MANDAN Historical Society

Working to Preserve & Promote Mandan's Heritage since 2004

Welcome

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Ag Stn Centennial

History Harvest

TR-Coe Exhibit

WWII Exhibit

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Area History

Book: "Mantani"

The 1870s

The 1880s

Mandan Rodeo / Fair

School System History

The 1890s

The 1900s

1901 Pan Am Expo

1903 TR Visit to NDak

The 1910s

1910 Spring Flood

1911 Fair & Airplane Demo

1912 TR Whistle-Stop

The 1920s

Prohibition in Mandan

Mail Order Kit Homes

The 1930s

FDR Visit August 1936

The 1940s

The 1950s

1958 Lincoln Stamp FDC

Custer Drama / Trail West

The 1960s

The 1970s

The 1980s

The 1990s

1st of the 21st

2010-Present

Area Landmarks

Cary Bldg - Mandan Drug

CCC Camp Chimney

Christ the King Church

Collins Av Civic Bldg

First Lutheran Church

First National Bank Bldg

First Presbyterian Church

Great Plains Academy

Great Plains Expermt Stn

Lewis & Clark Hotel

2nd Liberty Memr'l Bridge

Mandan Hill

Mandan Theatre

MissValley Grocery Warehs

Methodist Church

NP Beanery

NP "Colonial" RR Depot

NPRR Freighthouse

NP Rail High Bridge

Roughrider Statue

St Joseph Church

Whispering Giant Statue

WWar Memorial Bldg

Youth Correctional Center

Gone Forever

Central School

Collins Ave Courthouse

Cummins Building

Deaconess Hospital

Eielson Field

Emerson Inst/Opera House

First St Federal Building

Havana Club

Hotel Nigey

InterOcean Hotel

Mandan Creamery & Produce

Mandan Flour Mill

Merchants Hotel

ND Memorial Bridge

NP "Queen Anne" Depot

Original Passenger Depot

Palace Theatre

Peoples' Hotel

Red Trail / State Route 3

Rock Haven

Topic Theatre

Young's Tavern

Heritage Homes

Altnow-Smith Home

Dunlap-Harris Home

Ellis-Uden Home

Freeburg-Esser Home

Lyon-Weigel Home

McGillic Home

Olson-Brick Home

Parkin-Cooley Home

Stutsman-Wyatt Home

Swanson-Reichman Home

Welch-Ness Home

Endowment Fund

Genealogy Links

Biographies A-C

J D Allen

Franklin Anders

Richard Baron

James Bellows

George Bingenheimer

Margaret Bingenheimer

Philip Blumenthal

Elijah Boley

Frank Briggs

Leo Broderick

William Broderick

Frank Bunting

Lyman Cary

James Clark

Henry Coe

Viola Boley Coe

Daniel Collins

Elizabeth Custer

George Custer

Biographies D-L

Alice Dahners

Henry Dahners

C E V (Charles) Draper

Esther Davis

Tony Dean

Joseph Devine

Ronald Erhardt

John Forbes

Palma Fristad

Gilbert Furness

Aloysius Galowitsch

Frederic Gerard

Zalmon Gilbert

Charles Grantier

James Hanley Jr

James Hanley Sr

Mary Harris

C Edgar Haupt

Elfriede Trinkler Kuhn

Michael Lang

William Langer

Albert Lanterman

William Lanterman

Richard Longfellow

Rolland Lutz

Hiram Lyon

Biographies M-R

George Marback

Gary Miller

Lee Mohr

Margaret Naylor

John Newton

Anton Ness

John Osterhouse

George Peoples

Arthur Peterson

Nels Romer

Hoy Russell

Walton Russell

Antonie Rybnicek

Ervin Rybnicek

Hynek Rybnicek

Biographies S-Z

Margaret Schaaf

Tilden Selmes Jr

George Shafer

Benjamin Shaw

William Simpson

Anna Knox Stark

Mary Stark

Benjamin Stephenson

J O Sullivan

John Sullivan

Era Bell Thompson

Andrew E Thorberg

Ida Thorberg

C L Timmerman

George Toman

Earle Tostevin

Edwin A Tostevin Sr

Edwin D Tostevin Jr

Walter Tostevin

Felix Vinatieri

A B Welch

Levon West

Frank Wetzstein

Harry Wheeler

Philomena Yunck

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What's New

Benjamin Whitworth "B.W." Shaw (1858-1940)
Benjamin Whitworth Shaw was born on July 19, 1858 in Burlington, Wisconsin and was the second youngest of eight children.  His parents were natives of Yorkshire, England married in April 1845.  Shortly thereafter, they came to the United States.

Benjamin obtained his education in the elementary and secondary schools in Racine and would later study law in the offices of Winslow & Bronson there, under the tutledge of Judge Winslow, later one of the most noted chief justices of the Wisconsin Supreme Court.  He was admitted to the Wisconsin Bar in 1881. 

Benjamin came to Dakota Territory, arriving in Fargo on May 7, 1881. Two days later, he left for Hillsboro where he opened a law office and practiced for three years.  He moved to Mandan in January, 1884.  He was admitted to the Bar of North Dakota on May 6, 1891 upon his presentation of his territorial certificate

Famous as a frontier lawyer who never lost a murder case, B.W. Shaw as he was referred to locally, served as district attorney of Morton County in territorial days in 1887 and 1888; as city attorney of Mandan in 1887.

He was bill clerk at the ND House of Representatives in 1893, reading clerk in 1899 and assistant chief clerk in 1901.  In 1894 he acted as US district commissioner.  He was appointed county judge from Morton County on November 2, 1918 to finish an unexpired term and remained in that office until January 1939.  He was President of the ND Bar Association in 1915-1916.

He was married May 15, 1888 to Georgia Greenwood Lanterman at Hillsboro, ND.  Mrs. Shaw was born in Blairstown, NJ on October 22, 1961. He came to Hillsboro in 1881 with her mother and sisters to join her two brothers, Albert and William Lanterman (both would also eventually move to Mandan.)  Georgia Shaw died April 17, 1939 eleven months after the Shaws celebrated their fifthieth wedding anniversary.  

They had two children; Elenanor Shaw Ricker and son LaRue L. Shaw.

Judge Shaw was a member of the First Presbyterian Church during all his years of residence in the city and was very active in church affairs.  He was treasurer of the church and conducted a Sunday School class for many years.  He was selected as one of two members to "recount and reminsce" on the early days of the church during the church's golden jubilee in 1931.

He was also a member of several service organizations including The Royal Acanum and International Organization of Odd Fellows. He was also on the Board of Directors of Greenwood Cemetery, which was the first organized cemetery west of Jamestown.  He was chairman of the Finnish Relief for Morton County in the spring of 1940 but would later resign due to failing health.

He died on December 13, 1940 in Mandan Hospital.  He is buried in Union Cemetery beside his wife.

The Society would like to thank Trissa Shaw Ford for sharing information on her grandfather with us.

The MHSoc's museum and office is located at 3827 30th Avenue NW; Mandan, ND 58554
Contact us at info@mandanhistory.org


Last Updated 05/17
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