Material given from the History of Faulk County by Capt. C. H. Ellis

The Norby Collection documents the history, development, and daily life of Brookings, South Dakota, and Brookings County, with limited coverage of South Dakota more broadly, from the late nineteenth century through the early twenty first century. Assembled by George and Evelyn Norby, the collection is organized into multiple series reflecting their sustained efforts to collect, compile, and preserve local historical documentation.

The collection includes extensive runs of the Brookings Register newspaper, providing long term coverage of local news, community events, politics, agriculture, business, and social life. Complementing the newspapers are compiled data files created by the Norbys that aggregate information drawn from newspapers and other local sources. These compiled records document city and county officials, elections, businesses, streets and addresses, homes and housing, churches, public services, cemeteries, schools, South Dakota State University buildings, and other aspects of municipal and community history.

Topical subject files form a substantial portion of the collection and include materials related to Brookings city and county government, organizations, churches, businesses, historic districts, education, South Dakota State University, named individuals, military service, railroads, public safety, cemeteries, and statewide topics. These files consist of clippings, publications, ephemera, maps, directories, reports, and reference materials and reflect both official activity and community life. Researchers are advised to consult both city and county subject groupings, as related material may appear in either.

The collection also includes a large body of directories, primarily telephone directories serving Brookings and surrounding rural areas, along with city directories, farm directories, regional directories, and campus directories for South Dakota State University. These directories document residents, businesses, institutions, and service areas over time. Ephemera within the collection includes business cards, envelopes, signs, calendars, bumper stickers, postcards, ribbons and badges, matchbooks, tokens, framed images, and other transient printed materials associated with local commerce, events, and organizations.

Materials related to the Norbys themselves document the acquisition, housing, processing, and public presentation of the collection, including South Dakota State University Archives records, Images of the Past program materials, and limited personal correspondence, photographs, and household items. Together, the series span approximately 1871 to 2006, with some undated material, and are arranged by series and subject to reflect the structure of the Norbys’ collecting activities.

The Compiled Data series of the Norby Collection consists of reference data compiled by George and Evelyn Norby and recorded into various databases. The material documents the city of Brookings with limited coverage of Brookings County and the state of South Dakota. The series includes compiled information on city and county officials, appointed officials, elections, mayors and commissioners, attorneys, governors, and public offices such as police, fire, sheriff, and post office. It also contains extensive data on streets, avenues, homes, apartments, mobile homes, building permits, businesses, churches, health care providers, newspapers, and civic services. Additional components include birth, death, and marriage data, obituary indexes, cemetery and church burial records, census information, city charters, historical summaries, business chronologies, National Register documentation, and records related to South Dakota State University buildings. Telephone books spanning the early twentieth century through the mid twentieth century are also included. Materials date primarily from 1871 to 2003 and are organized by subject across multiple boxes.

The Compiled Data series provides a reference resource documenting the administrative, geographic, social, and economic development of Brookings over more than a century. By aggregating information drawn from newspapers and other local sources, the series supports research in local history, genealogy, urban development, governance, and community studies. The data reflects sustained private documentation efforts that preserve contextual information not consistently available in official municipal records.

The Database series is composed of material compiled by George Norby documenting topics related to Brookings, South Dakota. The material includes information on local businesses, historic homes, churches, city and county government, and South Dakota State University.

As noted by George Norby, the information contained in these compiled databases was gathered from multiple sources and reflects the most accurate data available to him at the time of compilation. Sources used include the Brookings County Press, the Brookings Register, the Brookings County Sentinel, Brookings telephone and business directories, Brookings city publications, Brookings County election returns, Brookings County Commission minutes, and records from the Brookings County Register of Deeds office.

Although the compiled data is extensive, researchers are encouraged to verify information using more than one source when conducting research.

The Directories series of the Norby Collection consists primarily of telephone directories documenting Brookings, South Dakota, and surrounding rural service areas. The series includes a Brookings city directory from 1901 and an early listing of business places from 1908, followed by an extensive run of Brookings telephone directories covering city and rural subscribers from 1909 through 2003, with some years absent. Additional directory types include farm directories for Brookings County, regional telephone directories serving broader geographic areas such as Northeast Lake, Deuel, Brookings Lake, and East Central Dakota, and official telephone directories issued by Interstate Telecommunications Cooperative, Inc. The series also includes city directories published by Johnson’s and the Directory Service Company, business locator directories, and a Yellow Book directory covering Sioux Falls, Brookings, Vermillion, and Yankton. Campus directories for South Dakota State University are present for multiple academic years from 1968 to 2003. Materials are arranged chronologically by directory type and year across five boxes.

The Directories series provides a reference record for identifying residents, businesses, and institutions in Brookings and the surrounding region across the twentieth century and into the early twenty first century. The combined coverage of city, rural, farm, regional, and campus directories supports research in local history, genealogy, business history, and community development, and documents changes in service areas and telecommunications providers over time.

This series consists of materials related to George and Evelyn Norby and the stewardship, interpretation, and use of the Norby Collection. Records include South Dakota State University Archives documentation concerning collection proposals, processing activities, and the public opening of the collection, as well as materials related to fundraising and support activities. The series also contains files associated with the Images of the Past program, including research files, articles about the Norbys, exhibit guest registries, stationery and signage, and documentation of the Preservationists of the Year award. Personal materials include correspondence, household related items, and photographs. Dates range from approximately 1965 to 2006, with some materials undated.

This series documents the transfer, processing, and public presentation of the Norby Collection and provides contextual information about the individuals responsible for assembling it. The materials support research on archival stewardship, local history programming, and the role of private collectors in preserving community history, while also offering limited personal context for George and Evelyn Norby.

The Subject Files series of the Norby Collection consists of topical files compiled and maintained by George and Evelyn Norby documenting the history and development of Brookings, South Dakota, and Brookings County, with limited material relating to South Dakota and communities outside Brookings County. The series includes clippings, publications, reports, ephemera, maps, directories, and related reference material organized by subject. City focused files document municipal government and administration, elections and officials, utilities, public services, ordinances and city code revisions, planning and development, historic preservation activities, parks and recreation, transportation including the airport and railroads, public institutions such as the library, schools, and hospital, and community events and commemorations including centennial materials and local responses to the September 11 attacks. County focused files include commissioner proceedings, courthouse and jail records, officials, census and atlas materials, early residents, fairs and festivals, towns and townships, veterans materials, weather, welfare, and local newspapers and newspaper history.

The files also contain substantial documentation on local organizations and clubs, including fraternal, civic, genealogical, and women’s groups, and extensive church files for Brookings and surrounding communities. Business files include materials on banks, local and regional companies, advertising, retail and service businesses, and community commerce, along with files on the Brookings commercial and residential historic districts, National Register applications, walking tours, and documentation of specific blocks and buildings. Education files include area schools and district materials, reorganization documentation, newsletters, and school related ephemera. South Dakota State University files include campus buildings and inventories, institutional events and traditions, alumni, athletics, museums, tours, and campus landmarks. Additional topical files cover named individuals, military service and wars, state government and elections, maps and travel materials, and cemetery, burial, and obituary reference resources including burial registers, cemetery locations, and plot maps. Researchers are advised to consult both the Brookings City and Brookings County files, as related material may be found in either grouping.

The Subject Files provide a locally compiled documentation set supporting research on civic administration, community development, historic preservation, education, religious life, commerce, and social organizations in Brookings and Brookings County. The combination of municipal and county materials, together with organizational, church, business, cemetery, and South Dakota State University documentation, offers contextual sources for local history and genealogical research and helps trace changes in the built environment and community institutions over time.

Material taken from the Diamond Jubilee Edition of the Grant County Revies and Milbank Herald Advance

Indian Life in Haakon County

Material taken from Early History of Hand County, South Dakota by Anna Mary Van Brunt

Material taken from the Diamond Jubilee Edition of the Alexandria Herald

Material taken from a thesis by Myrle George Hanson submitted at the University of South Dakota

Material taken from Hughes County History

The John E. Miller Papers document the academic, professional, and scholarly contributions of Dr. John E. Miller, longtime faculty member in the Department of History at South Dakota State University. The collection includes course materials, oral history interviews, public talks and presentations, manuscripts, published works, and extensive research files. The bulk of the collection centers on Miller’s nationally recognized work on Laura Ingalls Wilder and Rose Wilder Lane, but also reflects his broader research interests in American history, democracy, political culture, and Midwestern small-town life.

The general material series includes correspondence, photographs, awards, articles about Miller, and records of his involvement with organizations such as the South Dakota Humanities Council, South Dakota State Historical Society, Phi Kappa Phi, and the Midwestern History Association. Course materials reflect Miller’s teaching of U.S. history, South Dakota history, American political thought, and Osher Lifelong Learning Institute courses following his retirement. Talks and presentations span decades of academic conferences, workshops, and public panels, including participation in the Dakota History Conference and Laurapalooza.

The interviews series includes oral histories with figures such as George McGovern and John Wooden, as well as SDSU faculty and administrators. Early recordings were created on audiocassette and later on digital media; some are accompanied by transcripts and release forms. The writings series includes manuscripts, book proposals, article drafts, encyclopedia entries, and collaborative works. Sixteen boxes are devoted to Miller’s research and writing on Laura Ingalls Wilder and her family, comprising handwritten notes, research from archival sources, critiques of other Wilder scholars, and drafts of his own publications.

Miller’s research files cover a wide range of historical figures and topics such as democracy, elections, U.S. and South Dakota history, creativity, and popular culture. Subject files include material on Johnny Carson, Walt Disney, Sam Walton, and Lawrence Welk, as well as materials related to his books Looking for History on Highway 14 and South Dakota State University: A Pictorial History, 1881–2006. Also included are Brookings County historical research drawn from the Donald D. Parker Collection; materials related to the Brookings County Democratic Party donated by Ruby Mershon; and artwork and records concerning Hubert B. Mathews and Hubert Jean Mathieu.

Audiovisual and digital content includes 231 audiocassettes, 10 digital recorders, 17 CDs, 1 DVD, 18 USB flash drives, 24 SD cards, and born-digital materials. These recordings document interviews, lectures, and research materials gathered over the course of his career.

This collection is especially valuable for its preservation of the scholarly legacy of one of South Dakota’s foremost historians. Miller’s research on Laura Ingalls Wilder contributed significantly to American literary and cultural history, and his oral histories and writings provide rich documentation of South Dakota’s political, educational, and social landscape. The materials reflect the intellectual and civic life of the region, while also offering insight into the historian’s role as teacher, writer, and public scholar. The breadth and depth of this collection make it an essential resource for the study of Midwestern identity, public history, American democracy, and the institutional history of South Dakota State University.