Grafton, N.D. Photograph Collection
Collection
Identifier: Photo 2101-Folio 106.1
Scope and Contents
The Grafton, N.D. Photograph Collection consists of a wide variety of images used in producing its centennial history book. A 100 Year Look at Grafton, North Dakota, published in 1982, contains numerous images of the history of Grafton. The collection was donated by Gloria Thompson, a member of the Centennial Book Committee. Other members of the committee were Virginia Anderson, Jean Dahl, and Ina Raumin. The book contains 553 pages including both family histories and general community history. The photographs found in this collection are used in the general community history. Only a small number of photographs in the centennial book are found in the collection. Very likely most of the images used in the book were returned to the original owners. Also, not all of the images in the collection can be found in the centennial book. This collection has been separated into twelve series: Business, Churches, Fires, Floods, Houses, Military, People, School, Special Celebrations, Sports, Tombstones and Wells & Sewers.
Some of the photographs have identifying information either written on the back of the photograph, or located on a sheet of paper that was attached to the photograph. A majority of the pictures have an approximate date as to when it was taken. Most photographs have a page number written on the back. It is important to note that some of the numbers written on the back of the photographs do not correspond with the page numbers in the centennial book, and some photographs with page numbers are not found in the book.
All of the photographs in this collection are black and white, with a majority of them being gelatin silver prints. The collection contains 123 items, a mix of original prints and some copies. Six of the images due to size have been placed in the Photo Folio collection. Photocopies of these images are included in the main collection.
The Business Series contains numerous photographs of both the exteriors and the interior of Grafton, North Dakota’s past and present. The Churches Series includes four photographs of different places of worship.
The Fires Series consists of images from major fires in the industrial part of Grafton. These fires include the Shannon-Helland Fire, the Zelada-Bakery Fire, and the Basell Fire. The Floods Series includes aerial shots of Grafton floods, as well as many roads, businesses, and houses that are under the threat of a flood. Images are mostly of the major floods of 1950 and 1979.
The House Series two images are of important houses in Grafton, the Driscoll House and the NollmanMonson House. The Military Series contains images from the two major wars that men in Grafton were a part of: World War I, and World War II. Images are of men in action, drafted men, and memorials to those men who had fought in a war.
The People Series includes images of famers, meetings, and portraits. The farmers file includes a threshing scene and of a threshing crew by a cook car. The meeting file includes an American Legion and a Kiwanis group. The School Series images are from both the old and new schools located in Grafton.
The photographs show a wide variety of school activity including the school buildings themselves and graduating classes.
The Special Celebrations Series includes photographs of the city decorated for Christmas, the annual Grafton Day Celebration, a horse auction, and parades.
The Sports Series consists of images of baseball, basketball, and football teams from Grafton. This includes many team photographs, as well as some individual players. The baseball photographs are of a team of men from the community of Grafton, as well as some men who were hired to play for the team from other parts of the country. The basketball images include both men’s and women’s high school team photographs. The football photographs are of the boy’s high school team.
The Tombstone Series one image is of the tombstone of Thomas Cooper, the founder of Grafton. The Wells and Sewers Series contains photographs of projects done by the City of Grafton to make better living conditions for residence including a well drilling scene and laying sewer pipes down business streets.
Dates
- 1880s-1979
Access
The collection is open under the rules and regulations of the Institute.
Copyrights
Copyrights to this collection remain with the creators or is in the public domain.
History
Settlement in Grafton, North Dakota began in 1878 when three settlers came to the Grafton area. The settlement officially became an established town in 1881. Grafton is located along the Great Northern Railroad, which helped bring a growing population to the town. Grafton is located in Walsh County, North Dakota and is the county seat.
Extent
123 Photographic Prints (123 photographic prints.)
Language of Materials
English
Provenance
Donated by Gloria Thompson, Grafton, N.D., 2010 (Acc. 2918)
Property rights
The Institute for Regional Studies owns the property rights to this collection.
- Title
- Finding Aid to the Grafton, N.D. Photograph Collection
- Description rules
- Rda
- Language of description
- Undetermined
- Script of description
- Code for undetermined script
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