The Federal Depository Library Program (FDLP) was created to make federal government publications available to the public at no cost. The Government Printing Office (GPO) is responsible for printing and distributing government documents and overseeing the FDLP.
There are two types of Depository Libraries, regional and selective. The University of North Dakota and North Dakota State University together are a joint regional depository library.
The State Historical Society has been a selective depository library since 1907. We select about one per cent of all available federal documents, mainly in the areas of archives, libraries, military history, and historic preservation. Historic titles in the collection cover topics such as agriculture, Indians of North America, geology, and various census topics (agriculture, business, housing, population). Agencies whose documents are most often found in the State Historical Society are Census Bureau, Department of Agriculture, Department of Defense, Department of the Interior, Library of Congress, and the Smithsonian Institution.
We also have a long run of the Congressional Record, plus many volumes of the Serial Set, and the American State Papers, the precursor to the Serial Set beginning in 1789. The Serial Set can be searched through the CIS U.S. serial set index, which is available for use in the Reading Room. Selected serial set titles, plus other cataloged federal documents, are available to search in ODIN. We also have some federal documents on microfiche.
FEDERAL RECORDS
This record group consists of federal records relating to Dakota Territory and North Dakota. These records were collected and assembled by the State Historical Society beginning in the 1960s. The records include both microforms (federal census records; federal district court records; records of the Department of the Interior, Department of State, Bureau of Indian Affairs, Department of War, Post Office Department, United States Senate, and the Treasury Department) and original records (General Land Office records for North Dakota; records of the Farm Security Administration, Rural Resettlement Division; and the National Weather Service, Bismarck Weather Bureau records).
SERIES
Bureau of Marine Inspection and Navigation
32129 Vessel Documentation Records from the Port of St. Louis, Missouri, 1835-1944. (26r. #15454-15479)
Vessel Documentation Records from the Port of Pembina, North Dakota, 1885-ca. 1959. (10r. #6162-6171)
Census
31103 Seventh Federal Census Schedules for Minnesota Territory – Pembina County, 1850. (1r. #291)
31104 Eighth Federal Census Schedules for Dakota Territory, 1860. (1r. #6097)
31105 Ninth Federal Census Schedules for Dakota Territory, 1870. (1r. #6098)
31106 Tenth Federal Census Schedules for Dakota Territory, 1880. (8r. #6092-6096, 6901, 11615, 12640)
31107 Index (Soundex) to the Tenth Federal Census Schedules for Dakota Territory, 1880. (6r. #4267-4272)
31108 Federal Census Schedules Enumerating Union Veterans and Widows of Union Veterans in North Dakota, 1890. (1r. #4235)
31109 Twelfth Federal Census Schedules for North Dakota, 1900. (9r. #6005-6013)
31110 Index (Soundex) to the Twelfth Federal Census for North Dakota, 1900. (36r. #6014-6049)
31111 Thirteenth Federal Census Schedules for North Dakota, 1910. (13r. #6194-6206)
31112 Census Schedules for the Fort Totten Indian Reservation and Turtle Mountain Indian Reservation, 1885-1905. (4r. #6050-6053)
31113 Census Schedules for the Fort Berthold Indian Reservation, 1889-1939. (5r. #6054-6058)
31114 Census Schedules for the Fort Totten Indian Reservation, 1910-1939. (3r. #6059-6061)
31115 Census Schedules for the Standing Rock Indian Reservation, 1885-1939. (17r. #6062-6078)
31116 Census Schedules for the Turtle Mountain Indian Reservation, 1910-1939. (13r. #6079-6091)
32157 Schedules of the Minnesota Territory Census of 1857. (5r. #15673-15677)
Report on Indians Taxed and not Taxed in the United States (except Alaska) at the Eleventh Census, 1890. (1r. #13627)
District Court
31117 Federal District Court for Dakota Territory Records, 1861-1889. (9r. #6100-6108)
Department of Interior
31118 Dakota Territorial Papers, 1877-1886. (3r. #4249-4251)
31119 Office of Indian Affairs Correspondence, 1824-1887. (232r. #-4001-4233)
31120 Indian Treaty Negotiation Records, 1801-1869. (10r. #4240-4248)
31121 Index to Cartographic Records of North Dakota at the Bureau of Indian Affairs, n.d. (1r. #4386)
31100 General Land Office Records, 1880-1920. (34r. #4278, 6896, 7132-7165)
31122 Historic American Building Survey Drawings for North Carolina and North Dakota, 1950s. (1r. #6909)
31123 Annual Reports of the Northern Pacific Railroad Company, 1870. (1r. #4298)
31159 Abandoned Military Reservation File, 1862-1892. (1r. #4278)
32155 Interior Department Territorial Papers, Dakota, 1863-1889. (3r. #15667-15669)
Cheyenne River Agency Letters Received, 1873-1880. (5r. #6133-6136)
Register of Traders Licenses, 1847-1909. (2r. #12712-12713)
Montana Superintendent Letters Received, 1878-1880. (10r. #6141-6150)
Sisseton Agency Letters Received, 1867-1880. (8r. #6151-6158)
Whetstone Agency Letters Received, 1871-1874. (3r. 6169-6161)
Justice Department
31124 Index to Names of United States Marshals, 1789-1960. (1r. #4266)
Land Office
Minot Tract Books, 1885-1907, (1r. #6896)
Post Office Department
31125 Record of Appointment of Postmasters in Dakota Territory and North Dakota, 1861-1971. (3r. #6219, 6225, 7000)
31126 Dakota Territory Papers, 1858-1873. (1r. #4237)
Post Office Reports of Site Location, 1837-1940. (9r. #7175-7183)
Selective Service
32094 Draft Registration Cards, 1917-1918. (29r. #5166-15194)
Senate
Testimony taken by the Select Committee of the United States Senate on the Transportation and Sale of Meat Products, 1889-1890. (1r. #12997)
State Department
31127 Dakota Territory Papers, 1861-1873. (1r. #4236)
32154 State Department Territorial Papers, Dakota, 1861-1873. (1r. #15666)
Treasury Department
31128 Papers Relating to Financing the Louisiana Purchase, 1803-1804. (1r. #4252)
War Department
31129 Badlands Cantonment Post Returns, 1879-1883. (1r. #4306)
31130 Camp Hancock and Camp Sykes Post Returns, 1872-1877. (1r. #4310)
31131 Fort Abercrombie Post Returns, 1858-1877. (1r. #4305)
31132 Fort Abercrombie Medical History, 1857-1877. (1r. #4283)
31133 Fort Abraham Lincoln Post Returns, 1872-1891. (5r. #4284, 4311-4314, 4327)
31134 Fort Abraham Lincoln Medical History, 1872-1891. (1r. #4283)
31135 Quartermaster General Correspondence Relating to Fort Abraham Lincoln, 1873-1901. (2r. #4304, 5838)
31136 Fort Berthold Post Returns, 1865-1867. (1r. #4307)
31137 Fort Buford Post Returns, 1866-1895. (2r. #4308-4309)
31138 Fort Lincoln Post Returns, 1902-1913. (2r. #4312-4313)
31139 Fort Pembina Post Returns, 1870-1895. (2r. #4315-4316)
31140 Fort Rice Post Returns, 1864-1878. (2r. #4317-4318)
31141 Fort Rice Medical History, 1864-1878. (1r. #4277)
31142 Fort Seward Post Returns, 1872-1877. (2r. #4318, 4328)
31143 Adjutant General’s Correspondence Relating to Fort Seward, 1872-1877. (2r. #4389-4390)
31144 Fort Stevenson Post Returns, 1867-1883. (2r. #4320-4321)
31145 Fort Totten Post Returns, 1867-1890. (2r. #4322-4323)
31146 Fort Totten Medical History, 1868-1890. (1r. #4277)
31147 Fort Totten Reservation File, 1875-1891. (3r. #4273-4275)
31148 Fort Totten Historical Sketch and Building Specifications, 1887-1910. (4r. #4273-4275, 4277)
31149 Twentieth Infantry Regimental Returns, 1866-1888. (2r. # 6918, 641)
31150 Fort Yates Post Returns, 1875-1903. (3r. #4324-4326)
31151 Fort Yates Medical History, 1878-1903. (1r. #4286)
31152 Index to Service Records of Volunteers who served with the First Battalion of Dakota Cavalry from the Territory of Dakota, n.d. (1r. #6099)
31153 Indian Scout Enlistment Register, 1866-1877. (1r. #4295)
31154 Index to Indian Wars Veterans Pension Files, ca. 1860-1926. (12r. #4253-4264)
31155 Black Hills Expedition Orders, 1874. (1r. #4294)
31156 Yellowstone Expedition Reports, 1871-1872. (1r. #4238)
31157 Isaac Stevens Survey Records, 1853-1861. (1r. #4288)
31158 Inventories of Records of US Army Commands, n.d. (1r. #4276)
31913 Letters Received by the Office of the Adjutant General. (40r. #13373-13412)
32158 HIstorical Information Relating to Military Posts and Other Installations, ca. 1700-1900. (8r. #15678-15685)
32159 Records of the United States Army Commands. (1r. #15686)
32161 Burial Registers for Military Posts, Camps, and Stations, 1768-1921. (1r. #15694)
32162 Reports and Correspondence Relating to the Army Investigations of the Battle of Wounded Knee and to the Sioux Campaign of 1890-1891. (1r. #15696)
Index to the Compiled Service Records of Volunteer Union Soldiers Who Served in Organizations from the Territory of Dakota. (1r. #7969)
7th U.S. Cavalry Muster Rolls, Aug. 31, 1866-Dec. 31, 1884. (3r. #13575-13577)
Journal of the U.S. Cavalry Association, 1888-1906 (2r. #13548-13549)
Newport Barracks Kentucky Post Returns, 1858-1882. (2r. #12086-12087)
Letters Received by the Office of the Adjutant General La Pointe Agency Idaho Territory, 1852-1880. (3r. #6138-6140)
Weather Service
31099 Bismarck Weather Bureau Records, 1874-1960. (2r. #5974, 6932)
32160 Climatological Records of the Weather Bureau, North Dakota, 1819-1892. (7r. #15687-15693)
Work Progress Administration
30529 Historical Data Project Biographical Files. (54ft.)
North Dakota Records, 1935-1942. (4r. #7742-7745)
SOURCE
Gray, David P. Guide to the North Dakota State Archives, 1985.
Address:
612 East Boulevard Ave.
Bismarck, North Dakota 58505
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Hours:
Exhibit galleries and Museum Store: 8am - 5pm M-F; Sat. & Sun. 10am - 5pm.
State Archives: 8am - 4:30pm., M-F, except legal holidays, and 2nd Sat. of each month, 10am - 4:30 pm.
State Historical Society offices: 8am - 5pm M-F, except legal holidays.
Contact Us:
phone: (701) 328-2666
fax: (701) 328-3710
email: histsoc@nd.gov
