Shemorry poses with camera in hand in front of his famous Clarence Iverson #1 well photograph which made it to the cover of many regional and national publications. This photograph was taken around 1952.

Since May 2008, the Williston State College Foundation has funded a Project Archivist, Emily J. Ergen, to process and digitize the William E. (Bill) Shemorry Collection, which is currently being housed at the State Historical Society in Bismarck.

Bill Shemorry’s career encompassed the roles of newspaper publisher, reporter, photographer, historian, researcher and author, in Williston, North Dakota.

In total, the collection consists of 189 boxes of Shemorry’s research, photographic prints, negatives, newspapers, slides, artifacts, and sports programs. The total number of photographs is unknown, but the best estimate is 100,000 images. Images in the collection date from the 1880s-1970s.

The photographs in the collection encompass a variety of topics including advertising, aerial photography, agriculture, aviation, businesses, churches, city organizations, community celebrations and events, education, history, the military – especially the China-Burma-India theater in World War II, oil, Native Americans, parades, people, photography, pioneer and homesteading photographs, politics and politicians, sports, the oil industry, transportation, firefighting and fires, weddings and anniversaries, and much more.

Shemorry collected photographic prints, negatives and glass plate negatives of 19th century photographers and photo studios of northwestern North Dakota.

Shemorry’s activities, reflected in this collection, document the history of the northwestern part of the state unlike anything else.

Shemorry captured once-in-a lifetime scenes like this one of Williston children greeting returning soldiers from WWII, taken around 1945.

To view what is available to date of the Shemorry Collection online, simply go to www.digitalhorizonsonline.org, select browse and William E. “Bill” Shemorry Collection from the dropdown menu.

Phil Jackson… Williston Coyote Center (22) and the man with the longest reach demonstrates his advantage as he battles a Minot Ryan player for the ball during the 1963 North Dakota Class A Basketball tournament, which was won by the Coyotes.

Ergen first worked on the collection in the summer of 2007 as an Intern, paid by the State Historical Society of North Dakota. Since May 15, 2008, the Williston State College Foundation has funded Ergen’s salary, travel, and training. Over 4,000 images have been scanned in total, and over 3,700 can be viewed online.

In January 2008 Williston State College Foundation was awarded a $5,000 Cultural Heritage Grant by the State Historical Society for the preservation, cataloging and selective digitization of the William E. Shemorry Collection.

The partnership between the State Historical Society and the Williston State College Foundation has provided for the best means of both preserving and providing access to the collection.

This event was the 1925 Miss Carnival Queen contest, the equivalent of today's Miss Williston contest, an American Legion fund raising event held at the armory in, Williston, N.D. This photograph was taken by Joseph E. Pasonault.