The Territory of Dakota was an organized incorporated territory of the
United States that existed from March 2, 1861, until November 2, 1889,
when the final extent of the reduced territory was split and admitted
to the Union as the states of North Dakota and South Dakota.The Dakota
Territory consisted of the northernmost part of the land acquired in
the Louisiana Purchase in 1803, as well as the southernmost part of
Rupert's Land, which was acquired in 1818 when the boundary was
changed to the 49th parallel. The name refers to the Dakota branch of
the Sioux tribes which occupied the area at the time. Most of Dakota
Territory was formerly part of the Minnesota and Nebraska
territories.When Minnesota became a state in 1858, the leftover area
between the Missouri River and Minnesota's western boundary fell
unorganized. When the Yankton Treaty was signed later that year,
ceding much of what had been Sioux Indian land to the U.S. Government,
early settlers formed a provisional government and unsuccessfully
lobbied for United States territory status.Wilmot Wood Brookings was
the provisional governor. The cities of Wilmot and Brookings as well
as the county of Brookings, South Dakota are named for him. Three
years later President-elect Abraham Lincoln's cousin-in-law J.B.S.
Todd personally lobbied for territory status and the U.S. Congress
formally created Dakota Territory. It became an organized territory on
March 2, 1861. Upon creation, Dakota Territory included much of
present-day Montana and Wyoming as well as all of present-day North
Dakota and South Dakota and a small portion of present-day Nebraska. Dakota Territory Biography, NetWorth, Height, Age, Weight, Family, Married, Son, Daughter