Peter Norbeck (August 27, 1870December 20, 1936) was an American politician from

South Dakota South Dakota (; Sioux language, Sioux: , ) is a U.S. state, state in the West North Central states, North Central region of the United States. It is also part of the Great Plains. South Dakota is named after the Dakota people, Dakota Sioux ...

. After serving two terms as the ninth Governor of South Dakota, he was elected to three consecutive terms as a

United States Senator The United States Senate consists of 100 members, two from each of the 50 U.S. state, states. This list includes all senators serving in the 119th United States Congress. Party affiliation Independent Senators Angus King of Maine and Berni ...

. Norbeck was the first native-born Governor of South Dakota to serve in office, and the first native-born U.S. Senator from South Dakota (he was born in the portion of the

Dakota Territory 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 ...

that would later become the state of South Dakota). He is best remembered as "Mount Rushmore's great political patron", for promoting the construction of the giant sculpture at

Mount Rushmore The Mount Rushmore National Memorial is a National Memorial (United States), national memorial centered on a colossal sculpture carved into the granite face of Mount Rushmore (, or Six Grandfathers) in the Black Hills near Keystone, South Dak ...

and securing federal funding for it.

Early life and education

Norbeck was the eldest of six children born to immigrants George (born in

Jämtland Jämtland () is a historical provinces of Sweden, province () in the centre of Sweden in northern Europe. It borders Härjedalen and Medelpad to the south, Ångermanland to the east, Lapland, Sweden, Lapland to the north and Trøndelag and Norw ...

, Sweden) and Karen (Larsen) Norbeck, who was Norwegian. At the time of Norbeck's birth, his family was living in a dugout on the family's , located northeast of Vermillion in the

. He attended the public schools and the

University of South Dakota The University of South Dakota (USD) is a public research university in Vermillion, South Dakota, United States. Established by the Dakota Territory legislature in 1862, 27 years before the establishment of the state of South Dakota, USD is t ...

at Vermillion. In 1895 he was a contractor and driller of deep water, oil, and gas wells. He moved to

Redfield, South Dakota Redfield is a city in and the county seat of Spink County, South Dakota, United States. The population was 2,214 at the 2020 United States Census, 2020 census. The city was named for J. B. Redfield, a railroad official. Geography According to th ...

, in 1900 and added agricultural pursuits. He married Lydia Theresa Anderson in June 1901. They had three daughters, Nellie, Ruth, and Selma (aka Sally); and one son, Harold.

Personal affiliations

Norbeck was a

Freemason Freemasonry (sometimes spelled Free-Masonry) consists of fraternal groups that trace their origins to the medieval guilds of stonemasons. Freemasonry is the oldest secular fraternity in the world and among the oldest still-existing organizati ...

, and a member of the Grand Lodge of South Dakota. He received the 32° of the Ancient and Accepted Scottish Rite, Southern Jurisdiction in Yankton, SD on 22 June 1919, and was also a member of Yelduz Shriners in

Aberdeen, South Dakota Aberdeen () is a city in and the county seat of Brown County, South Dakota, United States. As of the 2020 census, its population was 28,495. making it the third-most populous city in the state. Aberdeen is home of Northern State University. ...

. His Blue (Craft) lodge name and number are not known.

Career

On May 9, 1908, Norbeck ran for the

State Senate from Spink County. After being elected to the first of three terms, he joined Coe Crawford's inner circle of

Progressives Progressivism is a left-leaning political philosophy and reform movement that seeks to advance the human condition through social reform. Adherents hold that progressivism has universal application and endeavor to spread this idea to human so ...

. In 1914, Norbeck reluctantly accepted Governor Frank Byrne's invitation to run for

Lieutenant Governor A lieutenant governor, lieutenant-governor, or vice governor is a high officer of state, whose precise role and rank vary by jurisdiction. Often a lieutenant governor is the deputy, or lieutenant, to or ranked under a governor — a "second-in-comm ...

on the Republican ticket; they ended up winning. In 1916, Norbeck ran for governor and beat Democratic candidate W.T. Rinehart, becoming the ninth

Governor of South Dakota The governor of South Dakota is the head of government of South Dakota. The governor is elected to a four-year term in even years when there is no presidential election. The current governor is Larry Rhoden, a member of the Republican Party ...

. He served in that office from 1917 to 1921. In 1920, Norbeck was elected United States

Senator A senate is a deliberative assembly, often the upper house or Legislative chamber, chamber of a bicameral legislature. The name comes from the Ancient Rome, ancient Roman Senate (Latin: ''Senatus''), so-called as an assembly of the senior ...

. He won the election with 50% of the vote, running against a Democrat and two fairly strong independent candidates; the

Democrat Democrat, Democrats, or Democratic may refer to: Politics *A proponent of democracy, or democratic government; a form of government involving rule by the people. *A member of a Democratic Party: **Democratic Party (Cyprus) (DCY) **Democratic Part ...

finished third. Norbeck was re-elected to the Senate in 1926 and 1932.

South Dakota tourism and Mount Rushmore

Norbeck made a number of contributions to South Dakota's tourism industry. He worked with sculptor

Gutzon Borglum John Gutzon de la Mothe Borglum (March 25, 1867 – March 6, 1941) was an American sculpture, sculptor best known for his work on Mount Rushmore. He is also associated with various other public works of art across the U.S., including Stone Moun ...

to help him create his huge sculpture at

, convinced presidents

Calvin Coolidge Calvin Coolidge (born John Calvin Coolidge Jr.; ; July 4, 1872January 5, 1933) was the 30th president of the United States, serving from 1923 to 1929. A Republican Party (United States), Republican lawyer from Massachusetts, he previously ...

and

Franklin D. Roosevelt Franklin Delano Roosevelt (January 30, 1882April 12, 1945), also known as FDR, was the 32nd president of the United States, serving from 1933 until his death in 1945. He is the longest-serving U.S. president, and the only one to have served ...

to support it, and shepherded multiple bills through Congress to provide federal funding for it. He encouraged the development of the Iron Mountain Road in the

Black Hills The Black Hills is an isolated mountain range rising from the Great Plains of North America in western South Dakota and extending into Wyoming, United States. Black Elk Peak, which rises to , is the range's highest summit. The name of the range ...

. He also pushed for the development of Sylvan Lake, Needles Highway,

Badlands National Park Badlands National Park () is a List of national parks of the United States, national park of the United States in southwestern South Dakota. The park protects of sharply Erosion, eroded buttes and Pinnacle (geology), pinnacles, along with the l ...

Custer State Park Custer State Park is a South Dakota State Park and wildlife reserve in the Black Hills of the United States. Located in Custer County, the park is South Dakota's first and largest state park, named after Lieutenant Colonel George Armstrong C ...

Wind Cave National Park Wind Cave National Park is a national park of the United States located north of the town of Hot Springs in western South Dakota. Established on January 3, 1903 by President Theodore Roosevelt, it was the sixth national park in the U.S. and t ...

, and the Game Sanctuary in the

. As outgoing Republican chairman during the last months of the

Herbert Hoover Herbert Clark Hoover (August 10, 1874 – October 20, 1964) was the 31st president of the United States, serving from 1929 to 1933. A wealthy mining engineer before his presidency, Hoover led the wartime Commission for Relief in Belgium and ...

presidency, Norbeck appointed

Ferdinand Pecora Ferdinand Pecora (January 6, 1882 – December 7, 1971) was an American lawyer and New York State Supreme Court judge who became famous in the 1930s as Chief Counsel to the United States Senate Committee on Banking and Currency during its invest ...

as Chief Counsel to the

U.S. Senate The United States Senate is a chamber of the bicameral United States Congress; it is the upper house, with the U.S. House of Representatives being the lower house. Together, the Senate and House have the authority under Article One of the ...

's Committee on Banking and Currency. The Committee investigated the Wall Street Crash of 1929.

Death and memorials

Norbeck died of cancer in Redfield, South Dakota, during his third term as

in 1936. He is interred at Bloomington Church Cemetery, Platte, South Dakota. The Peter Norbeck Summer House, in

, is listed on the

National Register of Historic Places The National Register of Historic Places (NRHP) is the Federal government of the United States, United States federal government's official United States National Register of Historic Places listings, list of sites, buildings, structures, Hist ...

References

External links

Entry for Peter Norbeck at the Weekly South Dakotan website
* ttp://www.infoplease.com/biography/us/congress/norbeck-peter.html Entry for Peter Norbeck at Infoplease.com {{DEFAULTSORT:Norbeck, Peter 1870 births 1936 deaths People from Clay County, South Dakota American people of Swedish descent American people of Norwegian descent American Lutherans Republican Party United States senators from South Dakota Republican Party governors of South Dakota Lieutenant governors of South Dakota Republican Party South Dakota state senators People from Redfield, South Dakota Mount Rushmore 20th-century United States senators 20th-century members of the South Dakota Legislature