North Dakota Slide Collection
Collection
Identifier: Photo 2087
Scope and Contents
The North Dakota Slide Collection consists of a wide range of images taken across the state of North Dakota in the late 1950s through the 1960s. The format of the collection is entirely color slides. During processing the original organization of the slides was reworked a bit. The agriculture, industry and business, wild animals, and sporting categories were kept although some of them received new names. The scenery category was split into two series, City and Town Views and Country Views. Also, Plant Life and Transportation series were added. Altogether the collection has eight series: Agriculture, Business and Industry, City and Town Views, Country Views, Plant Life, Recreation, Transportation, and Wildlife. The series are ordered alphabetically and the slides within them are arranged in a continuous sequence from one to 254.
The Agriculture Series includes sixty-three slides that pertain to agricultural industry across North Dakota. Slides one through twenty-four are of agricultural facilities including experimental stations, farmsteads, grain elevators, and ranches. There is also one view of the Polries Brother’s Feedlot in Sykeston, N.D. and one of the Union Stock Yards in West Fargo. Slides twenty-five through thirty-six are images of farm animals. There are a number of good livestock images as well as three of sheep and two very interesting shots of turkeys. This subseries also includes a slide of bees in their hive, and hogs at a feedlot. Slides thirty-seven through forty-five are various shots of cropland. There is a very unique image of an apple orchard near Garrison, three aerial views of contouring and strip cropping, and five close-up views of a wide variety of crops grown in the state including flax, barley, potatoes, and wheat. Slides forty-six through sixty show an assortment of different farming tasks. This includes ten images of fieldwork ranging from cultivating to plowing, five images of the process of making and storing hay, and one image of chopping grass silage. There are two general slides within this series. One shows five men operating an old threshing machine near Rolla and the other pictures a long row of combines crossing a field at the state combining contest.
The Business and Industry Series consists of forty-seven slides of various North Dakota businesses and industries. Slides sixty-four through seventy-six are of the state’s extractive industries including eleven of the oil industry and two of lignite mining. Slides seventy-seven through 101 are photographs of dams across the state including two of the Baldhill dam and two of the Tongue River watershed. This also includes ten views of Garrison dam with one picture taken during its construction. Slides 102 through 109 of this series are of an assortment of North Dakota plants and the last slide in the series is of the Valley Motel in Wahpeton.
The City and Town Views Series contains twenty-five images of a number of North Dakota population centers. Slides 111 through 116 are of the state capitol in Bismarck with four of the Capital Building throughout the seasons, one of the Liberty Memorial Building, and one of the Statue of Sakakawea on the Capital grounds. Slides 117 through 135 are of a mixture of towns from the east to west border. These include two slides of Broadway in Fargo with a very nice one taken at night, two aerial views of Jamestown, one of its college and one of the State Hospital, and two images taken of Lisbon including one of the Soldier’s Home. There are also two slides of the marker in Rugby which states that it is the geographical center of North America.
The Country Views Series includes sixty-two photographs of the North Dakota country side. Slides 136 through 143 are of historical sites and monuments with four of Fort Abercrombie and two of Fort Lincoln and the Indian Village there. Slides 144 through 154 show nine views of the International Peace Gardens located near Bottineau on the United States and Canada Border and two slides taken in the surrounding Turtle Mountains. Slides 155 through 172 are of numerous bodies of water across the state including four images of Lake Ashtabula, three of Lake Metigoshe with a very nice commercial slide of boats at a dock, and two of the Sheyenne River. Slides 173 through 191 include eleven beautiful pictures of the North and South units of the Theodore Roosevelt National Park and eight of the surrounding Badlands. Slides 193 through 197 are genera views that include a very interesting picture of a burning coal mine, an unidentified country church, and an image labeled as Grandma’s House as well as a photograph of Home on the Range for Boys near Sentinel Butte and Renville Memorial Park west of Mohall.
The Plant Life Series is a very small series that contains only four slides. Numbers 198 and 199 are images of the Wild Prairie Rose, the state flower. Slide 200 shows High Bush Cranberries and slide 201 pictures Prickly Pear Cactus in bloom.
The Recreation Series consists of twenty-one images of pastimes popular throughout the North Dakota seasons. Slides 202 through 204 are images of boating, one was taken at Lake Ashtabula and two others at the Garrison Reservoir, 205 through 213 were taken during a Canoe trip on the Sheyenne River, 214 and 215 are a couple of images of ice skating, and 216 through 219 show rodeo scenes across the South Central and South West part of the state. Slides 220 through 222 show a few other popular recreational activities. They include one slide of the Edgewood Golf Course in Fargo, one very nice image of three men holding the products of their pheasant hunt, and one image of a crowded swimming pool at an unidentified location.
The Transportation Series contains twenty-three slides of the various modes of transportation in the 1950s and 1960s in North Dakota. Slides 223 through 226 are images of bridges and include two of the Long X Bridge south of Watford city with an intriguing one taken during its dedication. Slides 227 and 228 show the ferry crossing on the Garrison Reservoir headed to the Tioga oil fields. Slides 229 through 239 picture Highway 94 with five images taken during its construction and 240 through 242 show three other roads that cross parts of the state. Three general images come at the end of the series which include one slide of the Hector Airport in Fargo and one of the Great Northern Switch Yards in Minot. The final slide is of an unidentified image of five automobiles parked beside a large group of people with a grain elevator rising in the background.
The Wildlife Series, which includes nine slides, is a rather small collection of some of the native animals of North Dakota. Slides 246 and 247 each show an image of a young Mule Deer, 248 through 251 are of water fowl including Geese and Pelicans, and the last three slides include one image of antelope, one of Bison, and one of a Prairie Dog taken in Roosevelt National Park.
Dates
- 1950s-1960s
Access
The collection is open under the rules and regulations of the Institute.
Copyrights
Copyrights to this collection are unknown.
History
This collection of slides of North Dakota views was deposited at the Institute by the College of Arts, Humanities and Social Sciences’ Dean’s Office in the 1990s.The college staff had found the two metal slide trays among other records in the office. They did not know the origin of the collection, who took the images or the reason taken. It appears most likely that the slides were taken to develop a collection of images as an instructional resource, student use in a class, or to develop slide shows for talks and presentations.
Accompanying the slides was an original typescript finding aid to 143 of the slides. The slides were categorized into five broad subjects using a letter system: A (scenery), B (agriculture), C (sporting), D (industry and business) and E (wild animals). The typescript finding aid listed 143 slides sequentially (using a numbering scheme x-1 through x-143), together with a descriptive title and the county location. Only a very few slides are dated. There also was an ID sheet for each slide box that gave a very brief title, together with the subject category letter and the number (i.e. x-1).
Accompanying the slides was an original typescript finding aid to 143 of the slides. The slides were categorized into five broad subjects using a letter system: A (scenery), B (agriculture), C (sporting), D (industry and business) and E (wild animals). The typescript finding aid listed 143 slides sequentially (using a numbering scheme x-1 through x-143), together with a descriptive title and the county location. Only a very few slides are dated. There also was an ID sheet for each slide box that gave a very brief title, together with the subject category letter and the number (i.e. x-1).
Extent
254 Photographic Slides (254 color slides.)
Language of Materials
English
Provenance
Deposited by Dean’s Office, NDSU College of Arts, Humanities and Social Sciences, 1990s.
Property rights
The Institute for Regional Studies owns the property rights to this collection.
- Title
- Finding Aid to the North Dakota Slide Collection
- Description rules
- Rda
- Language of description
- English
- Script of description
- Latin
Repository Details
Part of the Institute for Regional Studies Repository
Contact:
West Building N
3551 7th Avenue North
Fargo North Dakota 58102 United States
ndsu.archives@ndsu.edu
West Building N
3551 7th Avenue North
Fargo North Dakota 58102 United States
ndsu.archives@ndsu.edu