"Those who are alive receive a mandate from those who are silent forever. They can fulfill their duties only by trying to reconstruct precisely things as they were and by wresting the past from fictions & legends." -Czeslaw Milosz
Welcome
Mandan, a railroad town from the start, our hometown adds to its legacy with more commercial and industrial diversity. You are welcome to explore our website and share in our history.
Operation of our website and online record database, and preservation of relevant artifacts needs more than the time and effort our volunteers provide. Please consider a monetary contribution to the Mandan Historical Society. Donations to our IRS part 501(c) organization may be tax-deductable.
Latest "History Mystery"
Why settle for TV crime dramas when real-life mysteries present themselves everyday? Andy Anderson from Washington State had a photo from his mother-in-laws estate hanging in his shop for decades. One day in May 2017 "on a lark" he contacted the Mandan Historical Society to see if anyone had any information on it. The photo was given to his mother-in-law by her friend Gloria.
And he wasn't "clueless." The back of the photo had a label from Kennelly's Funiture Store in Mandan, ND with the words "Mrs. Gipple" and "1934". And written next to it in faint pencil is "$1.80." Now the plot thickens..
Herbert Gipple Farm c. 1908 <Click to Enlarge>
Opening the back of the framed photo revealed additional clues. Engaging the services of Society volunteers and the photo archivist from the State Historical Society of North Dakota, our current best infomation concludes the farm belonged to J. Herbert Gipple and his wife. Gipple was the park superintendant of Fort Lincoln State Park south of Mandan in the 1930s (and later a taxidermist with the Washington State Historical Museum). He and his wife Muriel Mae (Gaines) had three children W.Gaines, Gloria and James.
The photograph, apparently taken in 1908 was likely taken by Rolland R. Lutz, longtime professional photographer in Mandan who left the city in 1937. The quality and composition of the picture is consistant with his other works. Kennellys ran a funiture store in downtown Mandan for over two generations. Their store was across the street and down the block from Lutz's studio. In addition to custom framing, Kennellys were also the city's morticans/funeral directors adding construction of coffins to their line of wood products (BTW - a very common practice in the first half of the last century).
The 1940 US Census has their rural address listed as "Left of 39th Ave - CR-84, South of 47th." Apparently the address system has been changed one or more times and today's address is not consistent with the topography depicted in the photo.
Do you know the location of this farm? - If so, please call or email us info@mandanhistory.org !!
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While the city of Mandan is defined by its legal boundaries, the community and historical impact of Mandan knows no limits. Please feel free to express your comments and offer suggestions to our programs, activities and content of our website.
The MHSoc's museum and office is located at 3102 37th St; PO Box 98; Mandan, ND 58554 Contact us at info@mandanhistory.org
