Veblen is 100 years old!
Veblen will celebrate its century of existence on Saturday and Sunday, July 1-2. It is anticipated that thousands will attend the celebration entitled, "Celebrate The Century - Veblen in 2000." An estimated 10,000 people attended Veblen's 75th anniversary event.
Saturday activities will include a fashion show, beard contest, centennial chorus concert, a rodeo, and street dance. Sunday a community worship service is planned in the school parking lot, along with an afternoon parade.
As part of the celebration a Veblen Centennial History Book was published that includes family histories from the area as well as a detailed account of the town's first 100 years.
Veblen was incorporated in 1900 and was named for Ed Veblen, the youngest son of Norwegian immigrant parents. A graduate of the University of Minnesota with a degree in engineering, Ed Veblen filed a claim for 160 acres of virgin prairie land when the Sisseton-Wahpeton Reservation was opened to settlers in 1892. The quarter was one mile directly east of the present Town of Veblen.
The first place of business in the area was a store about a mile southeast of the present town. Soon a cluster of buildings gave evidence that the store had become a tiny town. A Post Office was added so a town name was necessary, and Captain Hawley was instrumental in having the little town named for his friend Ed Veblen.
A few years later the town was moved to its present site. Hopes of a better water supply was the incentive for the move. Some of the promoters of the early town didn't move, so for a time there was Old Veblen and New Veblen. Veblen sported a population of 321, according to the 1990 census, and continues to support an elementary school and a high school.
