Sarah Walker

On this date in 1904, a notice in the Fargo Forum and Daily Republican stated that “Miss Sarah S. Barton…has entered the Dakota Business College for special work in bookkeeping and penmanship during the summer months. These summer sessions offer excellent opportunities for reviews, and ambitious teachers might advantageously follow her example.” The college touted this as an excellent opportunity for a young teacher tired of teaching in public schools to change careers.

May is National Historic Preservation Month. Today, we celebrate North Dakota’s preservation history by highlighting a site on the "National Register of Historic Places."

May is National Historic Preservation Month. Today, we celebrate a North Dakota example by highlighting a State Historic Site on the "National Register of Historic Places."

On May 8th 1873, more than a decade before North Dakota became a state, Episcopal clergyman Charles Swift baptized the infant son of Lieutenant and Mrs. Humbert at Camp Hancock in what was reported to be the first Protestant service held in Bismarck.

May is National Historic Preservation Month. Today, we celebrate North Dakota’s history by highlighting a preservation example.

Charles Hatfield of southern California was famous for rainmaking. He was called Hatfield the Rainmaker; but his preferred title was “moisture accelerator.” By releasing a mixture of chemicals into the air from a high tower, Hatfield claimed to bring in rain clouds.

Tosten Boe and his wife Mildred, of Minot, had a bit of luck after a lot of bad luck in 1947. The two lived in a house in Minot, and unfortunately for them, some coal gas started filtering into their house. It would not take long for this to affect them. Tosten fell onto the ground, and Mildred passed out on their bed. That was nearly the end of the Boes, and they would have died on this date except for a little luck.

North Dakota entered the United States as a dry state in 1889, several decades before the 18th Amendment was fully ratified in 1919, making prohibition country-wide. Tales of bootleggers, rum runners, and blind pigs populate the history of the country during these years, including in North Dakota. Yet on this date in 1931, a survey out of Washington D.C. stated that the prohibition situation in North Dakota was "encouraging." The Bismarck Tribune reported that the survey described North Dakota rather blandly as making "wonderful progress under the state and federal prohibition."

The first capitol building in Bismarck burned down at the tail end of December 1930. Plans were soon underway to rebuild. However, not everyone thought it needed to built in Bismarck!

In August 1887, ground was broken in Devils Lake for a new courthouse and jail. The courthouse had caused some initial angst among some residents, although the Devils Lake Inter-Ocean calmly stated that some of this came from “the first mistake of the [county] board,” which was that it “tried to please everybody.” Completion was planned for December, but it was soon extended to February 1, 1888. Of course construction plans change—especially when working in the winter!