All Posts

The first Dakota Day at the University of South Dakota took place on November 20, 1914. The parade theme was Frontier Life, and the Coyote football team triumphed over Yankton College, 33 to 3. Read about the origin of Dakota Day in Cedric Cummins' University of South Dakota, 1862-1966. University of South Dakota, 1975, pages 118-119. The book is available in the University Libraries, the Archives and Special Collections, and the Digital Library of South Dakota. Articles abou

These handwritten diaries document Blair’s senior year (1890-1891) at the University of South Dakota and are set mainly in Vermillion and Elk Point, South Dakota. The collection also includes one copy of the Volante from June 15, 1891. This Volante issue covers a tumultuous time at the University and has one article by Blair.

Frank Blair kept this diary while he was a student at the University of Dakota (later called the University of South Dakota) from 1887 to 1891.

The drawings show Old Main, East Hall, Law Building (currently the Arts & Sciences Building), Library (currently the National Music Museum), New Armory (currently the Al Neuharth Media Center), Old Armory (currently the Belbas Center), and Slagel Auditorium (currently the Aalfs Auditorium). Included in this post is a drawing of the Old Armory. Call number […]

In the 2000s, the USD Alumni Association offered Christmas ornaments based on University of South Dakota buildings. I found ornaments for Old Main, Belbas Center, Neuharth Center, East Hall, Inman House, and the Old Law School. Do you know of others? The Archives and Special Collections will be closed on December 24, 25, and 26.

To honor Indigenous traditions, languages and stories during Native American Heritage Month, we are highlighting Dakota and Lakota language classes at the University of South Dakota. The newsletter of the Institute of Indian Studies recounts, “There is an interesting story behind the development of the course. It started as a topic introduced from the floor […]

The Archives and Special Collections recently wrote finding aids for our two sets of phonograph albums, the Richardson Phonograph Collection and the USD Phonograph Collection. Most of these are 12-inch, 33 1/3 rpm vinyl disks, though a few other sizes, rpms, or materials are present. The Richardson Phonograph Collection consists of albums by South Dakota Musicians. […]

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

I found this great birds-eye view the of the USD campus in the Bulletin of the University of South Dakota, Announcement of the College of Medicine 1910-1911 (July 1910), Health Science Archives W 19.5 AS8 U58c. Notice how the main buildings make a u-shape. University catalogs (which were sometimes published as part of the Bulletin […]

Information about this time capsule was discovered in the Volante (student newspaper). The April 27, 1994, issue has a photograph of two women standing before a wall under construction and holding a 3 feet x 1 foot plywood box. The picture caption tells us that the capsule was sponsored by the USD Student Association and […]

Thursday, April 18, 20244:00-6:00pm IDW 3rd Floor 321Join us for refreshments, guided tours, interactive stations and guest speakers.

Dr. Cable received B.A. (1926) and M.A. (1927) degrees from the University of South Dakota. She worked for the U.S. Bureau of Fisheries, later called the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, from 1927 to 1970.

I would eat a cake decorated to look like concrete letters surrounded by green bushes. How about you? Click here for the location and history of the University of South Dakota hillside letters, This year marks the 162nd anniversary of the establishment of the University by the first Dakota Territory Legislature in 1862, 141th anniversary […]

Bobby Penn graduated with a BFA from the University of South Dakota in 1974. While at USD and after his graduation, Penn worked as an art instructor and illustrator. Beginning in 1986, he pursued his painting career full-time. Penn lived and worked in Vermillion, South Dakota until his death in 1999. Penn’s work is in […]

If you have wondered what it is like to work in an archive, here is an opportunity to do one of our common tasks, which is researching for dates of undated material. Help us research when the attached maps were made. One way to assign dates to the maps would be to read an USD […]

The Archives and Special Collections recently received buttons (or pins) related to this event. For the full story of how Southern State College became the University of South Dakota/Springfield, and then a state minimum-security prison, consult the William J. Janklow papers at the Archives and Special Collections and read “Closing Time: A Twenty-Five-Year Retrospective On […]

Is the figure chemistry related? The building was finished in 1915 and in 1957-1958, the building was repaired after a fire. It is now called the Pardee Estee Laboratory, and its current entrance features a chemistry-themed tile mural on the wall above the door. USD Photograph Collection contains many images of buildings on campus. These […]

“This book was created by the participants of the Oscar Howe Summer Art Institute held at the University of South Dakota in June 2004. This is number 17 of an edition of 24.” It contains fourteen b&w 14 x 14 cm linoleum prints. Its call number is SPECIAL BOOKS N7433.35 .U6 2004.

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) […]