented to North Dakota legislators at the State Capitol, following a showing of a film entitled “The Lounsberry Scoop.” The buttons showed an image of Four Bears, a chief of the Mandans, who lived through the early years of white settlement. Artist George Catlin painted his portrait around 1832, and described him as an “extraordinary man … undoubtedly the first and most popular man in the [Mandan] nation.” The buttons also featured a covered wagon, a pioneer home, and some wheat.
Centennial coins were also produced as part of the celebration. Distribution of the coins was to begin in early March, in conjunction with Centennial Day celebrations. The coins went on sale at the end of February in Bismarck. Solid bronze, these coins showed scenes of the original Territorial Capitol of 1883, the new North Dakota Capitol, and General George Custer. These coins were accepted at businesses and banks until the end of the year. They were worth fifty cents apiece, and could be bought or redeemed for this amount, but the Centennial Commission had high hopes that most of the coins would not be traded in, and that the funds raised through this “Dakota Wampum,” as they called it, could be used to promote the state.
Dakota Datebook written by Sarah Walker
Sources:
Morton County News, Thursday, March 2, 1961, p10
The Morton County News, February 23, 1961, p1
The Bismarck Tribune, March 31, 1961
http://americanart.si.edu/collections/search/artwork/?id=4064