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Yankton

  • Perhaps the most violent moment in Dakota territorial politics was the killing of the territorial secretary in 1873. General Edwin Stanton McCook was a distinguished Civil War veteran and one of the “Fighting McCooks,” a prominent Union military family. In February of 1872, President Grant appointed McCook as secretary of Dakota Territory, a position which also served as acting governor. McCook soon afterward arrived in the capital city of Yankton with his family.
  • When Dakota Territory was created, that also meant organizing its Supreme Court, which was seated at Yankton in southern Dakota for many years. President…
  • The political borders involving this north-central region fluctuated for decades. In 1849, when Minnesota Territory was created, it stretched all the way…
  • Dakota’s territorial lawmakers convened in Bismarck in January of 1885. It was the first legislative session after the territory’s capitol was yanked from…