Press and daily Dakotaian. (Yankton, Dakota Territory [S.D.]) 1880-1889, 1888-12-13
ANCIENT HISTORY.

Dakota Organized statehood Thirty
Years Ago some oftne Participants
Now Residents of Yankten.
The following letter from j Judge Fian.
drau is published IN the Winens Repub-
lican. Ii refers to the first settlement of
Dakota n Efforts to form q govern
mens. Two OF the gentlemen mentioned
therein, Captain A. g. Fuller and Mi II
f. j. Dewitt, are now residents OF Yank-
ton:
Ss. Paul. September 8. 1883 Edward
Ely, Esq. Winona, Mum. Dear Sir:
In response to you letter Of August 10,
1879, asking me for information concern.
ing the origin and early history of the
town OF Flapdrau, In Dakota territory, l
am glad TO soy that | am In possession
of the facts you seek to know, and that
l give them to You with pleasure be-
cause there seems TO be q good deal OF
Misrepresentation among the people OF
that place about its origin. Being some
what OF an ''old settler" | take great In
terest 10 ell that concerns the history OF
this portion of the northwest, and like
to see the facts correctly stated. 1t hap.
psned thus:
In the early part Of the year 1857 We
ielt pretty sure tbet the STATE OF Mime.
sofa would be admitted into the union
upon which we then called Il north
and south" line OF division, which was
the line finally adopted. There WAS a
strong party in favor OF 6 state upon an
east and west l.ae Of division, which
would, If adopted. have cut the territory
n two on q line just north OF Minneapo-
lis, making tAe state out of the sonth
portion and leaving the territory or q
remnant north OF that line.
You viii remember that when Wiscon.
sin was admitted on the western bound
sry OF the st. Cloix, it left all the coun-
try west OF that Ever in an n~norganized
condition, Il that the inhabitants held
a convention and elected Gen. 81. "a.
Siblsy as q delegate to congress as an
experiment, and that he was admitted to
u seat, and the act of congress of 1S49
WAS soon after passed organizing The
territory Of Minnesota. We anticipated
Just such @ condition or things on the
III n'ssion of M,nnesota, and concluded
We Wo lid occupy the Territory west OF
81 e NV state, and send a delegate TO
c, ng :,ss, secure the capital, university
p, NIL ,utiary and other public buildings
u GU own towns, and make q GOOD
I PEG .istion Gus of the enter prise. To
ma 40 us to accomplish this @ bora
Iea was organized under an act of the
Legislature OF the territory. OF Min.
nssota, passed May %. 1857, which was
entitled IAN Act to Incorporate the Da-
kota Land Company" The original in
oorporators were w. q. coolies, J. R.
Brown. &. g. Fuller, 8. A. Mednry,
Samuel f. Brown. E. j.. Dewitt q F.
Fresidenrich. The corporation was
vested with foil powers for the purchase
and entry OF land, and the doing Of any
thing thAs was necessary to establish
towns and cities any where in the terri
tory OF the future state.
UIder the organization agents were
sent into the southwest and the sites for
several cities selected, among which
we're Sioux Falls OIty, Medary and
Fiandrau, all on the big Sioux. Sioux
Fails was dsslgnated for the capital oil
the tutuie territory, end
the other places were TO share the gov
ernment prizes. Mr.. A. g. Fuller was
elected delegate to congress and went GO
Washington, bat was never admitted to
. seat notwithstanding the precedent OF
General Slbley's admission in 184S
10 Minnesota. Very considerable i'm
proyements we're made by the company
ct all the places, but especially at Sioux
Fails, where a capitol building was
erected, a hotel built aud q printing
office established, with SAN Albright as
editor, and q very handsome Newspaper
Was published there called Che Dakota
Democrat.
The efforts of Mi. Fuller in Washing
ton, and other friends of the rganlz
ton, failed to procure g territorial gov.
eminent fos Dakota for several years.
and my opinion has always been that
the delay was on account of ell the mem.
bers OF the Dakota land company being
democrats, and congress expecting 10
change the administration in
1860 destined to postpone the crea.
tlon of the territorial government until
the other party could control it. At
any rate they did postpone it until
March 2, 1851, when the act Was passed
organizing Dakota territory and leaving
the selection OF the seat of government
to the governor.
During this delay, however, o seriout
state OF things existed. The people OF
the territory becoming inpatient at the
delay organized q state government
electinR FIRST Henry Masters and then
Sam Albright governor, chose 9 legis-
lature which assembled OF Sioux Falls
and passed laws, which wers duly
printed and approved by Governor AL
bright and demanded admission to the
union ION an equal footing with the
original states. ? but congress- was in
exorable. and all the time and money
spent by the company and others were
lost.
When the Sioux outbreak occurred in
August. 1862. all the improvements al
Sioux Falls, Flandrau and Medary, were
burned by the Indians, and the places
were virtually abandoned by the com
pany. The United States government
made PREPARATION to the company for lite
losses which enabled il to make. the
first and only dividend on It's capital
stock. CHAs. e. FLANDRAU.
l