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History

The surveyor s house was a sturdy and comfortable haven from the cold of a fierce Dakota winter for the Ingalls family in 1879. Photo by Colin Faulkingham.

Thanksgiving on the Prairie


De Smet's first Thanksgiving inspired a lesson in gratitude that still resonates today.

Mitchell native Jack Thurman is shown at the far left, waving his cap, in Joe Rosenthal s famous World War II photograph. Click to enlarge photo.

Unknown No More


Mitchell native Jack Thurman has a place in Iwo Jima history. 

We Gave One the Chair


Warden G. Norton Jameson brought death by electrocution to the South Dakota State Penitentiary.

Folks from both sides of the border gathered to watch the contest between Scotty Philip s buffalo and a Juarez fighting bull.

The Buffalo vs. the Bull


When Scotty Philip's buffalo Pierre met a Mexican bull in the ring, the Juarez fighter didn't stand a chance against the monarch of the plains. 

Harold Kindred, Orville McDonald, Ed Kindred and Earl Hormann were a few of the orphans housed at the Dell Rapids Home.

The Home Kids of Dell Rapids


From 1910 to 1947, the Odd Fellows Home provided "a good place, a good home and good times" to South Dakota orphans.

A hungry herd of cows was no match for Ma Ingalls and her trusty hoe. Photo by Bernie Hunhoff.

Cows on Parade


Herder Harold Fritzel's hungry bovines were barred from one famous De Smet garden.

Richard Clarke relished his role as the  cuss from Custer  and  diabolical devil from Deadwood  of dime novel fame.

Deadwood Dick vs the Whitewood Skunk


The Days of '76 character's fast draw had humorously unfortunate results for his Black Hills neighbors. 

Callihan's Infernal Machine


South Dakota's first car clattered through Woonsocket 128 years ago.

Joe Foss Remembered


An ex-newspaper boy from Pierre remembers the day he got a helping hand from a hero.

Before Wizard of Oz author L. Frank Baum wrote the stories that inspired Aberdeen s Storybook Land, he was an entrepreneur, newspaperman and baseball  crank.

Baum's Aberdeen Oz Was a Baseball Diamond


The Wizard of Oz author L. Frank Baum brought America's pastime to the Hub City.

25,000 pounds of marijuana were on board the DC-7 caught in Walworth County on Super Bowl Sunday in 1980.

The Super Bowl of Drug Busts


Ice fishermen helped catch the Walworth County "pot plane" in 1980.

Borglum's Last Christmas


Remembering Christmas time with the Mount Rushmore family.

The Verne Miller Story: From Lawman To Outlaw


Following the trail of a Beadle County sheriff turned gangster.

Father Robert Haire s politics made him one of Aberdeen s most controversial characters, but on his 70th birthday a local editor wrote,  Today everybody loves him and looks up to him...

Faith in the Voters


An Aberdeen priest was the father of the initiative and referendum process that gave us term limits, dove hunting and daylight savings time. 

The Bown’s little house sat unprotected on the prairie just before the 1947 fire.

The Great Hyde County Prairie Fire of 1947


Third-generation rancher Johnny Bown sent this account of Hyde County’s devastating prairie fire to his mother-in-law in St. Louis 64 years ago.

First Lady of Sturgis


Nobody deserves more credit for initiating the Sturgis Rally than Pearl Hoel.

Big Sioux's Mighty Flood


Here's what happened in 1881 when the Big Sioux River left its banks.

The Original Badger Hole


South Dakota nearly lost our beloved poet's first Black Hills cabin.

Pettigrew's Redemption


Might a sculptor vindicate Sioux Falls' forgotten father?

The Muskegon Disaster


Remembering a deadly storm on Big Stone Lake.

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