The Dakota Territory was the name of an organized territory of the United States that consisted of the northernmost part of the land acquired in the Louisiana Purchase of the United States. The Territory existed from 1861 to 1889. The Dakota Territory became a historic, organized territory on March 2, 1861.The new territory included much of present-day Montana and Wyoming. In 1868, creation of new territories to its west, reduced the size of the Dakota Territory to the present boundaries of North and South Dakota The Dakota Territory had its capital in Yankton from 1861 until 1883, when it was moved to Bismark.The Dakota Territory was divided into the states of North Dakota and South Dakota on November 2, 1889. The Dakota territory was divided into two separate states for a couple of different reasons. The first being of a political nature, the newly formed Republican party wanted two states instead of one to add to their political influence and power. The second reason was the two major centers of population were in the opposite corners of the territory, several hundred miles away from each other.
