Dakota Territory

The buffalo has a lot of importance historically in the United States. Once existing in vast herds, the animal was hunted into near extinction in the…

Back in the days of Dakota Territory, government officials were appointed by the president – the governor, the supreme court justices, the territorial…

North Dakota went through seven governors in its first decade of statehood, none of whom served more than one two-year term. One of them was Roger Allin,…

Perhaps no one has as many places in North Dakota named for themselves as Judson LaMoure. Political boss Alexander McKenzie comes close with two towns and…

A muggy day at the National Archives two years ago was the most disturbing day I ever spent in scholarly research. All day I plowed through correspondence…

Women’s suffrage is a story older than North Dakota’s statehood, dating back to territorial times. It was a political and progressive issue, viewed as…

The political borders involving this north-central region fluctuated for decades. In 1849, when Minnesota Territory was created, it stretched all the way…

Throughout the calendar year, a number of holidays and celebrations brought together early North Dakotans – Christmas, Easter, New Year’s, and even…

Early businesses helped build many of the small towns along the railroad in North Dakota. General stores, banks, newspapers, post offices – every little…

North Dakota’s southern boundary is not the same as it was when the state was young. Towns have come and gone; the Missouri River is dammed; and roads…