56 flags from all U.S. states and territories fly at Mount Rushmore National Monument, South Dakota. This photo of Mount Rushmore National Memorial is courtesy of TripAdvisor.
Residents of North Dakota and South Dakota should fly their U.S. flags today in honor of your state’s being admitted to the union, on November 2, 1889.
Most sites note simply that both states were admitted on the same day; some sites, especially those that lean toward North Dakota, claim that state is Number 39, because President Harrison signed their papers first, after shuffling to avoid playing favorites.
Does anyone really care?
More:
- Yankton Press & Dakotan carried the AP story on the statehood anniversary — Yankton is in South Dakota
- Huge festivities in South Dakota for the 125th anniversary, last year, won’t be repeated
- The Daily Journal in North Dakota claims that North Dakota is the 39th state, and South Dakota the 40th; President Benjamin Harrison is said to have shuffled the papers before he signed them, so as not to play favorites
Posted by Ed Darrell 
Millard Fillmore's Bathtub 