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ARCHIVESSPACE GAME – BEGINNER’S LEVEL 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 ____ ____ ____ ____ ____ ____ ____ DIRECTIONS : I found this questionnaire format in the South Dakota Academy of Science papers. Write the numbers 1 through 7 on a piece of paper. Use the search […]

The following is a personal recollection by Dephane Hammond about a WWI fund-raising event that she attended in 1918 while she was teaching high school students in Salem, South Dakota. “We had been in session only a little while and one day they unloaded a small tank with a couple of soldiers to get people […]

For a time prospects for a park and artificial lake under a W.P.A. grant generated much interest in the southern part of the county. The idea first emerged in 1933 as a modest project involving a grant of $8,000 for work-relief purposes. During the following year the concept grew in proportion to culminate in a […]

The Royal Harders diary was recently added to the Chilson Collection in the Archives and Special Collections. Royal grew up close to Mission Hill (SD). In his diary, he describes his daily activities while in military training in the United States during World War II.

The following collections in the Archives and Special Collections have information about the Pathfinder Atomic Power Plant: Ralph Herseth papers, box 61 Herbert Samuel Schell Papers, box 17

On June 16, 2025, Dorothy Neuhaus passed away at the age of 101 years. Before coming to Vermillion, Dorothy was a scientist who had received a master’s degree in biochemistry from the University of Michigan. In 1966, Dorthy came to Vermillion with her husband, Otto Neuhaus, Ph.D. who was chair of the Department of Biochemistry […]

In preparation for July 4, 2026, the Archives and Special Collections staff are searching our collections for items related to the signing of the Declaration of Independence, previous anniversary celebrations, or the five research themes suggested by the American Association for State and Local History. (See 10-18-2024 blog post.) During United States’ Bicentennial celebration, a […]

cover of USD commencement program

A copy of the Declaration of Independence from the Allen H. Schell Collection of Campaign Buttons, Pins, and Political Ephemera, box 19.

The Mahoney Music Collection covers a wide range of musical subjects. Within the subject of musical instruments — construction is an unusual set of books, the Hough’s Encyclopaedia of American Woods. While the 1957 set in the Mahoney Music Collection is not complete, a complete set has 16 two-ring binders with samples of wood and […]

In preparation for July 4, 2026, the Archives and Special Collections staff are searching our collections for items related to the signing of the Declaration of Independence, previous anniversary celebrations, or the five research themes suggested by the American Association for State and Local History. Our latest find is a souvenir from the United States’ […]

While researching another topic, I recently found in a 1975 Volante student newspaper that the League of Women Voters established an all-volunteer recycling center in Vermillion SD, and it was in a restructured building below the bluff. The article does not mention when. If you know when this recycling center started and stopped, please let […]

The archivist and staff of the Archives and Special Collections write guides to our collections, papers, and records called finding aids and collection inventories. Some of the finding aids and collection inventories finished during 2024: Crow Creek Site collection Day (John) collection on Arthur Amiotte Fahsing (William Frederick) papers Gallup-Livingston (Mary) papers Holm (Richard) notebook […]

The year 1972 marked the 83rd year of football at USD and the 50th anniversary of the North Central conference (NCC). The last time USD football won the NCC championship was in 1951. A combination of an impressive and talented football team and excellent coaching under head coach Joe Salem, winner the District Six Coach […]

Beatrice Chaffee was the first and only woman chair of the Department of Music at the University of South Dakota (USD). Her background was in music education. Ms. Chaffee taught music and choir to K-12 grades in schools in Pennsylvania, Iowa and South Dakota. In 1961 she received her Master of Music Degree from USD […]

The Archives and Special Collections has many Vermillion newspapers, but we don’t have the Dakota Republicans before 1923. You can find this 1869 ad in the Digital Archives at the Vermillion Public Library.

Y2K was a potential computer problem that could have occurred when the year changed from 1999 to 2000. The William J. Janklow papers contain information about the taskforce that was formed to solve any issues that may materialize in South Dakota.

Theatre at the University of South Dakota (USD) has a long history involving student clubs, academic units, and the Black Hills Playhouse. The USD theatre program educates students in skills needed for acting and behind the scenes activities such as costume, set, and prop design and production. Students also learn about play writing, and the […]