Yankton: Territorial Capital

Thanks to Abraham Lincoln, Yankton became the first capital of the huge Dakota Territory. Formed in March 1861 just before Lincoln's presidency, the territory extended west of Minnesota to the Rockies and north of Nebraska to Canada. Lincoln appointed William Jayne, a friend from Illinois, as governor. Jayne selected Yankton as capital because of its location on the Missouri River, the major travel route into the area. The Dakota Assembly met in Yankton from 1862 to 1883, when the capital was moved amid some controversy to Bismarck. The modest, two story frame building was razed in 1886, three years before South and North Dakota were established as states.

Yankton, South Dakota · United States