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Date of Work
10-2-1883
Identification #
UAP10004
Description
O.S. Clifford, Grand Master of the Masonic Order of Dakota, is recorded to have laid the cornerstone at the building's southeast corner on October 2, 1883. Ground was broken for this first UND building on May 23, 1883. It was to be the first of a series of buildings identical in plan and appearance. This plan was never carried out. A large crowd of people attended the event, including Governor Nehemiah H. Ordway, standing atop an unfinished building, likely Main itself. A marching band stood below them in formation, while several horse-pulled buggies and wagons were parked nearby. Construction materials laid in piles all about the area. Main Building was completed and occupied on September 8, 1884.
Keywords
1883, 1880s, ceremonies, University of North Dakota, construction
Places Depicted
Grand Forks, North Dakota,
Organizations Depicted
University of North Dakota
Rights
Elwyn B. Robinson Department of Special Collections, Chester Fritz Library, University of North Dakota