Jamestown in Stutsman County, North Dakota — The American Midwest (Upper Plains)
Dr. Helena K. Wink
North Dakota's First Female Doctor
Photographed by Cosmos Mariner, June 28, 2024
1. Dr. Helena K. Wink Marker
Topics. This historical marker is listed in these topic lists: Science & Medicine • Settlements & Settlers • Women. A significant historical date for this entry is August 3, 1883.
Location. 46° 54.37′ N, 98° 42.514′ W. Marker is in Jamestown, North Dakota, in Stutsman County. It is at the intersection of 1st Avenue South (U.S. 52/281) and 3rd Street Southwest, on the left when traveling north on 1st Avenue South. The marker is embedded in the sidewalk near the southwest corner of the intersection. Touch for map. Marker is at or near this postal address: 1st Avenue North, Jamestown ND 58401, United States of America. Touch for directions.
Regionally, this marker is in North Dakota’s Drift Prairie. It is also in the American Lewis & Clark Corridor, on the prairies, and on the Northern Plains. Globally, it is in North America, the Western Hemisphere, the Western World, and the Anglosphere. Historically, it finds itself in what was once Ruperts Land and also the Louisiana Purchase.
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Other nearby markers. At least 8 other markers are within walking distance of this marker: Edna LaMoore Waldo (within shouting distance of this marker); Alfred Dickey (within shouting distance of this marker); Posthouse (within shouting distance of this marker); Elizabeth White (about 500 feet away, measured in a direct line); The Hansen Arts Park (about 600 feet away); Peggy Lee (about 700 feet away); Gilbert R. Horton (approx. 0.2 miles away); Seiler Building (approx. 0.2 miles away). Touch for a list and map of all markers in Jamestown.
Also see . . .
1. Helena Wink, pioneer doctor (by Merry Helm). Excerpt:
She was strong, and she looked it tall and slender with deep-set piercing eyes. She was resourceful, generous, honest and fair. Her fees were small sometimes free. Helena graduated from eighth grade with a certificate for teaching elementary school, and from her salary of $13 a month, she saved enough to go to medical school at the University of Michigan. She graduated three years later and moved to Dakota Territory, where 10 of her siblings homesteaded near Cleveland, west of Jamestown, where she set up her practice.(Submitted on August 8, 2024, by Cosmos Mariner of Cape Canaveral, Florida.)Photographed by Cosmos Mariner, June 28, 20242. Dr. Helena K. Wink MarkerLooking south from 3rd Street Southwest along 1st Avenue South; the marker is embedded in the sidewalk.A former patient said, If no other doctor would go, Dr. Wink would. She was never too busy to come. Sometimes, in stormy weather, we would meet her and the men would put her team in the barn. Often she stayed all night. Doing what more than any darned man would do, Dr. Wink took food along on her calls...
2. Pioneer Doctor of the Prairie (by Karen Blumhagen). Excerpt:
In 1880, female doctors were not accepted by society. Medicine was considered too unrefined and intimate for women, and they were often criticized for considering such a career. But twenty-six-year-old Helena enrolled in the medical department of the University of Michigan and graduated in the spring of 1883 with sixteen other women. These seventeen were the only women out of 117 graduates.(Submitted on August 8, 2024, by Cosmos Mariner of Cape Canaveral, Florida.)After Helenas parents died, ten of her brothers and sisters moved west to the rich farmland near Jamestown, Dakota Territory. Helena joined her family in August 1883. She began her practice shortly after and became the only female doctor in the area...
3. Doctor Wink, Medicine Woman (www.archives.gov). Excerpt:
Dr. Helena Wink set up practice in Jamestown on August 3, 1883. In the late 1800's, before Jamestown had any hospitals, she brought nine-year-old Lizzie Stuff to her home to treat her ruptured appendix. With the help of three other doctors, Dr. Wink performed one of the earliest appendectomies in the Midwest while the girl lay on her dining-room table. Tending her young patient, Dr. Wink didn't sleep for the next three days and nights. Because of her skill and vigilance, Lizzie survived. Dr. Wink worked until her death in 1936 at the age of 81.(Submitted on August 8, 2024, by Cosmos Mariner of Cape Canaveral, Florida.)
Credits. This page was last revised on July 2, 2025. It was originally submitted on August 8, 2024, by Cosmos Mariner of Cape Canaveral, Florida. This page has been viewed 438 times since then and 58 times this year. Photos: 1, 2. submitted on August 8, 2024, by Cosmos Mariner of Cape Canaveral, Florida.
