The Five Forgotten Names South Dakota Almost Had

Here's a list of five of the forgotten names that very nearly replaced South Dakota. Springer was vehemently against naming the states North Dakota and South Dakota, believing that the two should have separate, distinct names. Credit: Canva Credit: CanvaCongressman William Springer's number one choice just so happened to be the name of a town that lies in Minnesota. So, lawmakers made a compromise and East and West Dakota became North Dakota and South Dakota. Credit: Canva Credit: CanvaOriginally, the southern half (South Dakota) wanted to keep the name "Dakota" for itself, while the northern half would be called the Territory of Pembina (after the Red River settlement).