Eric Frank Peterson was a prominent citizen of Clay County, Dakota Territory and later South Dakota, and was an active map-maker. The Archives and Special Collections and the University Libraries have five of his atlases and three of his maps.
Two of his atlases will be digitized and placed in the Digital Library of South Dakota.
Below is a short chronology of his life, from the Eric Frank Peterson papers in the Richardson Collection of the Archives and Special Collections.
1862 born in Minnesota
1878 moved with family to Dalesburg, Clay County, Dakota Territory
1879 taught school for two months. He would teach off and on for several years.
1882 moved with family to Charles Mix County where they homesteaded
1882 attended University at Vermillion
1884 elected Clay County Superintendent of Schools, taking office in 1885, re-elected, serving a total of 4 years
1889 re-entered University
1892 graduated
1892 engaged in map making business, taught school, studied law
1899 admitted to bar, but no evidence that he ever practiced law, invested in land
1904 married
1908 moved to Florida due to bad health, engaged in the map business
1909 moved to California
1939 living in California
Below is a short list of his work. Please contact us if there are atlases or maps that should be added to this list. Those titles in italics are in the Archives and Special Collections or the University Libraries at USD..
County Atlases
South Dakota, Beadle
South Dakota, Bon Homme
South Dakota, Brown
South Dakota, Charles Mix
South Dakota, Clay
South Dakota, Davison
South Dakota, Edmunds
South Dakota, Hanson
South Dakota, Sanborn
South Dakota, Turner
State Atlases
South Dakota
Cities Maps
South Dakota, Bookings
County Maps
Florida, Walton
Minnesota, Murray
Minnesota, Watonwan
South Dakota, Bon Homme
South Dakota, Brookings
South Dakota, Charles Mix
South Dakota, Clay
South Dakota, Codington
South Dakota, Gregory
South Dakota, Hanson
South Dakota, Lake
South Dakota, McCook
South Dakota, Miner
South Dakota, Moody
South Dakota, Sanborn
South Dakota, Spink
South Dakota, Tripp
Regional Maps
SE North Dakota and NE South Dakota
Cornbelt of South Dakota
Hughes, Hyde, Sully and part of Potter and Faulk Counties
State Maps
South Dakota
Peterson’s image is in the Digital Library of South Dakota at http://dlsd.sdln.net/cdm4/item_viewer.php?CISOROOT=/photograph&CISOPTR=472&CISOBOX=1&REC=5
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