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In September 1952, fans at an USD football game and some residents of southeast South Dakota saw an amazing light show in the sky. It was described in the Vermillion Plain Talk: FIREBALL IN SKY FLOODS AREA WITH LIGHT ON SATURDAY NIGHT. Alert residents in the Vermillion area got an opportunity to see one of […]

Thirty years ago this month, the World Archaeological Congress gathered at the University of South Dakota and crafted the Vermillion Accord on Human Remains. All six principles of the accord emphasize respect. See https://worldarchaeologicalcongress.com/code-of-ethics/. 1. Respect for the mortal remains of the dead shall be accorded to all, irrespective of origin, race, religion, nationality, custom […]

maps from: Illustrated Historical Atlas of Clay County, South Dakota : Including a Brief History of Clay County by E. Frank Peterson, 1901. Standard Atlas of Clay County, South Dakota : Including a Plat Book of the Villages, Cities and Townships of the County, Map of the State United States and World, Patrons Directory, Reference […]

Dakota Hall was built in 1919. This image and description of the Dakota Hall appeared on the cover of a 1992 commencement program. During the 1980s and 1990s, USD commencement programs often highlighted USD buildings. The Archives and Specials has an almost complete set of commencement programs from 1889 to 2019.

In honor of the 50th anniversary of the first moon landing, I present an University of South Dakota / outer space connection: USD alumnus Carl Q. Christol (1913-2012) was a pioneer in space law. He wrote The International Law of Outer Space (1966) and helped negotiate the Treaty on Principles Governing the Activities of States in […]

The Herman P. Chilson Collection of Western Americana is the largest book collection in the Archives and Special Collections and is frequently used by researchers interested in regional Native and European-American history. Other strengths of the collections, as stated in a January 1977 The South Dakotan article, are first editions, special editions, pre-Columbian explorations in […]

I am hunting for a book titled In The World War 1917 1918 1919, Clay County, South Dakota or An Honor Roll Containing a Pictorial Record of the gallant and courageous men from Clay County South Dakota, U.S.A. who served in the Great War 1917-1918-1919. I have seen similar books for a number of other […]

April is National Poetry Month, and the Archives and Special Collections is celebrating with two exhibits on the 3rd floor of ID Weeks. At the top of the main staircase sits a small exhibit containing samples from Linda Hasselstrom, James Foley, and Kathleen Norris; with art by Ed Colker accompanying Norris’s work. Linda Hasselstrom’s works […]

In honor of National Library Week (April 7-13, 2019), I present Passion in the Library: An Apocalyptic Comedy in Flames and Shadows. The play “is a multimedia drama revealing a new emotional perspective on the human confrontation with human knowledge …” The script is in the George Prescott Scott papers in the Archives and Special […]

The Archives and Special Collections recently received the book Rediscovery the Barns of Clay County, South Dakota by the Clay County Historic Preservation Commission. Members of the community, under the leadership of Jim Stone, investigated and recorded approximately 350 barns in Clay County. Most of the book consist of Historic Sites Survey Structure forms, which […]

Betty Turner Asher was the first woman president of any public higher education system in South Dakota. She served at USD from 1989-1996, resigning after seven years of service. At the time, her tenure was tied with two other presidents for the fourth longest term of any president at USD. Asher was previously the Vice […]

Some of South Dakota first ladies (i.e. governors’ wives) are described in the Tidbits sections of the South Dakota governors residence cookbook: a culinary legacy celebrating the first families of South Dakota, 2007. Margaret Wylie Mellette “was a china painter and portrait painter and was the hostess at the South Dakota Building at the 1893 Columbia […]

The Richard Deo Grass collection (MS 254) is now open to researchers. The 4.5 linear feet of material spans the years 1950’s-2010, with the bulk of the material dated 1980-2010. Richard Deo Grass was born on May 29, 1939 on the Pine Ridge Indian Reservation in South Dakota. He was raised off the reservation in Alliance, […]

You may have noticed that it is COLD outside. In Dakota Territory and the northern plains, 1880-1881 was also a hard winter. Some areas received 11 feet of snow causing difficulties for trains and wagons delivering supplies. Newspaper publishers ran out of paper, and some newspaper issues were printed on tissue, wrapping paper, wallpaper, cloth, […]

Archives and Special Collections has recently received a 1964 letter written by author Mari Sandoz about the two Sitting Bulls living contemporaneously. They were not one person as sometimes conflated by newspaper men and historians. The letter contains some of her evidence and refers the reader to her book Hostiles and Friendlies for the entire […]

Stop by the Archives and Special Collections where we have on display children’s literature from the Mahoney Music Collection. In addition to possessing great illustrations, these books enhance music vocabulary and music appreciation, introduce famous composers and musicians, and/or educate on musical concepts like rhythm and melody.

Did you know that the Archives and Special Collections has Christmas carols in Latin? They can be found in the Classics Department collection.

The Archives and Special Collections has recently received a book about residents of our county who did not return from war. It contains 10 biographies written by USD students and their professor concerning military service personnel from Clay County, South Dakota, who were killed in action. The biographies are based on information gathered from local […]

The 36th Division Campaign Maps mystery has been solved. After speaking with many other archives and museums that had the same amount of information as the USD archives, I spoke with someone from the Texas Military Forces Museum. She was able to provide much more information than we were expecting, and it’s some interesting stuff! […]