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History: The Young Citizens League chapters were established in grade schools to teach democratic principles and provide children opportunities for self-determination. The first chapter was established in 1910 in Brown County, South Dakota. By 1941, YCL had 7,500 chapters in South Dakota, North Dakota, Minnesota, and Colorado. The first South Dakota State Convention was held in Pierre on April 25, 1927. In March 1971, the South Dakota State Steering Committee decided to disco

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.

Finding aids finished during 2025: Shane Balkowitsch Ambrotypes Robert Blachnik photographs Rex Butler Collection of Henry and Frank H. Butler photographs Lea Rosson DeLong papers on Wilber M. Stilwell Dephane Hammond papers Nikki Heidepriem collection on Edith and Margaret Reeves Gilbert Monell Hitchcock papers Richard Holm notebook Arthur Leslie Keith papers Henry Langford Loucks papers Albert J. Maag papers Department of Psychology Richardson Phonograph collection Gretchen

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. […]

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 […]

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

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 […]

A copy of the Declaration of Independence from the Allen H. Schell Collection of Campaign Buttons, Pins, and Political Ephemera, box 19.

“Filibuster is an extended debate, generally in the United States Senate, which, because of its rules, allows unlimited debate for those who can count votes well enough to know that their side will lose should a vote be taken on an issue.” Sen. James G. Abourezk (D-Sd.) In the 1970s the United States faced and […]

Sperry, Kip. Reading Early American Handwriting. Genealogical Pub. Co., 1998. RICHARDSON COLLECTION Z115.A5 R43 1998.

The archivist and staff of the Archives and Special Collections write guides to our collections, papers, and records called finding aids and collection inventories. Some of the finding aids and collection inventories finished during 2024: Crow Creek Site collection Day (John) collection on Arthur Amiotte Fahsing (William Frederick) papers Gallup-Livingston (Mary) papers Holm (Richard) notebook […]

Y2K was a potential computer problem that could have occurred when the year changed from 1999 to 2000. The William J. Janklow papers contain information about the taskforce that was formed to solve any issues that may materialize in South Dakota.

This mosaic was compiled by the Remote Sensing Institute at SDSU in Brookings, SD, in 1973 using satellite images from the first human-made Earth-observing satellite designed to study and monitor our planet’s landmasses. The satellite carried a camera and a scanner sensitive to four spectral bands (green, red, and two infrared bands). This map is […]

The archivist and the staff of the Archives and Special Collections write guides to our collections, papers, and records called finding aids. These are the finding aids we finished during October, November, and December 2023: Cathy Beard Correspondence with Linda Hasselstrom Beresford Train Depot records Tom Brokaw papers Bulow House records John Davidson Missouri River […]

Some events are listed in this flyer from the Archives and Special Collection’s folder on the South Dakota State Fair.

Images are from the South Dakota State Fair Collection, Archives and Special Collections, University of South Dakota. Also in this collection is a list of the 1923 Women’s Building events at the fair. The National Archives sponsors #ArchivesHashtagParty once a month, and July’s topic is #ArchivesVacay. They invite archives to submit information about summer vacation […]

William H. Thomas was born on August 1, 1877, at Dodgeville, WI. He enlisted in the 1st South Dakota Volunteer Infantry Company C on May 14, 1898, at Yankton, SD as a private, and he mustered out on October 5, 1899, at the Presidio, San Francisco, CA. His military papers state that he lived in […]

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

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 […]