Viewing William E. Lass: "The First Attempt to Organize Dakota Territory." (1991)

William E. Lass: "The First Attempt to Organize Dakota Territory." (1991)

On May 27, 1857, the Dakota Land Company was incorporated in St. Paul by nine politically-connected investors, including Charles E. Flandrau, who was being considered for a position on the Minnesota Territorial Supreme Court. This article recounts the extraordinary story of how the Dakota Land Company schemed--and ultimately failed--to seize economic and political control of the vast lands west of Minnesota that now comprise much of South Dakota.

The article was written by William E. Lass, Professor Emeritus of History, Minnesota State University, Mankato. It appeared first as a chapter in "Centennial West: Essays on the Northern Tier States," published in 1991 by the University of Washington Press.

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