October 13-15, 2016

The 24th Annual West River History Conference will be held October 13-15, 2016, at the BW Ramkota Hotel in Rapid City.  The theme for this year's conference is Commemorating 100 Years of the National Park Service.

And who better to help us celebrate than President Theodore Roosevelt himself!  The 26th president established the first 18 national monuments (including our own Devil's Tower), the first 4 game preserves, the first 21 reclamation projects, designated 150 national forests (including the Black Hills National Forest headed by his friend, Seth Bullock), the first 51 federal bird reservations and five national parks.

Theodore Roosevelt is portrayed by Joe Wiegand - Theodore Roosevelt Medora Foundation, Medora, ND.

The collected papers of the conference are published annually in a permanent bound volume available for purchase by schools, libraries, museums and other interested parties. Prizes for the best papers in adult and student categories will be awarded.

The 2015 Conference books will be available this spring.  Send in your order today.

Scholarship money is available for conference registration and travel expenses to encourage students and their teachers and/or parents to attend. It has been a long-time goal of the West River History Conference to increase the participation of young people so they can learn more about their heritage and carry on the work of preserving it.  All applications for this year's conference are welcome!

Deadwood Baseball Exhibit - 2015 Conference