Archives Month

In 1911, the State Historical Society of North Dakota had only one paid employee with an office in the capitol. In 1914, the first librarian was hired. And in November of 1915, Mrs. Katherine Jewell was hired as the first newspaper clerk.

Today, we recognize Georgia Carpenter, who came from out east in 1915 to become the second librarian for the North Dakota State Historical Society.

Herbert Fish was curator for the historical society from July 1907 until August 1915. He was a strong force, traveling the state to conduct field work, and collect documents and artifacts. When Fish resigned as curator, a number of applicants applied. One was Katherine Jewell, widow of the late Marshall Jewell, who was the second editor of the Bismarck Tribune, a position he held for more than thirty years.

In December of 1914, Miss Marie Simpson, who had recently been a substitute librarian at Mayville Normal School, started working for the society. According to newspapers at the time, Simpson had “a broad training in library work and also in history work, which makes her services invaluable to the society.”

In North Dakota, the state archives are managed by the State Historical Society. In early 1907, the society received welcome funding and some office space in the Capitol for the collections. However, by December, the Bismarck Tribune reported that the archives already needed more room and more funds, saying: “The [Society] has a good start, but we are far behind our sister states, and much of historical value that ought to be in our possession has already gone to enrich the treasures of other states.”

In July of 1907, Herbert C. Fish became curator of the State Historical Society of North Dakota, with an annual salary of $1,200. Newspapers reported that he was “full of enthusiasm for local history work, and that his “qualifications and energy” would be a boon to the job and the state.

Jesse A. Tanner briefly worked as a temporary curator for the Historical Society in 1907. In July of that year, the Bismarck Tribune published this note: “Few people realize the magnitude and value of the work being done by the Curator Tanner … Day by day the work of receiving and arranging the different and various matters pertaining to the work of the society is being carried on by this man.” One of those tasks involved the newspaper collection, which was required by a 1905 law. It took a lot of time, effort, and space.

In March 1907, Jesse A. Tanner took “temporary charge of the museum and library of the State Historical Society” which the Tribune reported had “quarters in the new wing of the Capitol.” The acting Curator was a graduate from the Valley City normal school and the University of North Dakota, and he delved into his work, which at that time was soliciting historical documents and artifacts, travelling to sites, and working with the museum and library housed in the Capitol building. He operated under a salary of $100 a month.

The Ladies Historical Society formed in 1889, became the State Historical Society of North Dakota six years later in 1895. However, the new agency received no appropriations from the government, and it soon foundered.

In 1889, the Ladies Historical Society of Bismarck was formed for the purpose of collecting and preserving “the records and relics pertaining to the early settlement of the city and territory in correct and permanent form” and to promote “friendship and goodwill among the early settlers” of Bismarck and North Dakota.