German Mutual Farmers Insurance Company of Bon Homme County was originally founded in 1883 in Dakota Territory, in what is now Scotland, South Dakota. The company’s existence predates the birth of South Dakota by six years. The company is also the oldest business in Scotland and one of the oldest farm mutuals in South Dakota. German Mutual was originally founded by a group of locals of German-Russian descent. All of the policies and minutes were written in German until 1918 when they started to be written in English. Originally, it was mandated that persons must be of German-Russian descent or know someone of German-Russian descent in order to obtain coverage through German Mutual. German Mutual’s primary office is located at 420 Main Street in Scotland. The policies and claims originate from this location. This collection includes meeting minutes, an account ledger, and a short history of the German Mutual Insurance Company. You can view this collection here: http://digitalcollections.northern.edu/cdm/landingpage/collection/p16707coll15