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In the late 1900s to the mid-twentieth century tuberculosis (TB) increased the morbidity and mortality of South Dakota residents especially those confined to asylums, hospitals, and reservations. A marked decrease in cases and deaths occurred by isolating TB patients in sanatoria, better diagnosis methods, and with the advent of chemotherapy agents by the late 1950s. […]

This is a 1943 drawing of the Pi Beta Phi Sorority House in Vermillion, South Dakota. I am unrolling and flattening one tube of drawings and floorplans every week and am hoping to have this donation ready for researchers next year.

Are you interested in the Migratory Bird Conservation Act of February 18, 1929? Peter Norbeck, while he was an U.S. senator from South Dakota, sponsored this bill, and his efforts are detailed in the Peter Norbeck papers located in the Archives and Special Collections. Map from the Peter Norbeck papers.

While working on the University of South Dakota (USD) Photograph Collection: Historical Series, I noted an image of a house labelled Home Management House. With some research, I discovered that the Home Management House was used as part of the Home Economics curriculum from 1957 through the spring semester of 1966 for senior level students. […]

Southern Dakota was one of the first railroads in Dakota Territory, and the first to successfully operate in the area that would become the state of South Dakota. The tracks began in Sioux City in 1872 and reached Vermillion, Dakota Territory at the end of that year. In 1873, the tracks were completed to Yankton, Dakota […]

Archives and Special Collections recently received 4 photographs of this observance.

Our book must have been striking when it was new in 1892 with its bright red velvet covers and shiny metal filigree corner embellishments. Title is Perlen aus der Instrumenten-Sammlung von Paul de Wit, Leipzig, published in 1892 and is in our Mahoney Music Collection. The English title is Pearls from the instrument collection of […]

On this election day, Archives and Special Collections has added a list of Dakota Territory’s governors and delegates and a list of South Dakota’s governors, U.S. senators, and U.S. representatives to its online site. If you notice any misspellings or other errors, please let us know. The link will take you to: The location of […]

On November 7, 1922, South Dakotans were asked to vote whether to move the University from Vermillion to Sioux Falls. This initiated law lost, and it had the lowest yes vote of any initiated law in the years analyzed by Alan Clem, i.e., 1889-1960 (page 35). Shown in the image are the constitutional amendments (CA) […]

I found this handwritten recipe in a cookbook in the Archives and Special Collections. What does it make? Who put it there? Does cathup equal ketchup? Is there still shredded wheat in the breakfast food aisle? I must use it soon and find out what it makes. Meatloaf? Meatloaf Appreciation Day is October 18th. The […]

Enjoy finding the changes in the University of South Dakota campus from 1960 to 2016. Campus maps are in the USD Catalogs. Almost all the graduate and undergraduate USD catalogs can be viewed at the Archives and Special Collections. The maps in this post are as close to 10 years apart as possible. USD campus maps […]

Do you see the park’s baseball field and the swimming pool on the postcard above? Vermillion is collecting stories about the park for the celebration. We will happily forward any stories you send to us to the committee collecting the stories. Help us assign a date to this postcard. We know it is after 1936 […]

This year, make a trip to Mitchell to see the Corn Palace and/or visit our Archives and Special Collections to read about the once common Corn Palaces: 1976. Schutt, Robert. The Corn Palace Story: with a Description of Early South Dakota and Mitchell, and a Map Indicating South Dakota Indian Reservations. Dakota News. CHILSON COLLECTION. F659.M5 […]

The Nancy Carlsen Research Papers show her passion for local history, maps, and the Missouri River. The collection is mostly about Clay County cemeteries and the Clay County sites on the National Register of Historic Places. It also includes material about Clay County Preservation Commission, Spirit Mound Trust, Spirit Mound Cemetery Restoration, and River Honoring. […]

Come visit us and check out the view from our new space in the library at the University of South Dakota.

The Archives and Special Collections received 31 boxes of rolled architectural drawings, floor plans, and blueprints of buildings in Vermillion SD and the University of South Dakota. We are in the process of flattening and inventorying this gift. Projects date from 1920s to 2000s. Some of the projects are the Clay County Courthouse, Vermillion public […]

On April 23, 1884, Arbor Day, students at the University [of South Dakota] planted a silver maple tree. One hundred years later on April 26, 1984, students and USD alumni celebrated the centennial birthday of South Dakota’s largest silver maple tree by planting 125 trees around campus. In an unfortunate storm on October 24, 1997, […]

Historian Everett Sterling wrote in Vermillion Story (1959) that there was “a 1910 map preserved in the City Building, on which every residence is shown and identified …” Does anyone know where the map is now? Sterling’s Vermillion Story is in the Chilson Collection. Other histories about Vermillion and Clay County SD are listed on […]