Just after World War II the United Nations was looking for a permanent headquarters. The site chosen was to become a sort of "world's capital city." The Black Hills area was seriously considered. South Dakota's Governor Sharp joined the governors of Wyoming and Nebraska in formally inviting the United Nations to locate in the Black Hills. Senators and congressmen pushed the plan, as did a local committee headed by Rapid City dynamo Paul Bellamy.

    Press releases from around the world mentioned the Black Hills alongside candidate cities like Geneva, Brussels and Philadelphia, where an editorial in the Inquirer said, "The Black Hills must be recognized as real competition."

    When Paul Bellamy flew to London to represent the Hills before a site selection committee, Time magazine said, "The star performer was Paul Bellamy, a bull-necked businessman who represents no city, but the bleak Black Hills of South Dakota where men are men and Steaks are three inches thick."

    The bid to establish the United Nations in the Black Hills was more than just a publicity stunt. Promoters were well armed with arguments. They said the Black Hills offered an opportunity to build a U.N. Peace Capital from scratch-and where no large city would absorb the capital's identity. Maps were issued showing the Black Hills as the most equally convenient location by air to all nations. Governor Sharp even offered to declare a 10-mile square "District of the World" where the state would yield sovereignty.

    Bellamy wanted to see the name Black Hills changed to Black Mountains. He didn't feel "hills" properly described the grandeur of the area. In London Bellamy had a hard time convincing some of the delegates that the Hills "...were not just little piles of black dirt."

    Greece became the first nation to endorse the Black Hills site, but none others followed. New York City easily won the vote as the new home of the U.N.

10/01/03