North Dakota postcard, circa 1940. SHSND B0716-00039

“This is a good country for a poor man,” F.A. Newman, a Missouri transplant to North Dakota, wrote in a 1906 letter to the Great Northern Railway. “A man can own his own home and be independent of care and worry.”

His testimonial was one of dozens from farmers that appeared in the railroad’s promotional bulletin aimed at attracting settlement to the state. Before social media and influencers, first-hand accounts such as Newman’s were among the creative ways state officials and business interests helped get the word out about North Dakota. 

Of course, we’ve come a long way since then—and what a trip it’s been. This summer, the agency will celebrate the United States’ 250th birthday with the launch of a new exhibit tracing our journey from 1776 to today. ND250 Road Trip: Our American Story will include promotional materials that have shaped North Dakota’s identity and inspired people to move or visit this place we call home. One of the most enjoyable aspects of working on this exhibit has been going through historical and contemporary advertising that has sought to frame North Dakota as a desirable destination for those seeking a new life or just a Western adventure.

Given the state’s reputation as an “agricultural empire,” it’s no surprise that North Dakota’s first Commissioner of Agriculture and Labor Henry Helgesen was also an early booster in chief. In 1892, Helgesen released “North Dakota: A Few Facts Concerning Its Resources and Advantages,” a slim booklet packed with statistics on crop yields whose clever use of alliteration more than makes up for its lackluster visual appeal. Who wouldn’t want to move to “a land of prolific products and prosperous people”?

“North Dakota: A Few Facts Concerning Its Resources and Advantages,” 1892. SHSND SA OCLC 10304023

Competition for new residents was stiff in the early days of statehood. Business interests and state officials worried that North Dakota was losing potential immigrants to Canada. Government officials, railroads, townsite companies, and newspapers rallied with inventive, often exaggerated, marketing campaigns to find and attract newcomers. A state magazine was even launched in 1906 to herald North Dakota’s “upward and onward march of development.”

Around this same time, W.H. Brown, head of a land company owning 200,000 acres in southwestern North Dakota, rolled out a campaign for the new town of Mott, using the catchy slogan “Mott’s the Spot,” which endures to this day.

“Out They Go To Mott’s the Spot,” 1903-1911. SHSND SA OCLC 867736855

Perhaps the most over-the-top advertising scheme took place in fall 1915 when Gov. Louis Hanna issued a proclamation urging citizens to come together to promote the state during North Dakota Appreciation Week, Nov. 14-20.

Schoolchildren wrote essays about the benefits of living here. Ministers preached sermons extolling North Dakota’s virtues, and newspaper rhetoric reached hyperbolic heights. Langdon’s Courier-Democrat said the initiative promised the “greatest publicity ever secured by any commonwealth since Noah built the ark.” Pembina’s The Pioneer Express proclaimed that “the cream of creation” was to be found in North Dakota, which The Bismarck Daily Tribune declared “an empire in the making.”

This editorial cartoon published during North Dakota Appreciation Week on the front page of the Nov. 14, 1915, Bismarck Daily Tribune assured readers of the opportunity that awaited them.

By the 1920s, with Americans buying cars and hitting the road in numbers, tourists became a key market. A new state Immigration Department established in 1919 “for the special purpose of advertising the state” sought to tempt visitors with appealing travel pamphlets featuring black-and-white images of the thrilling Badlands and Missouri River landscapes a motorist might encounter.

As the century went on, brochures evolved into eye-popping productions featuring highly stylized graphics and bold colors popular in mid-20th century design. In 1952, the Greater North Dakota Association released the 32-page full color booklet “Bountiful North Dakota: Land of Opportunity.” Heralding the state’s history as a “glorious epic of achievement,” the publication showcased North Dakota’s abundant agricultural, energy, and recreational resources, as well as the state’s industrial development. Its pages included a beautifully illustrated North Dakota map by the noted Bismarck artist and poet Clell Gannon.

Reflecting the era’s relentless optimism and belief in progress, the Greater North Dakota Association’s 1952 promotional booklet cast North Dakota as a “Land of Happy Homes.” SHSND SA OCLC 07843606

Bismarck artist Clell Gannon illustrated this map for the Greater North Dakota Association’s booklet. SHSND SA OCLC 07843606

Freewheeling folksiness was on full display a few decades later as North Dakota sought to sell the appeal of a place of cowboys, open ranges, and “pretty gals.” The state’s 1970s Marlboro Man-style advertising declared North Dakota “Bigger, Better Country” and promised “room to roam.” Gotta love a campaign that includes a scented page urging you to “scratch leather for North Dakota.” Yee-haw!

A 1975 highway map produced for the “Bigger, Better Country” tourism campaign. Parks and Recreation, Tourism Division Records, SHSND State Series 31743

But for sheer wit, nothing beats the series of tongue-in-cheek billboards erected in the 1980s. Sporting messages like “Welcome to North Dakota—Mountain Removal Project Completed” and “Stay in North Dakota—Minnesota is Closed this Week,” the billboards poked fun at common North Dakota tropes, attracting national media attention.

“Welcome to North Dakota—Mountain Removal Project Completed,” circa 1987. SHSND SA 11140-00170

Fast forward to today. Groups like the North Dakota Native Tourism Alliance promote cultural experiences at tribal lands across the state, from museums and buffalo ranches to casinos and powwows. North Dakota has also added some major star power to its arsenal. In recent years, “Transformers” star and Minot native Josh Duhamel has served as a tourism ambassador for the state, spotlighting the good times to be had on North Dakota’s open roads, at its cultural sites, or teeing off at our top-flight golf courses. In 2025, Tigirlily Gold, the musical duo from Hazen, collaborated with ND Tourism on the anthem “Call it Home (A Song for North Dakota).”

Actor Josh Duhamel lives it up on the cover of the 2024 North Dakota Travel Guide. North Dakota Tourism

As much as things have changed, some things have remained remarkably the same. Case in point: The Department of Commerce’s “Find the Good Life in North Dakota” initiative, not unlike the letter-writing campaigns used during the early days of statehood, draws on “community champions” to connect with prospective residents. After all, when it comes to selling the state, North Dakota’s greatest resource has always been its people.

“Find the Good Life in North Dakota,” 2024. Department of Commerce

In early 2025, the State Archives staff had an idea to create a kids kiosk for the upcoming ND250 Road Trip: Our American Story exhibit. A collaborative meeting was held with the State Archives and Audience Engagement & Museum teams to hash out the details for the project. Archives had a lot of fun ideas, and as I love fun, I was very excited to get involved.

Sarah Walker and Lindsay Meidinger from the Archives team arrived very prepared. Their main idea was to create three characters to help introduce children to the topic of preserving family history, using animation and simple games. They came up with names and occupations for the characters. This is when I first met Opal the Oral Historian, Archie the Archivist, and Jennie the Genealogist.

Let the fun begin! (For me anyways.)

After this meeting I began developing the characters. Who are these characters? What do they look like? What do they sound like? Are they kids? Robots? Animals? Emojis? While I worked on the visuals, Lindsay began writing scripts for me. In the meetings that followed, we decided the characters would be talking animals native to North Dakota. And of course, we would have them use North Dakota expressions like “you betcha!” and “ope!”

This 360 character turnaround sheet shows all sides of Opal the Oral Historian.

Once all three characters were developed and worked up on character sheets, I moved on to storyboarding, a kind of visual road map for animation and gameplay. After the storyboards were approved, I started creating all the necessary design graphics. This took some time as all three animated characters have their own unique environments. An animatic or moving storyboard was created to help me with pacing and timing the script with the different scenes in the animation.

At top, a page from the storyboard. At bottom, the animatic or moving storyboard.

I began animating Opal first, since she was the character we had most fleshed out. The toughest part for me was the lip syncing of Opal. I needed to brush up on some software changes to make this happen. And, yes, Opal does talk.

About Opal

Opal the Oral Historian is a white-tailed deer who is enthusiastic about oral history. Opal will help teach young people how to preserve family stories. She is voiced by Education Outreach Supervisor Madison Milbrath. Madison researched voice acting and came in to record with such confidence. She did an amazing job giving Opal her voice.

At left, the opening scene of the Opal animation. At right, Education Outreach Supervisor Madison Milbrath records the voice-over for Opal.

I can’t wait for you to meet the rest of the characters. Archie the Archivist is a bison who loves organizing. He is voiced by Adam Pfeifer, a fellow new media specialist. Jennie the Genealogist is a prairie dog who loves her large family, past and present! She is voiced by Sarah, head of reference services. Sarah gave Jennie the cutest, most ecstatic voice!

New Media Specialist Adam Pfeifer and Head of Reference Services Sarah Walker record voice-overs for Archie and Jennie in the studio.

We look forward to introducing you to our 2D archives staff at the kids kiosk in the ND250 exhibit opening at the North Dakota Heritage Center & State Museum in late June. See you there! 

In February 2024, my colleague Lori Nohner, research historian, wrote "A Dog Blog: 5 Things Shaped Like Dogs in the State Museum Collections." I thought it was time to give the cats their due. Here are five feline-related items from the State Museum collections:

1. Cream pitcher with handle shaped like a cat
Part of a collection of pitchers donated by North Dakota’s first licensed female physician Dr. Fannie Dunn Quain, this pitcher was made in Czechoslovakia in the 1920s. It looks like the spotted cat might want a sip of the pitcher’s contents. But first they want to make sure you are not looking.

1920s cat-handled cream pitcher. SHSND 1986.147.57

2. Cat stuffed animal
It is obvious that Marie Korth Wiik loved her kitty. The homemade, white flannel stuffed animal with shoe button eyes was gifted to her in 1912 around the time she was born. It was loved so much the cat is now bald. Its tail has been reattached, seams have been resewn, and stains reflect many years of being Marie’s best friend. Considering how dirty and worn the tail is, I wouldn’t be surprised if she carried the toy by the tail most of the time.

Well-loved stuffed toy cat, 1912. SHSND 1990.201.2

3. Kitten mittens
No kitten would lose their mittens if they were wearing this fuzzy pair of kitten mittens. Juanita Weinrebe (and likely her little sister, Donna) kept warm with these cute kitten mittens while growing up in Minot. Each tail holds a safety pin, so the mitten could be attached to the child’s coat and not lost.

Cozy kitten mittens, circa 1915. SHSND 1993.33.196

4. Cat-shaped hot water bottle
Cuddling up with a cat is a great way to keep warm. If you don’t have a real cat to cuddle, this cat-shaped Kuddle-Kitty hot water bottle made by Rexall Drug Company in the 1940s would be a distant second. Unfortunately, the rubber used for the hot water bottle is now hard and brittle making it less cuddly.

Kuddle-Kitty hot water bottle, 1940s. SHSND 1990.277.15

5. Black cat Halloween costume
For centuries, people have thought that black cats were the source of bad luck, making them a great Halloween symbol. This Halloween costume was purchased in the 1960s from the Johnson Variety Store in McVille by the Odegaard family. I hope it was lucky for the child as they trick-or-treated—at least it would have been a fun scare!

Black cat Halloween costume, 1960s. SHSND 2018.49.6

Future President Theodore Roosevelt’s brief time in North Dakota shaped him and our state in numerous ways. The area where he established his ranching operation is now home to the state’s premier tourist destination, Medora, site of the new Theodore Roosevelt Presidential Library opening this summer and the gateway to the national park that bears his name. A research request for his cattle brand registrations helped State Archives staff locate a piece of Roosevelt’s legacy in North Dakota and better understand and navigate a collection that is popular with researchers.

We have two state Department of Agriculture series related to the registration of cattle brands in our collections. The first contains brand designs and indexes (State Series 30005) and the second the brand registration books themselves (State Series 30003). State Series 30005 covers 1890-1935; State Series 30003 spans 1890-1986.

To navigate the brand designs and indexes, it is important to know that the earlier indexes chronologically are not in the first volumes of the series but are found in Volumes 7 and 8. The first two volumes are large ledgers of brand designs, not registration certificates, but do have an index-like quality to them. Roosevelt’s listing appeared in Volume 7. While the listing is a little hard to see in the image below, his registrations were in Book A (now known as Volume 1 in the series) on pages 35, 36, and 40.

Theodore Roosevelt’s index listing in Volume 7, State Series 30005

The first brand, found on page 35 of Volume 1, State Series 30003, is for Roosevelt’s Maltese Cross Ranch. Roosevelt registered the brand in Billings County for horses and cattle in that county as well as in Stark and Morton counties. The cross design was applied to the left hip on horses and the left hip and right sides of cattle. Registration was made Oct. 11, 1890, but was ultimately canceled due to abandonment of the registration Nov. 1, 1913.

Theodore Roosevelt’s Maltese Cross brand registration in Volume 1, State Series 30003

The second brand he registered was for the Elkhorn Ranch. Found on page 36 of Volume 1, State Series 30003, Roosevelt registered this brand the same day (Oct. 11, 1890) as the Maltese Cross brand. The Elkhorn brand mark was for both horses and stock, with the branding location on the left shoulder for horses and either side for cattle. The registration was canceled Nov. 1, 1913, with the stamp marking it “Abandoned.”

Theodore Roosevelt’s Elkhorn brand registration in Volume 1, State Series 30003

His third registered brand is a simple triangle. Registered the same day as his other brands, this brand appears to be affiliated with his Elkhorn Ranch based on information included in a National Park Service Historical Handbook on Roosevelt’s time in the Badlands. It, too, was later canceled Nov. 1, 1913 and considered abandoned based on the stamp.

Theodore Roosevelt’s triangle brand registration in Volume 1, State Series 30003

It is important to note that Roosevelt had been out of the cattle business for several years by 1913 and his large-scale operations had ceased before these brands were registered with the state. He was still engaged in the cattle business in the early 1890s, so registering the marks made sense. At the time, he was attempting to recoup losses from the brutal 1886-87 winter that decimated herds and brought an end to many of the open range cattle operations in the Badlands.

Finding Roosevelt’s brand registrations was exciting as they allow researchers and curious visitors a chance to connect an ordinary series to an American icon, providing a better understanding of how the series is organized and enhancing accessibility for individuals researching ancestors who raised stock in North Dakota.

Whether you are a TR aficionado or someone looking for your family’s brand, come to the State Archives and arrange to view the brand books. Your journey into North Dakota’s past awaits!

What if your next economics lesson didn’t start with a textbook, but with a dice roll? When a local teacher reached out asking if I had any lessons related to economics for a class of high school students, I saw this as a perfect opportunity to make history relevant and engaging for young people. Thus was born a project combining state history, economic theory, and game-based learning into a hands-on classroom experience. The result was a game exploring the agriculture and oil booms and busts of northwestern North Dakota between 1975 and 1985.

Why then? The late 1970s and early 1980s were a time of dramatic economic swings in our region. High oil prices and strong wheat markets brought prosperity to many communities, followed by sharp downturns that left lasting impacts. These cycles of boom and bust offer a powerful lens for teaching key economic concepts like supply and demand, market speculation, and resource dependency.

Career cards describe each community member’s job role and salary. Play money is used for transactions in the game.

In this economics game, students assume jobs in the community such as teacher, rancher, or oil worker. Then they roll the dice to advance the game and determine the fate of that group. Each game square represents an event inspired by real newspaper clippings from McKenzie County. Each round is a year between 1975 and 1985. Players must make decisions about investing in oil rigs, expanding farms, buying insurance, and building infrastructure, while navigating unpredictable market shifts, weather events, and policy changes.

Game squares contain a newspaper clipping and detail the impact the report has on careers in the game.

By the end of the game, students have gained an understanding of how history and economics intersect in their own backyard and grappled with the challenges of economic decision-making under uncertainty.

Through this game, students don’t just learn about economics, they live it. By stepping into the shoes of real community members and navigating the volatility of boom-and-bust economies, they gain a deeper appreciation for how market forces shape lives, towns, and futures. It’s a powerful reminder that history isn’t just something we read about, it’s something we can simulate, question, and learn from. In doing so, we help students connect classroom concepts to real-world stories rooted right here in North Dakota.

Many North Dakotans will soon be ringing in the New Year with a toast. Here are some conversation starters from the state collections for your New Year’s parties.

1. Turtle Mountain Brewery Barrel Branding Iron

Local breweries were a thriving business in northern Dakota Territory. The Turtle Mountain Brewery served the Rolette County area from around 1886 until 1889 when North Dakota joined the union as a dry state. Carl Stofft, a German immigrant, founded the Dunseith-based business. Stofft worked with Francis Higgins, a cooper who constructed the vats and barrels likely marked with this brand.

The “TURTLE MT. BR.Y” brand. SHSND 2018.95.1

2. Prohibition Beer

When the 18th Amendment took effect in 1920, not much changed for North Dakotans. Many had been ignoring the dry state’s prohibition laws since 1889. On Oct. 8, 1930, undercover Prohibition agent Leo St. Martin bought this bottle of homemade beer for 45 cents from Lance Zimmer at a Bismarck residence. The bottle was labeled as evidence in the liquor trafficking case against Zimmer. Zimmer pled guilty to the charge.

Beer bottle with evidence label from the U.S. Prohibition Service. SHSND 14227

3. Woman’s Christian Temperance Union Ruler

Here’s one for the teetotalers. The Woman’s Christian Temperance Union (WCTU) promoted social reform by encouraging abstinence from alcohol. Members were loud proponents of both Prohibition and woman suffrage. Viola Leissman, a member of Bismarck’s WCTU chapter, collected this ruler.

WCTU ruler (front and back). The initials “EL” on the back are from Viola’s son, Emerson. SHSND 2011.30.19

4. Dakota Beer Six-Pack

In 1932, North Dakotans voted to repeal the state’s ban on alcohol with federal Prohibition ending the following year. Around this same time, the state also legalized the manufacture, sale, and distribution of beer. But it took decades for the brewing industry in North Dakota to revive. Dakota Malting and Brewing Company was North Dakota’s first post-Prohibition brewery. The Bismarck-based company produced its first batch of Dakota Beer in 1961 but closed its doors a few years later in 1965.

“Dakota Beer: Brewed in the heart of barley country.” SHSND 1978.41.1

5. Bismarck Distillery Canned Cocktail

While beer regained its legal status in the state in 1933, liquor had to wait three more years. Nowadays, craft breweries and distilleries are successful businesses. A North Dakotan bought this Bismarck Distillery apple pie-flavored vodka cocktail while visiting Send It! 24/7 Cornhole in Mandan.

A ready-to-drink cocktail from Bismarck Distillery. SHSND 2024.1.1

I hope your New Year’s is made brighter by these fun facts from the past. Cheers!