BISMARCK — Governor Doug Burgum today congratulated the City of Bismarck on its 150-year history and directed the lights of the Capitol to display the number 150 tonight to mark the capital city’s sesquicentennial year, which officially begins Saturday, May 14.
“As we join together today and throughout the coming year to celebrate and honor Bismarck’s Sesquicentennial, we look to the past, present and future with the same enduring pioneer spirit that sparked its inception,” Burgum stated in a congratulatory letter to the city. “From the historic Lewis and Clark expedition through the Missouri Crossing to the brief railway that inspired Edwinton to its final nomenclature as Bismarck on May 14, 1872, the city has proudly reflected the dreams and journeys of those drawn to our nation’s heartland.”
“Thank you, Bismarck residents, for your perseverance, initiative and agility as you support new endeavors and strengthen historical ties,” added Burgum, whose grandmother, Jessamine Slaughter Burgum, was among the first children born in Bismarck in 1873. “Whether in famine and flood or abundance and joy, you are an independent, innovative and inclusive collection of individuals and your city reflects this. As you embark on the grand adventures of the next 150 years, we applaud your many achievements and look forward to the many others yet to come.”
Read the governor’s full letter here. Burgum expressed his gratitude to the state’s Facility Management Division staff for coordinating the Capitol lights display.
