https://designshop-6aa0.kxcdn.com/photos/usa-north-dakota-vintage-greeting-card-online-16560_29.jpg> North Dakota, the 39th state, gained statehood the same day as its neighbor to the south. This is from Wikipedia: North Dakota was admitted to the Union on November 2, 1889, along with neighboring South Dakota, as the 39th and 40th states. President Benjamin Harrison shuffled the statehood papers before signing them so that no one could tell which became a state first; consequently, the two states are officially numbered in alphabetical order.