Juneteenth events to highlight early Black settlers to North Dakota

JAMESTOWN, N.D. (North Dakota Monitor) — The background of North Dakota’s early settlers was more diverse than many people realize, says one of the organizers of a Juneteenth observance.

An event in Jamestown Friday will feature an in-depth look into the life of Benjamin Hayes, a U.S. Army soldier who arrived in Jamestown in 1882 and spent more than 20 years in service to the community. The presentation will discuss Hayes’ legacy as a Black person in the Dakota Territory and the challenges of researching underrepresented voices.

“My hope is that people come to understand, especially rural America in the west, is way more diverse initially than what we credit it with being today,” said Stephan Zacharias, outreach coordinator at the 1883 Stutsman County Courthouse State Historic Site.

Juneteenth is a federal holiday held on June 19 that commemorates Black communities in Galveston, Texas, who received word of their freedom in 1865.

Zacharias said he hopes people attending the Jamestown event will appreciate the life of Hayes and come to realize that historical time period in the Dakotas was more diverse than they imagine.

“The community of Jamestown may be the confluence of the Pipestem and James rivers, but the Stutsman County Courthouse from 1883 on has been a cultural confluence of people from around the globe,” Zacharias said.

He said little is known about Hayes from his birth in Tennessee in 1863 to when he arrived in Jamestown in 1882.

The 1883 Stutsman County Courthouse State Historic Site is North Dakota’s oldest surviving courthouse. (Photo courtesy of the 1883 Stutsman County Courthouse State Historic Site)

What researchers do know, Zacharias said, is Hayes became the first cook to work at the Stutsman County Courthouse before becoming a custodian at the site. He later became an assistant jailer and eventually a restaurateur at the Depot in Jamestown before moving to Fargo in the early 1900s.

He added there are stories included in the history about Hayes being an entertainer and comedian, as well as his service in the North Dakota National Guard in Jamestown’s Company H and Grand Forks Company F.

Zacharias said he hopes to use Hayes’ story to highlight different aspects of Black communities in the Dakotas during its early statehood through music, videos and other historical displays.

Black communities established colonies in Valley City and Jamestown during the early days of North Dakota. However, he said little is known about them because minority populations were regulated to footnotes of newspapers, if covered at all.

“With the help of (Hayes’) more fleshed-out story, we’re going to be able to highlight other clips or footnotes of other Black individuals and families that resided in Stutsman County,” Zacharias said.

The free program will begin at 2 p.m. Friday at the 1883 Stutsman County Courthouse State Historic Site. Zacharias said the displays will be set up all day Friday for visitors.

“The significance of the 1883 Stutsman County Courthouse is not the structure, but the people who brought that structure to life, and we have tons of stories and everyone is represented in those halls,” Zacharias said.

A Bismarck-Mandan Juneteenth celebration will feature the history of Second Baptist Church, established in Bismarck in 1917 to serve African American residents in the city.

Tiffani Alston, one of the event organizers, said she became aware of the church recently. The event will feature a display with historical facts to pique people’s curiosity, she said.

“It was eye-opening,” Alston said.

The event is from 5-9 p.m. Friday in Mandan’s Dykshoorn Park. Attendees also will be able to enjoy African dancing, music, arts and crafts, food and historical displays about African American culture in the area, she said.

Other North Dakota Juneteenth events:

• Grand Forks, 5 p.m. Friday, University Park
• Moorhead, Minnesota, 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. Friday, Minnesota State Moorhead campus mall
• Williston, 10 a.m. to 8 p.m. Saturday, Davidson Park
• Minot, noon to 10 p.m., Oak Park

North Dakota Monitor reporter Michael Achterling can be reached at machterling@northdakotamonitor.com.