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The Archives and Special Collections contain some great materials, but we don’t always know the full story behind them. To provide some background, the maps below are from Frederick Cullen Burton’s collection of manuscripts, photos, documents, and poems. Frederick attended USD as a journalism major before joining the Royal Air Force in Canada to fight […]

The Archives and Special Collections at the University of South Dakota began in October 1968 when Herbert Schell was appointed the first University Archivist. He was largely responsible for organizing The University of South Dakota’s historical records into the USD Archives. His extensive letter writing campaign between 1968 and 1971 added many collections of professional and personal […]

“As soon as we were across the [Missouri] river, we started up the river on our long westward journey. Late in the evening we camped at a farm house some six miles from Covington. The road we traveled is very smooth and level. The Missouri bottom here is some 18 or 15 miles wide and, […]

Health Sciences Rare Books is one of the collections located in the Archives and Special Collections. This collection consists mostly of medical books donated to the Lommen Health Science Library. While the majority of the items are books, the collection does include anatomical stereograms, one movie film, and two video tape cassettes. Some of the […]

Did you know there is an Oscar Howe designed mural in Vermillion, South Dakota? See the web site for St. Paul’s Episcopal Church in Vermillion (and then the Church Life tab) or the Oscar Howe papers at the Archives and Special Collections for more information.

American mathematician Anna Johnson Pell Wheeler is best known for leading a successful career in mathematics in the early twentieth century, a time when few women worked in the field. She was the first woman to lecture before the American Mathematical Society, and she was influential in shaping the mathematics department at Bryn Mawr College. […]

Mary Beaty Edelen served in the South Dakota House of Representatives from 1973 to 1980 and from 1983 to 1992, representing Clay and Union Counties and becoming the first woman legislator elected from her district. She was the president of the National Order of Women Legislators in 1986 and on the executive board of the […]

When I took the graduate class in historiography in Fall 2016 as a requirement of the Master’s degree program in USD’s history department, I was very excited when my professor Dr. Molly Rozum announced that the class would be working directly with historical materials in the USD archives. My class had the responsibility of doing […]

Three copper engravings from Description de l’Egypte were recently added to the Mahoney Music Collection. These plates are from Antiquities volumes 2 and 5 and show individuals playing harps. Each measure about 30” x 22”, with one in color and the others in grey tones. These images spark my curiosity. What did early Egyptian harp […]

The Volante, the student newspaper at the University of South Dakota, was started in November of 1887 and continues to this day. USD historian Cedric Cummins wrote that “The strange title had been derived from a French word signifying ‘flying’. ” (The University of South Dakota, 1862-1966, p.36) The Archives and Special Collections has the Volantes on paper, […]

It’s that time of year again! Halloween is slowly approaching once again. If you are a book lover and very festive during this time of year, come take a look in the Archives and Special Collections. We have some very interesting and spooky stories up here. From documents of ghost towns to books with […]

Archives and Special Collections recently received a 1925 report about the Standing Rock Reservation written by E.D. Mossman for a visiting congressional committee. Shown below is one of the pages from this report. [Update: Report to the members of the visiting Congressional Committee regarding the Standing Rock Indian Agency, Fort Yates, North Dakota has now […]

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 […]