Great Stories of the Great Plains: Jamestown celebrates independence in 1882

Jamestown has always enjoyed a good celebration, and the Fourth of July is no exception. Even in the days before the community became a city, residents pulled out all the stops to have a good time.
The Independence Day holiday in 1882 fell on a Tuesday, and that made things a little easier. The blue laws of the era would have prohibited many of the planned activities if the holiday had fallen on a Sunday.
The 1882 event included a parade with all veterans in the area asked to participate. Many fought on the Union side of the American Civil War and marched with pride under the flag of the Grand Army of the Republic.
The parade was followed by Johnson Nickeus reading the Declaration of Independence, although the celebration included some fun events as well.
Boat and tub races were held on the river during the day. My understanding is the contestant could row or paddle a boat but had to just float down the river if they were entered in the tub race. Both events awarded a silver cup to the winner.
Greased pole climbing was the sport for those who didn’t mind getting a little dirty. They just don’t have fun like that anymore.
The local glee club and coronet band provided the music for the day, and a free picnic was served to everyone a little after noon. The Jamestown Alert ended up issuing an apology after it credited the meal to the “ladies of Jamestown” rather than the “ladies of Stutsman County.”
The final event of the celebration was a fireworks display in the evening.
Overall, the 1882 Independence Day celebration in Jamestown was probably a little quieter than the modern version of the holiday.
A committee had been appointed to aid local authorities in preventing the use of firecrackers in Jamestown. This was probably a good idea considering the number of horses within the community back in those days.
Even with firecrackers banned, the Alert worried that kids with cap pistols would ruin the day, although this concern was unfounded. Sheriff Alexander McKechnie kept a full force of deputies in the crowd that day assuring everyone was “peaceable and orderly.”
The Alert for July 7, 1882, reported just one arrest during the festivities. It would seem that a young man became drunk and combative. McKechnie allowed him to cool off in the “Hotel el Limbo,” slang for the jail, and brought him before the judge the next day.
The fine for being drunk and combative on the Fourth of July in 1882 was $25. Adjusted for inflation, that is about $600 today.
The young man, described as a new resident to the area, didn’t have the cash so he served an unspecified jail sentence instead.
From all reports, he was the only one who didn’t enjoy the Fourth of July in Jamestown in 1882 with maybe the exception of the guys who didn’t win the greased pole-climbing contest.
Keith Norman can be reached at Keith@ KeithNormanBooks.com