50 Years of 50 States: Wyoming
Posted by: | CommentsNickname: The Equality State
Date Joined: July 10, 1890 (44th)
Capital: Cheyenne
Map of Wyoming
- Wyoming was the first state to elect a female governor, Nellie Tayloe Ross, in 1924.
- Wyoming was the first territory to gain equal suffrage for women (December 10, 1869), subsequently becoming the first state with equal suffrage for women when it ratified the Constitution.
- Wyoming was the first to have women on a jury, to have the first female bailiff, and to have the 1st female Justice of the Peace.
- The above events are how Wyoming earned its nickname.
- Yellowstone National Park is the world’s first national park (March 1, 1872).
- The flag of Wyoming was adopted on January 31, 1917. The Wyoming chapter of the Daughters of the American Revolution, promoted a contest with a $20 prize for the winning design. Verna Keays Keyes, a graduate of the Art Institute of Chicago, submitted the winning design:
Flag of Wyoming
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50 Years of 50 States: Maine
Posted by: | CommentsNickname: The Pine Tree State
Date Joined: March 15, 1820 (23rd)
Capital: Augusta
Map of Maine
- The original capital of Maine was Portland. The capital was moved to Augusta in 1832, which is more centrally located within the state.
- The first daily rays of sunlight to reach the United States land in Maine. The exact location of the first sunlight varies throughout the year as the sunrise moves from South to North. According to Wikipedia:
- Henry Knox, the first U.S. Secretary of War, hailed from Maine.
- Louis Sockalexis, the first Native American Major League Baseball player, was born in Maine.
- Maine is the only state in the lower 48 to only border one other state. Maine shares its western border with New Hampshire.
- There are no officials colors on the flag of Maine, so there are noticeable variations between manufacturers.
From October 7 to March 6, Cadillac Mountain is first. From March 7 to March 24, West Quoddy Head is first in the country. Warmer months, March 25 to September 18, Mars Hill sees first light. Then, when the sun starts getting lower in the sky, The country’s day begins between September 19 to October 6 back at West Quoddy Head.
Flag of Maine
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50 Years of 50 States: South Dakota
Posted by: | CommentsNickname: The Mount Rushmore State
Ratification Date: November 2nd, 1889 (40th)
Capital: Pierre
Map of South Dakota
- In order to attract the financial services industry to the state, South Dakota was the first state to eliminate caps on interest rates.
- Belle Fourche, South Dakota is the geographic center of all 50 states.
- South Dakota is home to Mt. Rushmore, the presidential monument located in the Black Hills.
- North Dakota and South Dakota were originally one territory prior to statehood. Because of regional rivalries, the Dakota Territory was split in two. In order to not show favoritism when admitting the two states into the Union, President Benjamin Harrison had the paper shuffled, and which state was admitted first was never recorded.
- Despite President Harrison’s attempts, South Dakota was admitted 2nd because the states were registered in alphabetical order.
- The current South Dakota state flag was adopted in 1992. Before then, where it says “The Mount Rushmore State,” it said “The Sunshine State.”
Flag of South Dakota
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50 Years of 50 States: North Dakota
Posted by: | CommentsNickname: Peace Garden State
Date Ratified: November 2, 1889 (39th)
Capital: Bismarck
Map of North Dakota
- Bismarck was originally the capital of the entire Dakota Territory. Upon achieving statehood though, it was agreed that the capital should be moved to Jamestown, in the eastern part of the state, where most North Dakotans lived (and still live). The state’s official records were even moved to Jamestown in preparation for the first session of the North Dakota Legislature. However, a group of Bismarck residents, angry at the loss of prestige, rode 100 miles on horseback in a January blizzard, to Jamestown, where they stole the state records and absconded with them back to Bismarck. They then held the records hostage until the legislature agreed to move the capital back to Bismarck.
- Rugby, North Dakota is the geographic center of North America.
- The Lewis and Clark Expedition, officially known as the Corps of Discovery, encountered their first grizzly bears in North Dakota.
- If you’ve already South Dakota’s profile, then this one will sound familiar to you. North Dakota and South Dakota were originally one territory prior to statehood. Because of regional rivalries, the Dakota Territory was split in two. In order to not show favoritism when admitting the two states into the Union, President Benjamin Harrison had the paper shuffled, and which state was admitted first was never recorded.
- Despite President Harrison’s attempts, South Dakota was admitted 2nd because the states were registered in alphabetical order.
- The flag of the state of North Dakota, was adopted in 1911, and is a near-exact replica of the unit banner carried by the state’s troop-contingent during the Phillipine-American War.
Flag of North Dakota
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50 Years of 50 States: Idaho
Posted by: | CommentsNickname: Gem State
Date Ratified: July 3, 1890 (43rd)
Capital: Boise
Map of Idaho
- The territorial capital of Idaho was Lewiston.
- Idaho is home to Sun Valley ski resort, where the world’s first chairlift was installed.
- American Falls, was the first town in the U.S. to be completely relocated. It was moved in 1925 to allow for the construction of the American Falls Dam.
- Arco, Idaho was the first American city to be powered by electrically generated nuclear power on July 17, 1955.
- Idaho is the only state that may have been named as a result of a hoax. Lobbyist George Willing originally claimed that Idaho was derived from a Shoshone word meaning “gem of the mountains.” However, Willing later claimed to have made the name up himself, and Congress actually originally named the area the Colorado Territory in 1861.
- Idaho was also the site of the infamous Ruby Ridge standoff in 1992.
- The state flag of Idaho was adopted in 1907, and is based on a flag carried by the First Idaho Infantry during the Spanish-American War.
Flag of Idaho
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50 Years of 50 States: Montana
Posted by: | CommentsNickname: Treasure State
Date Ratified: November 8, 1889 (41st)
Capital: Helena
Map of Montana
- Montana was the first state to elect a female member to Congress. Jeannette Rankin was elected in 1916, and was a lifelong pacifist. Four days into her term as representative, she voted against the resolution to enter World War I (one of 50 representatives to do so). Subsequently, she was the only Congressperson to vote against entry into World War II. Despite this pioneering event, to this day Jeannette Rankin remains the only female congressperson from Montana.
- Montana was the first state to pass legislation against the federal government’s REAL ID Act.
- This past April, the Montana state legislature was one vote shy of approving House Resolution 3, which would have laid the groundwork for secession from the United States.
- Montana is the one of the lower 48 states not to have a battleship named after it, and the only state not to have a modern naval ship named after it (Alaska and Hawaii both have nuclear subs named after them).
- The current Montana state flag was adopted in 1905, and modified in 1981 to add the word “Montana” above the state seal:
Flag of Montana
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50 Years of 50 States: New Hampshire
Posted by: | CommentsNickname: The Granite State
Date Ratified: June 21, 1788 (9th)
Capital: Concord
Map of New Hampshire
- New Hampshire became the first post-colonial sovereign nation in the Americas when it broke away from Great Britain in January 1776.
- New Hampshire was also the first state to have its own state constitution.
- New Hampshire is the only state with neither a general sales tax nor a personal income tax at any level.
- New Hampshire is the site of the first primary election of each presidential election cycle.
- 2008 elections resulted in women holding 13 out of the 24 seats in the New Hampshire state Senate. It is the first time in American history that women have held the majority in a state legislative body.
- The highest recorded wind speed gust, 231 mph, was measured at Mt. Washington in 1934.
- The current flag of the state of New Hampshire was adopted in 1909. It features the state seal, and was modified in 1931, when the state seal was modified.
Flag of New Hampshire
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