Wahpeton, N.D. (3)

File — Box: 2, Folder: 11

Staff Only

Scope and Contents

From the Collection: The Sociological Survey of Colfax Township, Richland County, N.D. Photograph Collection, by Donald G. Hay, consists of 125 11 x 7cm gelatin silver prints taken during 1927 depicting the town of Colfax and Colfax Township located in Richland County, N.D. A majority of the collection consists of external views of farmhouses and other buildings within Colfax Township and its general vicinity along with a few of its residents. Other photographs in the collection depict the towns of Abercrombie, Walcott, and the county seat of Wahpeton, N.D. All the images are well identified. The collection is the photographic portion of a report done by Mr. Hay in July, 1927 entitled A Sociological Survey of Colfax Township, Richland County, N.D. (Institute Small Collection 879). These photographs were originally on scrapbook pages and part of the narrative report along with their captions. The pages had deteriorated, and due to preservation issues, the prints were removed from their mounts. Before the removal of the prints the pages were photocopied front to back to record the collection’s original context and order, along with the text that accompanied them. After separating the prints from the pages they were arranged according to the print’s subject. The collection has been organized into 13 files: Colfax, N.D. Town Views, Colfax, N.D. Buildings, Colfax Township, N.D. Churches, Colfax Township, N.D. Rural School Buildings, Farmhouses and Farm Buildings, Shelterbelts, People, Wild Rice River Scenes, Abercrombie, N.D., Wahpeton, N.D., Walcott, N.D., Sociological Survey of Colfax Township, Richland County, N.D. Report, and the Survey of Colfax Township, N.D. - Pictures. Colfax, N.D. Town Views contains two photographs which depict the town of Colfax, N.D. taken from a distance. The Colfax, N.D. Buildings file contains photographs of some of the businesses and residences within the town of Colfax. Colfax Township, N.D. Churches contains views of several churches in Colfax and Colfax Township. Colfax Township, N.D. Rural School Buildings contains views of both operating and formerly operating rural schoolhouses that existed within the Township. Farmhouses and Farm Buildings, which is the largest file in the collection, contains photographs of rural farmhouses and other farm buildings that were within Colfax Township along with a few from nearby townships. Many of these buildings show the Scandinavian heritage of the people who settled in the region by their design, ornamentation, and construction. The Shelterbelts file contains general views of shelterbelts (originally called groves by Mr. Hay) used in the area to help protect the farmyards from the severe winds that occur during winter along with the shade they provide during summer. The People file contains photographs primarily focusing on some of the residents that Mr. Hay happened to meet while photographing their farms. The Wild Rice River Scenes file contains two photographs of the Wild Rice River and a picnic area that was located nearby. The Abercrombie, N.D. file contains photographs of Abercrombie and a meeting that took place there. The Wahpeton, N.D. file contains photographs of the business district and the fairground grandstand at Wahpeton, N.D. The Walcott, N.D. file contains one photograph depicting Walcott’s business district.

Sociological Survey of Colfax Township, Richland County, N.D. report file contains a photocopy of the original textual report that accompanied the photograph collection. The original report is held by the Institute for Regional Studies in Small Collection 879. The Survey of Colfax Township, N.Dak. – Pictures contains photocopy of the original report’s photograph section that contained the original photographs, together with the captions that went with the images.