Dakota Datebook

As Secretary of State for President James Monroe, John Quincy Adams advocated for the expansion of the United States. He was responsible for establishing the northern boundary of the country from the Lake of the Woods to the Rocky Mountains, and eventually to the Pacific Ocean. More than any other man, Adams was responsible for putting the Monroe Doctrine into action.

Once there was a man who came to Dakota seeking his fortune. He prospered and proposed marriage to a lady back east. But she hesitated to come to Wahpeton, terrified of tornadoes.

In 1941, poultry were making headlines across North Dakota and the country.

One of North Dakota’s most striking beauties has to be frost, the glistening white that covers tree branches, power lines, street signs, even blades of grass. It would take a lifetime to paint even one acre of trees all white, but Jack Frost does it overnight.

In this episode of Dakota Datebook, we'll listen to Mark Bluestone, enrolled member of the Mandan, Hidatsa, Arikara Nation, discuss the importance of feeding people.

On this date in 1896, the Jamestown paper reported Mrs. Swain had been taken home to New Rockford for burial. She and her lover were found dead in a Valley City hotel room. A note left at the scene said, "You will find sufficient funds in my pocketbook to bury us. Our last request is to bury us together without any fuss, and do not try to find out who we are. Parted in life but joined in death."

The Dorcas Society is a charitable organization named after Dorcas, a woman described in the Acts of the Apostles. Dorcas was a biblical figure widely known for her dressmaking abilities. The primary mission of the society was originally to provide clothing for the needy, although that grew to include other necessities, like food.

In the 1870s, there were about 1,700 farms in the territory that became North Dakota, with farms averaging 176 acres in size. By 1910, that number had grown to over 7,000 farms, averaging 382 acres. Wheat emerged as a major crop, and the future looked rosy for farmers.

In November of 1970, billboards began popping up along highways in Montana and South Dakota with bold letters stretching across the landscape: “Go North to Dakota!”

The Commercial Hotel, built before 1878, was among the first few buildings in Wahpeton, and its only hotel before the boomtown years. It was advertised as "first-class in every way," popular with those seeking business opportunities, land claims or a quick Dakota Territory divorce.