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(Photos omitted)
Preparing for the Lewis and Clark Bicentennial
Preparations for the approaching bicentennial of the Lewis and Clark Expedition accelerated this year. Working with $931, 000 from the Legislative Assembly for the 1999-2001 biennium, the State Historical Society began enhancements at its three sites along the Lewis and Clark Trail Corridor relating to the era --Double Ditch Indian Village State Historic Site near Bismarck, Fort Clark Trading Post State Historic Site near Washburn, and Fort Buford State Historic Site near Williston. At Double Ditch, work began on a series of new interpretive signs; new signage was also prepared for Fort Clark Trading Post and planning initiated for a new facility to provide visitor services and interpretation. At Fort Buford, planning began for restoration of the field officer's quarters, the building in which Sitting Bull surrendered his rifle in 1881. The restoration work is one of six enhancement projects earmarked for the confluence area of the Yellowstone and Missouri Rivers.
In April the State Historical Board approved the building design for the Confluence Area Interpretive Center, to be located one-half mile east of the Fort Buford site and scheduled for completion in 2003. This visitor center will interpret the story of the confluence area, including the history of Fort Buford and the Lewis and Clark Expedition's presence. The facility will be funded through a combination of federal and local money -$1 million from a TEA-21 grant (Transportation Equity Act for the 21st Century), with the required $250, 000 match being raised locally by the Williston community. The National Historic Records and Publications Commission has provided another $250, 000 to research and catalog documents relating to the history of Fort Buford for use at the visitor center. The Society has hired Dr. Mark Harvey, associate professor of history at North Dakota State University (NDSU), to spearhead this project, targeted for completion in August 2002.
The $931, 000 legislative appropriation also included funding for planning an updated Era of Change exhibit at the North Dakota Heritage Center in Bismarck, traveling exhibits, and educational programs.
The upcoming Lewis and Clark bicentennial commemoration has brought a renewed interest in Sakakawea, the young Indian woman who became a valuable member of the Corps of Discovery. The 1999 Legislative Assembly approved a joint resolution authorizing placement of a duplicate of the original 1910 statue of Sakakawea that stands on the state capitol grounds in Bismarck and in National Statuary Hall in Washington, D. C. Efforts to raise the $200, 000 needed for the effort are underway by the General Federation of Women's Clubs of North Dakota and a committee supported by the State Historical Society.
Photo caption: Participants in the Heritage Outbound Adventure Trips paddle a canoe to retrace the Missouri River experience of Lewis and Clark in August 1999. Heritage Outbound provided opportunities to visit the Sheyenne National Grasslands, Little Missouri National Grasslands, and the Missouri River with natural history specialists, artists, and historians. More than twenty people braved the winter weather for a Heritage Outbound camping experience at Fort Mandan the weekend of January 22-23, 2000.
Governor's Conference on North Dakota History
"Myth and Reality: The Military Experience in North Dakota" was the theme of the 1999 Governor's Conference on North Dakota History, held at the North Dakota Heritage Center October 29-30. Topics covered ranged from American Indian interpretation and women in the military to World Wars I and II and preserving historic sites. Society staff also conducted an oral History training workshop, which included taping interviews with several World War II veterans. The keynote speaker was Dr. Shirley Leckie, a History professor at the University of Central Florida and author of the 1993 book, Elizabeth Bacon Custer and the Making of a Myth, who delivered her address at Fort Abraham Lincoln State Park near Mandan.
Dr. D. Jerome Tweton, Theresa Nelson, and Dr. Charles M. Barber received awards honoring their achievements in he field of History and the humanities. Tweton, an emeritus professor of history at the University of North Dakota
(UND), received the Heritage Profile Honor Award from the State Historical Society for his contributions to researching and teaching North Dakota history. Nelson was presented the Excellence in Local History Award from the Society for her contributions to the preservation of Banat German-Hungarian culture and local history in the Dickinson area. Dr. Barber, a history professor at Northeastern Illinois University, received the Editor's Award for his 1998 article in North Dakota History, "A Diamond in the Rough: William Langer Reexamined."
Field School at Menoken Indian Village SiteContinued fieldwork at the Menoken Indian Village State Historic Site during the summer of 1999 reaffirmed the site's National Historic Landmark status, but for reasons different than those cited in the original designation. The site, thought to be one of the earliest village sites near the Missouri River, is now believed to date well before A. D. 1200, instead of the 1700s, as previously believed. Chief Archeologist Fern Swenson and Research Archeologist Paul Picha coordinated the field school, which was operated in cooperation with the Paleo-Cultural Research Group. Interpretive information and signage will be developed for the site as a result of the field school.
Photo caption: Participants in the archeology summer field school at Menoken Indian Village State Historic Site, located twelve miles east of Bismarck, carefully sift through layers of soil. Field work in the summers of 1998 and 1999 revealed important new information about the site.
Publications
The Society published two books during this fiscal year: North Dakota History Cumulative Index:1945-1998, edited by Janet Daley, and Birds and Mammals Observed by Lewis and Clark by Russell Reid and Clell G. Gannon, originally published in 1927. The 105-page index lists articles, authors, book reviews, and topics covered in the past fifty-four years of the Society's quarterly journal and includes a CD-ROM.
The agency's quarterly journal, North Dakota History, and newsletter, Plains Talk, sported new looks this year. The journal's changes included a fresh cover design, use of color, and a more expansive layout. The newsletter's changes included a new masthead design and more emphasis on historic preservation and the Society's artifacts collections.
Photo caption: Kayla Nicole Martinez, a fourth grader at Adams (N.D.) School, drew this award-winning sketch (left) of Fort Berthold from 1845-1866 for the annual historic preservation poster contest, held in conjunction with the Society's history conference.
Photo caption: Dr. D. Jerome Tweton (center), winner of the 1999 Heritage Profile Honor Award, is pictured here with Everett Albers, director of the North Dakota Humanities Council, and Samuel J. Wegner, Society superintendent.
Programs at Sites Boost Visitation
Visitors to several state historic sites during the summer had the chance to enjoy history from a personal perspective, through History Alive! performances where people and events of the state's past were dramatized. The characters included Missouri River steamboat captain, Grant Marsh, portrayed by advertising consultant Arch Ellwein of Sidney, Montana (pictured above, at Fort Buford State Historic Site); fur trade entrepreneur Antoine Gingras, portrayed by Dr. Virgil Benoit, a professor of French at UND; and Medora, Madame de Mores, the wife of the French entrepreneur, the Marquis de Mores, portrayed by Karen Nelson, adjunct professor of speech at Dickinson State University. The dialogues presented are based on letters, diaries and other resources, many from the Society's archives.
The state's frontier, military, Indian School trades, and American Indian cultures also came alive during the summer with the Dakota Folks program at Fort Totten and Fort Buford State Historic Sites. The program highlights occupational skills and traditional arts still practiced in the state today. Another popular annual event, the Roundup at the Chateau, occurred August 7 at the Chateau de Mores State Historic Site. The focus in 1999 was the ranching culture, featuring a chuckwagon with ranching/roundup foodways, authentic western and cowboy music and songs, as well as roping and leather tooling activities and demonstrations. The event was sponsored by the State Historical Society and he North Dakota Cowboy Hall of Fame.
The Pembina State Museum also featured several public programs during the year, including Movie Nights at the Museum, a fur trade encampment and Museum Adventures. Groundbreaking ceremonies were held on Earth Day April 22 for a new tall-grass prairie exhibit, which includes a large area of native grasses and wild flowers planted to simulate the original tall-grass prairie found in the Pembina area in the nineteenth century.
Programs on the fascinating history of the Red River fur trade era were held in April throughout the state. Speakers covered a wide variety of topics, from American Indian traders and early trading posts to Red River oxcart trails and he Selkirk Settlement, which was the first settlement near present-day Pembina, North Dakota, established in 1812.
Photo caption: Clockwise from top: Reuben Fast Horse, Lakota performing artist, took part in the Sixth Infantry Encampment at Fort Buford State Historic Site near Williston July 10-11, 1999. The Pembina State Museum was the site of a Fur Trade Encampment and Trade Fair on June 3, 2000. The seven-story tower overlook is visible on the left. A youngster practices his roping technique during the Chateau Roundup at the Chateau de Mores State Historic Site August 7, 1999.
At Fort Totten, work progressed on the restoration and renovation of Building #4, originally used as officers' quarters, but later transformed into apartments for employees of the Fort Totten Indian School (see photos above of original staircase and the building's exterior). Roof repairs and extensive work on the interior continue. The building is being renovated into a bed-and-breakfast inn, with rooms for rent by visitors and a public meeting area.
The Friends of Fort Abercrombie purchased and assembled a replica 1841 mountain howitzer for interpretive use and display (see photo below). Work continued to finalize plans for restoring the replicated blockhouses and the original guardhouse on the site. The Whitestone Hill Battlefield Historical Society worked with agency staff to present special programs at the site. A special ceremony was held in July at the Killdeer Battlefield State Historic Site to mark the 135th anniversary of the battle.
Exhibits at North Dakota Heritage Center and Pembina State Museum
The exhibit, Quilt Stories, opened at the North Dakota Heritage Center on September 5, highlighting remarkable quilts dating from the mid-1800s to the present, made from such material as salesmen's samples, flour sacks, and firemen's ribbons. The exhibit was accented with additional artifacts and photographs related to the stories these quilts tell. An exhibit featuring North Dakota clay and its many uses, ranging from pottery to industrial materials, ended its run at the North Dakota Heritage Center in August, and opened at the Pembina State Museum in early October. Earth, Water and Fire showcases more than 200 ceramic pieces and very early pottery artifacts, from 2350 B.C. to the present. Two publications appeared in conjunction with the exhibit --an issue of North Dakota History featuring several related articles, and a book, Brickmaking in North Dakota, by Frank Vyzralek. A series of pottery workshops and demonstrations were also held to complement the exhibit.
Photo caption: An image of Sitting Bull, wearing sunglasses to protect his eyes, 1881. Below: Area kindergartners create their own quilt patterns in the Quilt Stories exhibit area.
Society Loans Artifacts for International Exhibits
An exhibit, Sitting Bull and the Lakota, at the Hessian State Museum in Darmstadt, Germany, included twenty-nine artifacts from the Society's collections during its showing, June 13-October 17, 1999 (photo of Sitting Bull above was also featured). Other Society loans outside the U. S. included a bison hide headdress for the exhibit, Legends of Our Time, at the Canadian Museum of Civilization in Hull, Quebec, and an American Indian winter count for the exhibit, The Story of Time, at the National Maritime Museum in Greenwich, England. Curators from the National Lewis and Clark Bicentennial Commission also visited the agency to arrange potential loans of artifacts for the national exhibit.
National History Day
The Society played an active role in promoting National History Day throughout North Dakota, a year-round program that encourages academic achievement for students in grades 6-12 through a series of district, state and national competitions. The theme for History Day 2000 was "Turning Points in History: People, Ideas, Events." Participating students developed papers, exhibits, performances or media documentaries based on a topic from local, state, national or world History. The program begins in the schools each September, and this year ended February 25 at the North Dakota Heritage Center and State Capitol Building in Bismarck. First and second place winners are eligible to enter the National History Day Contest held in June at the University of Maryland. Pembina State Museum Site Supervisor Michael Bailey and Fort Buford Site Supervisor Charles Stalnaker participated in the national contest as judges. The Society's educational programs coordinator, Linda Ehreth, served as the agency's coordinator of the program, working closely with another sponsor, the North Dakota Geographical Alliance.
Sacred Beauty Exhibit Wins Prestigious Award
The State Historical Society received national honors this year from the American Association for State and Local History for work related to its popular exhibit, Sacred Beauty: Quillwork of Plains Women, including the exhibit itself, related public programs, and an exhibit booklet. The announcement accompanying the Award of Merit noted that the awards committee was "most impressed with the quality of the exhibit, the care with which you were exhibiting the artifacts, and the measures your institution had taken to include the Native Americans in the planning and decision-making." Sacred Beauty, on exhibit from September 1997 to December 1999, highlighted the traditional decorative technique of quillwork as used by the Mandan, Hidatsa, Sahnish (Arikara) and the Dakota (Sioux) Indians. The Society worked closely in developing the exhibit with a quillwork advisory committee consisting of members of the Three Affiliated Tribes and the Standing Rock Sioux Tribe.
Crossroads: History in the Millennium
A series of partnership meetings were held in the summer and fall of 1999 to encourage historians, county historical societies, and community members to work together to promote and interpret history. The events were sponsored by the local historical societies, the State Historical Society, and the North Dakota Humanities Council. Historians Lori Lahlum, Valley City State University (VCSU), and Dr. Anne Kelsch and Dr. Barbara Handy-Marchello, both from UND, examined the historical Society collections of three counties--Pembina, Barnes and McLean--and made presentations that place these artifacts in the larger context of North Dakota history. These evening presentations were followed the next day by coffee hours where local community residents participated in discussions about how to encourage heritage tourism and economic development as the new century approached. Meetings were held at Icelandic State Park near Cavalier July 22-23, the Barnes County Historical Society Museum in Valley City August 26-27, and the McLean County Historical Society Museum in Washburn September 23-24. Similar meetings were planned for the summer and fall of 2000 in New Town and Williston.
Photo caption: National History Day exhibits form the backdrop for the awards ceremony held at the North Dakota Heritage Center, February 25, 2000. Several State Historical Society staff members served as judges for the event.
Photo caption: The annual lawn party at the Former Governors' Mansion State Historic Site in Bismarck brings together visitors who want to tour the home to North Dakota's governors from 1893 to 1960, learn more about history, or just enjoy toe-tapping music, good food, and a visit with friends and neighbors. Sponsored by the Friends of the Former Governors' Mansion, the lawn party on August 8, 1999, featured former Governor Art Link on the fiddle (pictured above, left), on the event's program. Another fiddler was the center of attention at the Gingras Trading Post State Historic Site near Walhalla. At Gingras Day August 1, 1999, which was also the occasion of a Gingras family reunion at the site, Métis fiddler Jimmy La Rocque entertained with his son, Arne.
Other Children's Programs
The Society continued to host a variety of popular children's programs throughout this year. More than 500 area seventh-grade students learned about frontier military activities, boarding school trades and American Indian culture during the seventh annual Living History Field Day held September 13 at Fort Totten State Historic Site near Devils Lake. The event was also coordinated by the Friends of Fort Totten Historic Site.
The Former Governors' Mansion State Historic Site in Bismarck was the site of story times for young children during the summer, with story topics including "The Governors' Garden" and "Musical Fun at the Mansion."
Some 800 children and their parents enjoyed Kids Night at the Museum on January 7 at the North Dakota Heritage Center. The theme of Kids Night was "Dakota Tracks," highlighting the first peoples of North Dakota. The evening's activities were sponsored by the State Historical Society and the Dakota Science Center in Grand Forks, in cooperation with the North Dakota Game and Fish Department, the North Dakota Geological Survey and Dakota Zoo of Bismarck. Also featured were a NatureShift! computer gallery hunt and a web site activity about the First People exhibit at the Heritage Center, using computers furnished by the Dakota Science Center.
Historic Preservation
Two sites were added to the National Register of Historic Places this year: the Sorlie Memorial Bridge along DeMers Avenue between Grand Forks and East Grand Forks, and the Metropolitan Opera House in Grand Forks (both pictured below). The Sorlie Memorial Bridge was built in 1929 as a joint project between the North Dakota and Minnesota highway departments, initiated by North Dakota Governor Arthur G. Sorlie. It replaced a swing bridge which had been constructed on the site in 1889. Its most noteworthy feature is the use of "trucks on pairs of track castings for the expansion bearings " (in other words, wheels). The Metropolitan Opera House was selected for its significant contribution to he entertainment and recreational History of Grand Forks. The building met those needs for 107 years, closing only due to the April flood of 1997.
Active historic rehabilitation projects this year included the South Junior High School in Grand Forks, Webb Brother's Block in Bismarck, the Pioneer Life Insurance Building in Fargo, and two buildings at the Grafton State School in Grafton.
Photo caption: Schoolchildren attending Living History Field Day at Fort Totten State Historic Site near Devils Lake watch Dick Parrish, of Surrey, N.D., demonstrate his blacksmithing skills.
Photo caption: "Marvelous Monday Nights at the Museum" on July 12, 1999, featured national recording artist Dennis Warner, who entertained the audience on the plaza at the North Dakota Heritage Center with his children-oriented musical program.
DiscoverND.com/hist-
Technology Advances
The Society's web site continued to attract an increasing number of Internet users, with usage up some 40 percent from the previous fiscal year. One of the site's new features was information about how the Society is able to help the public in utilizing the Renaissance Zone Act, approved by the 1999 Legislative Assembly. It gives municipalities a creative new way to encourage economic development, through tax credits and exemptions provided for preservation efforts for historic buildings in the downtown area.
The web site information can be found by visiting the agency's web site at DiscoverND. com/hist and clicking on "State Historic Preservation Office/Renaissance Zone Assistance." State government in North Dakota introduced the new web portal system in May, designed to provide easier access to services and information from all state agencies via the Internet.
Research And Archives
•Reference requests made to the State Archives and Historical Research Library (SAHRL)were up more than 6 percent from FY 1999. Daily visitors, reference letters, interlibrary loans filled and reference telephone requests totaled more than 13, 000. This reference activity has increased each of the past ten years, with an overall increase of more than 93 percent in this period.
•Additions to the SAHRL collections during the year included 878 feet of government records, personal papers and film. The largest acquisition was 253 feet of motion picture film from the former Snyder Film Studios of Fargo.
•The agency transferred its copies of the original Grand Forks Herald to the newspaper, which had lost all its back issues in the flood of 1997. The agency keeps most of its newspapers on microfilm.
•The State Historical Records Advisory Board, coordinated through the Society, sponsored interns from NDSU's public History program at Jamestown College and the Steele County Historical Society to help those groups organize their archival records. The board also sponsored a photo archives workshop in conjunction with the annual Governor's Conference on North Dakota History.
•The generosity of Society supporter Kermit Karns of Nebraska was recognized at the national level when he was given the Midwest Archives Conference (MAC) President's Award at ceremonies May 5 in Chicago. Karns was nominated by the MAC's North Dakota committee for his long-time work in preserving North Dakota Germans from Russia genealogical records and his establishment of a reference endowment of more than $77,000 for the State Historical Society of North Dakota.
Staff And Board Transitions
Walter Bailey, who has worked as the Society's historic preservation planner since 1973, was selected by his colleagues to received the 2000 Staff Award for Excellence.
The following staff members resigned during this fiscal year: Todd Strand, photo archivist; Claudia Pratt, outreach programs coordinator; Marcia Wolter Britton, Education and Interpretation Division director; and Nathan Austin, a part-time staff member with NatureShift!.
New Society staff members included Beth Aune, visitor services coordinator; Larissa Harrison, archives specialist; and Shawn Holz, curator of exhibits. Deborah Hellman was hired as half-time communications assistant. Cathy Langemo, a part-time employee in the State Archives and Historical Research Library, was hired for additional hours to assist with public programs in the Education and Interpretation Division. In June Claudia Berg was appointed acting director of the Education and Interpretation Division, in addition to her work as director of the agency's Curatorial and Exhibit Services. Merl Paaverud was named the Deputy State Historic Preservation Officer, as well as continuing as acting director of the Historic Sites Division.
Photo caption: Superintendent Samuel J. Wegner is pictured here, hosting the first "Dakota History Dialogue" May 17--18. Held at the North Dakota Heritage Center, a group of more than two dozen Society staff members, college and university teachers, and other individuals involved in historical interpretation met to discuss broad themes related to the state's history. Organizers of the meeting were Marcia Wolter Britton, director of the State Historical Society's Education and Interpretation Division; David B. Danbom, history professor at NDSU (pictured above seated, in dark coat);and Barbara Handy-Marchello, associate professor and chair of the history department at UND.
The Heritage Volunteers
Since 1981 the State Historical Society's volunteer program has donated more than 216, 000 hours of service to help the society meet its mission. This year's Volunteer Recognition Banquet honored the 187 volunteers active in he Heritage Volunteer Program who donated 11,015 hours in the fiscal year 2000. Superintendent Samuel J. Wegner presented the Hospitality Award to Marian Brandt; the Curatorial Award for outstanding service in a behind-the-scenes area to Terry Ringland, who works in the paleontology lab; and Dedication Awards to Doris Elness and Leila Wood, who are both North Dakota Heritage Center Museum Store volunteers.
Photo caption: Heritage Volunteers Anna Mae Mandigo, Sarah Luithle, Adelle Joos, and Jennie Moum are stringing popcorn for the annual Holiday Open House at the Former Governors' Mansion State Historic Site, November 28, 1999.
The SHSND Foundation
The State Historical Society of North Dakota (SHSND) Foundation is the nonprofit organization (not a State agency) which supports programs and activities of the State Historical Society. Some highlights of the FY 2000 year:
•Eileen Walsh became the full-time development director in January 2000.
•Foundation membership increased by more than 150 members.
•Foundation gifts helped to underwrite the Society's annual Governor's Conference on North Dakota History and pay for new interpretive signs at the Chateau de Mores State Historic Site.
•The Foundation showed a monetary increase in the "Benefactor " membership level, designating those who give gifts of $10, 000 or more.
•Foundation membership funds and gifts paid for the printing and distribution of the Society's quarterly journal, North Dakota History.
State Historical Board (FY 2000)
Appointed Board Members:
Ex-Officio Board Members:
SHSND Foundation Board (FY 2000)
96, 014 People Visited the North Dakota Heritage Center in FY 2000
e-mail: histsoc@state.nd.us
Copyright ©2000-2001 State Historical Society of North Dakota. You are free to use information or non-copyrighted images from these pages for any non-commercial purpose. Any use of this information should credit the State Historical Society of North Dakota.