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National Bank Notes > North Dakota

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Steele, First NB, 8997
Fr. 1802-1 $20 1929T1
Grade: PMG VF 25    

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Here is a very nice, evenly circulated Type 1 $20 that is one of only five small notes reported. It came from the collection of Bob Steele, a Wisconsin collector. Steele is the county seat of Kidder County. The population was 715 at the 2010 census. Development of Steele was begun in 1872 when The Northern Pacific Railroad built Fourteenth Siding (the station was named using the simple chronological order of the sidings as they were built westward from Fargo). Wilbur F. Steele purchased land from the railroad in 1878 and established the community of Steele. The post office was established June 10, 1880 with Col. Steele as Postmaster, the site was platted in 1881, and it became the county seat in 1882. Steele was incorporated as a city in 1883, and a peak population of 847 was reached in 1960. Mr. Steele had hoped that the state capitol would be located in Steele, so he erected a three-story building to house the legislature. When Bismarck instead won the honor, Mr. Steele sold the brick building to Kidder County on April 21, 1885, for $20,000, to be used as the courthouse. That building is the present Kidder County Courthouse. On July 6, 1936, the temperature in Steele soared to 121'F, the highest temperature ever recorded in the state of North Dakota. Never before or since has such extreme heat been recorded so far north on the North American continent. Steele is home to Sandy, the World's Largest Sandhill Crane, a 40-foot tall metal sculpture. The giant bird was erected in 1999 to commemorate the fact that Steele is in the direct path of the migration flyway - making this area a favorite spot for migratory nesting birds including the Sandhill Crane.

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