Miller, John. (1989). A transitional decade 1920-1929. In Brookings County History Book Committee (Eds.), Brookings County History Book (pp. 90-102). Freeman, SD: Pine Hill Press.

***Briggs Library call number: F657 B75 1989***
***An excerpt of the text of this article is presented below.***

"A movement was begun to erect a monument at Old Medary to honor the pioneers who had arrived there in 1857 and the permanent settlers who had come in 1869. By February 1929 $80 had been collected. A 17 foot obelisk was constructed of rubble stone found on the prairie. That was also the year that Charles Coughlin provided $75,000 for building a 165' campanile on the South Dakota State College campus, a monument that was shaped something like the one at Medary, but which was much more ornate and much taller. It also commemorated history, with stones referring to the purchase of Louisiana Territory in 1803, the establishment of Dakota Territory in 1862, the establishment of the college in 1881, and South Dakota statehood in 1889. Once the structure was built and the finishing touches put on, one local resident pointed out that the date referring to statehood was wrong. It had the words, "Admitted February 22, 1889," but in fact that was the day President Cleveland signed the bill outlining the process for obtaining statehood. Official admission did not come until President Benjamin Harrison signed the proclamation on November 2 indicating that the process had been completed and that the Territory now, in fact, was a state. Professor A.S. Harding, who taught history at the college, was consulted, and he confirmed that the November date was the accurate one. SDSC President Charles Pugsley told the newspaper that the date over the north entrance to the campanile would be changed from February 22 to November 2, but it never was." (page 102)

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