The Nifty Fifty: North Dakota

North Dakota is a state in the midwestern region of the United States with the abbreviation of ND. North Dakota became the 39th state on November 2, 1889, making the state 136 years old, as of November, 2025. North Dakota got its name when Congress split Dakota Territory in two and President Benjamin Harrison signed the two halves into statehood as the states of North Dakota and South Dakota. The name Dakota itself is an American Indian word meaning allies.

North Dakota is the 19th largest state and the 47th most populous; the capital of North Dakota is Bismarck and the state’s demonym is North Dakotan. The state of North Dakota is bordered by the states of Minnesota, South Dakota, and Montana as well as the Canadian provinces of Saskatchewan and Manitoba.

The motto of North Dakota is Liberty and Union, Now and Forever, One and Inseparable.

The official nickname of North Dakota is the Peace Garden State, which refers to the International Peace Garden that straddles the North Dakota-Canada border, as the US-Canadian border is said to be the longest unguarded border in history. North Dakota can also be called the Flickertail State (referring to the Richardson ground squirrel), the Roughrider State (referring to Roosevelt’s Roughriders during the Spanish-American War), and the Sioux State.

North Dakota’s landscape is covered in extensive prairies, rolling hills, farmlands, and even some badlands.

North Dakota is known for Theodore Roosevelt National Park, for being a significant location during the Lewis and Clark expedition, for its large production of wheat and cattle, and for producing more honey than any other state. North Dakota’s land possesses many valuable resources, such as aluminum, iron, manganese, lithium, gallium, and germanium.

On February 22, 1912, Harold Keith Johnson was born in Bowesmont, North Dakota. Johnson attended the United States Military Academy in West Point, New York, after graduating from high school. Johnson graduated in the USMA class of 1933, after which he was commissioned as a second lieutenant and assigned with the 3rd Infantry at Fort Snelling in Minnesota. In 1938, Johnson attended Infantry School at Fort Benning, and after graduating Infantry School, he was assigned to the 28th Infantry at Fort Niagara, but upon his request in 1940, Johnson was reassigned to the 57th Infantry at Fort McKinley on the Philippine Islands. It was on the Philippine Islands that Johnson would be captured by the Japanese in 1942, after which he participated in the Bataan Death March. Throughout World War II, the Japanese moved Johnson to many different POW camps, but Johnson was finally liberated by American forces in September of 1945. Johnson received more military education after returning to the United States, and in 1950, he was dispatched to Korea where he would be involved in numerous battles. On July 3, 1964, Johnson was appointed the 24th Chief of Staff of the United States Army. In the year 1965, Johnson became involved in the Vietnam War, where he would come to fundamentally disagree with and even question the US leadership’s strategy during the war, eventually realizing that victory was not possible with the chosen strategy; Johnson later stated that he regretted not resigning in protest of the government’s requests for the army to fight a war without hope of ultimate victory. Johnson passed away in September of 1983 and was buried in Arlington National Cemetery. Throughout his career, Johnson had reached the rank of General and had been awarded the Bronze Star Medal, 4 Legion of Merits, 2 Army Distinguished Service Medals, and the Distinguished Service Cross.

While a French inventor created a hand-cranked clothes dryer in 1800, the first automatic electric drying machine was designed by a North Dakotan inventor in 1938. J. Ross Moore of North Dakota made and published designs for his machine that would automatically dry clothing, which eventually became the drying machines we use today.

From August 7 to 9, 1864, the Battle of the Badlands occurred in Dakota Territory, in what is now the North Dakota Badlands near Medora, North Dakota. US General Alfred Sully and his men were camping on the banks of the Little Missouri River when a small group of Sioux launched an attack on the Seventh Iowa Cavalry. Soon after this attack, hundreds of Sioux warriors appeared on hilltops near Sully’s camp; a few cannon shots dispersed the warriors, who would not return for the rest of the day, leaving the US troops to spend the night uneasily. The following morning, Sully moved his men through the badlands, but approximately one thousand warriors appeared in front of and at the flanks of Sully’s troops, at which point the warriors began raining arrows on the American troops. Sully fired cannons and sent some cavalry to make sallies against the warriors. Sully’s troops managed to advance about 10 miles the following day in spite of the Sioux attack. On the 9th, Sully and his troops were again attacked by many warriors, but around noon, Sully’s troops broke out of the rugged badlands and reached a level plain where they could maneuver artillery. The warriors dispersed again, leaving the battle in an American victory. It was estimated that 100 Indian warriors were killed, and only 13 Americans were killed or wounded.

An interesting fact about North Dakota is that its capital city was renamed in the late 19th century. A new settlement was established in 1872 at a place known as Missouri Crossing, which is where Lewis and Clark crossed the Missouri River; the settlement was named Edwinton. In 1873, the town of Edwinton was renamed Bismarck in honor of German chancellor Otto von Bismarck by the Northern Pacific Railway in hopes that it would attract German settlers and investors. This remains the only US state capital named after a foreign statesman.

A strange fact about North Dakota is that the state apparently still has several ridiculous laws that make it illegal to wear a hat while dancing, to keep an elk in a sandbox in your backyard, or to fall asleep lying down while wearing your shoes.

What fact about North Dakota most interests you?