Historic Preservation

Making over a century of local news accessible

Newspapers were one of the first businesses in any western U.S. town, and Mobridge is no exception. Mobridge newspapers go back to 1909, and we are lucky to have archived copies bound at the Tribune office and available on microfilms at the A. H. Brown Library. Residents and visitors interested in local archival research in Mobridge currently use the microfilms to read through papers. These are not searchable (see below for videos we captured of how it’s done today).

We hope to increase access to our local history through a project that would convert our microfilms into searchable PDFs and creating a website where history buffs and folks curious about their Mobridge area roots can go to quickly search archives from 1909 to 2016 for articles with key phrases and names. For an example of a similar project done with Colorado newspapers, please visit: https://www.coloradohistoricnewspapers.org/.

MCDC is currently working on fundraising for the project. We would greatly appreciate your donation.