North Carolina, 12th U.S. state

220 years ago, on November 21, 1789, North Carolina became the 12th U.S. state. This map of North Carolina published around the same time, ca. 1799, is courtesy of North Carolina Maps digital collection, part of a larger Documenting the American South collection.

North Carolina map from Joseph Scott's New and Universal Gazetteer (ca.1799)

Libraries, museums, and archives of North Carolina state have created 6 digital collections included in the Opening History aggregation:
Folkstreams.net collection
North Carolina Experience, Beginnings to 1940 collection
North Carolinians and the Great War collection
Oral Histories of the American South collection,
Southern Homefront, 1861-1865 collection, and
William Gedney: Photographs and Writings collection.

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Oklahoma, 46th U.S. state

On November 16, 1907, Indian Territory and Oklahoma Territory became Oklahoma state and were admitted as the 46th U.S. state.

Cultural heritage institutions of Oklahoma state (libraries, museums, archives, historical societies, etc.) contributed 17 digital collections to the Opening History aggregation:
100 Years of Oklahoma Governors collection,
Ada Lois Sipuel v. Board of Regents University of Oklahoma, 1948- collection,
Chronicles of Oklahoma collection,
Doris Duke Collection of American Indian Oral History,
Federal Publications about Oklahoma collection,
From Warrior to Saint: The Journey of David Pendleton Oakerhater collection,
Indian Affairs: Laws and Treaties collection,
Indian-Pioneer Papers Collection,
Native American Constitution and Law Digitization Project collection,
Native American Manuscript Collections,
Oklahoma Authors collection,
Oklahoma Crossroads collection,
Oklahoma Image collection,
Oklahoma Resources collection,
Oklahoma State Government Publications collection,
Tulsa Race Riot Documents collection, and
Western History Collections Photographic Archives collection.

The photograph below, courtesy of From Warrior to Saint: The Journey of David Pendleton Oakerhater collection, pictures four students of Carlisle Indian School in 1880 — Cheyenne, Kiowa, and Comanche — including David Pendleton Oakerhater himself (second left).

Students at Carlisle Indian School, 1880

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Washington, 42nd U.S. state

120 years ago, on November 11, 1889, Washington Territory, which had existed since 1853, was admitted to the Union and became the 42nd U.S. state.
The two images below — a lantern slide and a bird’s-eye view — picture Seattle (the largest city of Washington Territory) and Mt. Vernon (one of the Territory’s smaller towns) shortly before admission to the Union. Seattle was incorporated 20 years, and Mt. Vernon only 4 months before the Washington Territory became Washington state. Images courtesy of King County Snapshots digital collection and Western Waters Digital Library.

Horse-drawn streetcar at Front Street and James, Seattle, ca. 1887

Mt. Vernon, Washington territory (1889)

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Montana, 41st U.S. state

120 years ago, on November 8, 1889, Montana was admitted as the 41st U.S. state.
Montana Memory project, recently added to the Opening History aggregation of digital collections, includes 65 digital collections with a total of over 13 thousands items. Two photographs from Montana Memory collection featured below show Montana views and people soon after the state joined United States.

Old Mill (1891-1892)

Musicians

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Nevada, 36th U.S. state

145 years ago, on October 31, 1864, Nevada became the 36th U.S. state.
Cultural heritage institutions of Nevada state contributed 14 digital collections to the Opening History aggregation:

Before Gaming . . . Celebrating Las Vegas’ Centennial, 1905-2005 collection,
Early Las Vegas collection,
Great Basin History of Medicine Photo Archives collection,
Historic Aerial Photos of Early Nevada collection,
Images of Lake Tahoe collection,
Just Passin’ Through: The Lincoln and Victory Highways in Nevada collection,
Nevada Agricultural Publications collection,
Nevada in Maps collection,
Nevada Test Site Oral History Project collection,
Sagebrush Vernacular: Architecture of Rural Nevada collection,
Showgirls Collection,
Southern Nevada and Las Vegas History in Maps collection,
Special Collections Photograph Collections, University of Nevada at Reno, and
University of Nevada, Reno, Campus Images collection.

This photograph, created in ca. 1865, courtesy of Images of Lake Tahoe collection, shows Swift’s Station, Carson and Lake Bigler Road, eastern summit of Sierra Nevada Mountains, in the region of Lake Tahoe. This lake is the largest alpine freshwater lake in North America, located in the Sierra Nevada mountains, along the border between Nevada and California, west of Carson City, Nevada.

Swift's Station, Carson and Lake Bigler Road, eastern summit of Sierra Nevada Mountains

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Alaska Day

On October 18, 1867, United States took possession of Alaska after purchasing it from Russia for $7.2 million. This day is celebrated annually as Alaska Day.

Two men seated on shore in front of Russian Orthodox church, Unalaska, ca. 1899

The photograph above, courtesy of University of Washington Libraries, King County Snapshots digital collection, pictures Alaskan city Unalaska in 1899. On this photograph, two men are sitting on shore in front of the Russian Orthodox Church of the Holy Ascension of Christ built in 1825. Another photograph (below), courtesy of Western Waters Digital Library collection, pictures Russian and Eskimo kids in 1906 in Karluk, Alaska.

Russian and Native boys leaning up against a barabara, Karluk, Alaska, June 1906

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Founding of Los Angeles

On September 4, 1781, Spanish governor of California, Felipe de Neve, founded Los Angeles (originally named El Pueblo de la Reina de Los Angeles, or the Town of the Queen of the Angels) near the site of the Indian village of Yang-na.

View of a statue depicting the Governor Felipe de Neve, in Los Angeles Plaza, 1920-1939

The photograph above, courtesy of California Historical Society Collection, 1860-1960, pictures statue of Governor Felipe de Neve, in Los Angeles Plaza, in 1930s.

The drawing below, courtesy of California Historical Society Digital Archive collection, pictures the Yang-na Indian village.

Drawing depicting a straw hut village of the Yang-na Indians

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International Museum Day

International Museum Day is celebrated all over the world on May 18th, since 1977. Each year, a theme is decided on by the International Council of Museums Advisory Committee. This year’s theme is “Museums and Tourism”.

Sixty-seven digital collections in Opening History aggregation are hosted by and/or contributed to by various kinds of museums: history museums, science and technology museums, natural history museums, art museums, etc.

The image below courtesy of the Skyscraper Museum‘s Erection Views of Empire State Building collection, part of a larger Visual Index to the Virtual Archive of the Skyscraper Museum (VIVA2) digital collection.

Empire State Building: Concreting--6th floor setback (1930)

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