Northern State University

Northern State University (NSU) is a public university in Aberdeen, South Dakota. NSU is governed by the South Dakota Board of Regents and offers 45 bachelor's degrees, 53 minors, six associate degrees, 16 pre-professional programs, 23 certificates and 10 graduate degrees. History Aberdeen, South Dakota, had rapid population growth during the late 19th century, leading the citizens of northern South Dakota to push for a government-funded institute of higher learning. In the 1885 legislative session, a bill was passed creating what was then known as the University of Central Dakota in the small town of Ordway, South Dakota. Funds were approved for the school in the 1887 legislative session, but Governor Louis K. Church vetoed the bill for financial reasons and statewide lack of support; it took a few more decades for the school to become a reality. In 1900 Aberdeen had the fastest-growing population in northern South Dakota and advocates for school began to organize in greater numbers. On January 7, 1899, state legislator James Marshall Lawson, often considered the father of the Northern Normal and Industrial School, proposed a bill to create the school in Aberdeen; the bill went through many revisions. On March 2, 1899, the new school existed on paper, but both a site and funding were still needed. Wealthy Aberdonians quickly responded by donating land for the school; the Aberdeen City Council created a committee of 25 to choose the site. The committee comprised well-to-do citizens of Aberdeen, including Lawson, Ira Barnes, W.F.T. Bushnell, C.F. Easton, F.W. Brooks, Ed Askew, B.C. Lamont, William Tennant, W.G. Bickellhaupt, and Andrew Melgaard. The committee met through most of early 1899 and adjourned in late spring before making a decision. By late 1899 Governor Andrew E. Lee chose the land just south of city limits donated by Melgaard, but the northern border of Melgaard's land did not extend all the way to Twelfth Avenue, as Lee wanted; the land between Melgaard's northern border and Twelfth Avenue was owned by D.C. and W.R. Thomas of Watertown. In order for the state to receive the land, the committee had to pay Melgaard and the Thomases for it. On November 10, the Thomases sold the two half-blocks in question to the state for one dollar and Melgaard received $1,300 for his plot. The state was left to fund the school's construction. The school was established on the intersection of the southern and eastern branches of the Milwaukee Railroad.