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View of what is now Farber Hall in Old Main. Photograph from 1895-1896 University of South Dakota Catalog.

This month we say goodbye to our archivist as she moves on to the next stage of her career. She taught us many things, including how fun cookbooks are and how these books have historical research value. Cookbooks are a valuable historical source because “the study of culinary history isn’t about food – it’s about […]

Archives and Special Collections is pleased to announce that a small selection of material from the Larry Pressler Papers has been digitized and is now available in the Digital Library of South Dakota. These documents have been selected to coincide with the recent publication of Senator Pressler’s book, Neighbours in Arms: An American Senator’s Quest […]

One hundred years ago, South Dakota elected its first native-born governor; this governor, Peter Norbeck, proved to be one of the most progressive governors in South Dakota history. Norbeck was born in Vermillion, Clay County, on August 27, 1870. Though he did not receive an official degree, Norbeck attended the University of South Dakota in […]

East Hall was built 130 years ago in 1877. It was the third building constructed on our campus. This image and description of the East Hall appeared on the cover of the 1981 commencement program. During the 1980s and 1990s, USD commencement programs often highlighted USD buildings. The Archives and Specials has an […]

The John Day collection on Arthur Amiotte (MS 046) is now open to researchers. Most of this collection was gathered by John Day before, during, and after the retrospective on Arthur Amiotte’s art in 2001. Also included are VHS recordings featuring Amiotte. The 4.5 linear feet of material span the years 1962-2010, with the bulk of […]

One hundred years ago last month, the Association of Collegiate Alumnae at the University of South Dakota at Vermillion was founded. The club reorganized into the Vermillion Branch of the American Association of University Women on October 23, 1924. The papers for this group can be viewed at the Archives and Special Collections. The meeting […]

On April 26, 1963, The University of South Dakota became the official name of our university here in Vermillion. It was called the State University of South Dakota in some documents and the University of South Dakota in others. The State Board of Regents of Education designated the latter. From “University of South Dakota Designated […]

In honor of the 50th anniversary of the I.D. Weeks Library building, the Archives and Special Collections has organized a special exhibit to display the changes of the USD library through the years, from the beginning of the university in 1882 through today. The first exhibit on the second floor of I.D. Weeks focuses on […]

“Books remain one of the strongest bulwarks we have against tyranny – but only as long as people are free to read all different kinds of books, and only as long as they actually do so.” Books for Living by Will Schwalbe, New York: Alfred A. Knopf, 2017, p.257. National Library Week is April 9 […]

Mahoney Music Collection has books and journals with beautiful illustrations and photographs of musical instruments. Here are a few: Buonanni, Filippo. Gabinetto armonico pieno d’instromenti ti sonori, indicati, spiegati, e di nuovo corretti ed accresciuti. Roma: Nella stamperia di G. Placho, 1723. ML460 .B94 1723 Hipkins, Alfred J. Musical instruments, historic, […]

Was a professor from the University of South Dakota, Dr. Marjorie Eastwood Dudley (1891-1961), the first woman in America to write a symphony for a major orchestra? (The South Dakotan, November 1977, p. 3) It would be fun to find what symphony she wrote and for which orchestra. Maybe the answer is in her papers, which were […]

Archives and Special Collections recently received a scrapbook created by A. L. Wilson. This scrapbook contains approximately 80 programs for voice student recitals, university choir, and other music groups from 1916 to 1965, plus a few news clippings. It complements another collection we have of music programs. Alvin Leroy (A. L.) Wilson taught […]

I recently found the note below in a book called The People’s Problem and Its Solution by William H. Lyon and copyrighted in 1886. This book was published by the author and printed by Press Job Print, Sioux Falls, Dakota Territory. The note is: “Please accept this work with the complements of the author. It […]

The USD alumni newsletters are fast becoming my favorite source for USD history. To be useful, these newsletters need an index or to be in a searchable format unless, like me, you are looking for random and interesting tidbits about USD. An example of a random and interesting article is “U.S. Naval Weapons Lab likes girls from South Dakota” in […]

Charles Trimble was born in Wanblee SD in 1935. He received an honorary Doctor of Humane Letters degree from USD in 2008 for his distinguished record of public service and was inducted in the South Dakota Hall of Fame in 2013. Below are listed some of the organizations Mr. Trimble has served: American Indian Press […]

In the Archives and Special Collections, we have examples of schoolwork that were part of the South Dakota education exhibit at the World’s Columbian Exposition at Chicago in 1893. USD president, Joseph Mauck, was the head South Dakota education exhibit for the fair (Cummins, The University of South Dakota 1862-1966, p. 51).

Growing up just a half hour away from Mt. Rushmore, I can tell you that the beauty and grandeur is as great as the hype about it is. Though as a Rapid City native I have not visited the monument as often as one would guess, really I can count on my hands and feet […]

The Osborne Collection of Early English Children’s books, were donated by Edgar Osborne, to the Toronto Public Library after he visited the library in 1934. He was so impressed with their children’s program that he donated 2,000 books to the library. Since then the collection has grown into a large collection of over 80,000 children’s […]

To me every trip to a library or archive is like a small detective story. There are always little moments on such trips when the past flares to life, like a match in the darkness. Larson, Erik. The devil in the white city: murder, magic, and madness at the fair that changed America. New York: […]