FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE:  Aug. 6, 2008
CONTACT:  Kate Higdon, (605) 773-4373, Kathryn.Higdon@state.sd.us

New State Historical Society traveling exhibit features fight for capital city

PIERRE,S.D. -- A Capital Fight: Choosing South Dakota’s Capital City is the newest traveling exhibit available from the South Dakota State Historical Society.

Becoming South Dakota’s capital city brought money, people and prestige to the winning town. Pierre, Huron, Mitchell, Sioux Falls and Watertown all entered the fray – along with Wolsey and the non-existent town of Harrison!

A Capital Fight: Choosing South Dakota’s Capital City, tells the story of the lively multi-year fight to permanently locate the capital. Twenty panels in five pop-up kiosks feature text, photographs and object images. A reproduction of the exhibition is displayed on the walls of the education room in the Cultural Heritage Center in Pierre.

This exhibition was funded by the South Dakota Heritage Fund, the non-profit financial arm of the State Historical Society; and the State of South Dakota.

A Capital Fight: Choosing South Dakota’s Capital City is one of six pop-up kiosk traveling exhibits available from the State Historical Society. The other exhibits are:

n      Lewis and Clark in South Dakota, telling about the animals, plants, and people that the Corps of Discovery encountered;

n      Properties of History: Exploring South Dakota’s Historic Places, highlighting historic properties from across the state;

n      Life Underground: Hard Rock Mining in the Black Hills, examining the rich history of mining in the state;

n      At Home & Abroad: South Dakota in World War II, exploring the impact the war had on South Dakotans both at home and overseas; and

n      Living Traditions: Dakota, Nakota, Lakota Art, explores the art of the Dakota, Nakota, and Lakota and features examples from the museum collection.

The traveling exhibits can be rented for eight-week loan periods. The cost is $75 plus return shipping. For more information about the society’s traveling exhibits, contact Kate Higdon, Curator of Exhibits, Museum of the South Dakota State Historical Society, 900 Governors Drive, Pierre, SD, 57501-2217; telephone, 605-773-4373; e-mail, kathryn.higdon@state.sd.us