Celebring 125 years of history

The Joachim Regional Museum is celebrating Dickinson's 125th anniversary with a special display of artifacts and photographs.

The project is coordinated by Daniel Stuckle, executive director of the Dickinson Museum Center. The complex includes the museum, the Pioneer Machinery Building and Prairie Outpost Park buildings... everything except the Dakota Dinosaur Museum.

"We're celebrating 125 years of Dickinson history. Twenty-five years ago was our centennial-1982," she said.

The board members, staff and volunteers have worked on exhibit ideas over the winter.

"We're trying to display a lot of pictures of Dickinson. We're putting up maps. It's how the town came to be established, the influence of agriculture and the oil industry," she said. "Some of the information hasn't been completed yet."

"We have some artifacts related to ranching and agriculture. Things on the schools are really interactive," she said.

One exhibit features dining car dishes from the era of the railroad, while another includes development of the radio and television. One exhibit touches on St. Joseph's Hospital and another on Dickota pottery. Two panels are reserved for the military history and another contains the bellows of a blacksmith.

There are photographs of the county fairgrounds, threshing and cattle roundups. A collection of trunks was donated by the Messersmith family, one of Dickinson's first settlers.

"We have things related to women's role in history. We have some Dickinson pottery, some school things to play with and Indian games," she said.

"The focus of the exhibit puts Dickinson in context of how it relates to the region," she said.

"Our primary audiences are from out of town. They don't know who we are," she said.

A new brochure was developed for the 2007 tourist season titled "Discover Downtown Dickinson North Dakota."

The brochure offers a preview of Dickinson's history and a listing of 19 historic sites

"People can pick up the brochure for a self-guided tour. They also can call us and schedule a tour guide," she said.

People can meet the tour guides at the Badlands Brew, which is the first building on the tour.

"It takes about 45 minutes to an hour to walk it," she said.

The tour includes the Alf White House on 403 Sims Street. This house belonged to Alf White, who was a train engineer and later became president of the Dakota National Bank.

The tour includes the first school house, Dickinson Motor Car Co., Elks building, Merchants National Bank, Masonic Lodge and the Northern Pacific Railroad Depot.

Other stops include Lish Hardware, Soules and Butler Hardware and the Red Trail Inn, which was an automobile dealership.

"The buildings aren't open to tours. We take people past the buildings and explain their role in the history of the community," she said.

"We have huge numbers of tourists coming into the area who are classified as heritage tourists. Over the years, they've requested brochures like this," she said.

Stuckle also teaches North Dakota history at Dickinson State University. She holds a degree in history from Valley City State University and is completing a master's degree with the focus on the American West and the Great Plains.

Stuckle said the museum display offers a connection between national history and the daily lives of people.

"It's something they can visit, they can see and they can touch. It gives them a sense of identity," she said.

Staffing includes three tour guides, Jacob Mack, Amy Tichy and Paige Jordan. Jessica Magnuson was hired as a museum assistant to complete a catalogue inventory of the collection. About 25 RSVP volunteers greet visitors and serve as building hosts in Prairie Outpost Park.

The museum is open from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. daily. For more information, refer to the Web site: www.joachimmuseum.org .