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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 […]

After you watch Ken Burn’s The American Revolution, these books will help you learn more about the signers of the Declaration of Independence: Waln, Robert, and John Sanderson. Biography of the Signers to the Declaration of Independence. 2d ed., rev.Improved, and enl., W. Brown and C. Peters, 1828. CHILSON COLLECTION / 3RD FLOOR ; E221 .S215. We […]

We are tracing the history of a troll figurine which stands on the top of a filing cabinet in the Archives and Special Collections. Because it is not associated with an archival collection, we think it belonged to someone who worked in the library or archives. Our first full-time archivist writes that it was here […]

The Chilson Collection started with Herman Chilson’s donation to the I. D. Weeks Library. Since then, it has more than tripled in size. Its contents contain a treasure of books, maps, and images associate with Western America material.

Please let us know if you find miniature books in the Herman P. Chilson Collection not shown in the image above. We know there are more. “Miniature books are books measuring 10 centimeters or less in height and 10 cm. or less in width. A book exceeding 10 centimeters in its longest dimension is not […]

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. […]

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 I. D. Weeks Library hosts its digital collections in the Digital Library of South Dakota. Highlighted here is Andreas’ Historical Atlas of Dakota, published by A. T. Andreas in Chicago in 1884, and is part of the Herman P. Chilson Collection of Western Americana. The term “atlas” refers to a collection of maps. This […]

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 the spring of 1927, U.S. Representative William Williamson found himself engaged in a local struggle between Republicans and businessmen over the McLaughlin Postmaster seat.