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Sioux Falls in Minnehaha County, South Dakota — The American Midwest (Upper Plains)
 

Yankton Trail Bridge

 
 
Yankton Trail Bridge Marker <i>(Side one)</i> image. Click for full size.
December 1, 2021
1. Yankton Trail Bridge Marker (Side one)
Inscription. This site has been an important Big Sioux River crossing for more than 300 years. As early as the 1700s the Yankton Sioux forded the river here and often made camp while en route to pipestone quarries in Minnesota.

After the slaying of Judge Amidon and his son William during the Dakota Conflict of 1862, the entire population and their cavalry escort fled Sioux Falls City and crossed the river at this point. Later federal troops used this ford when traveling between Fort Dakota (1865-1869) and Fort Randall.

A ferry was established here in 1880. Three years later local carpenter Leonard Cashman built the first bridge, a primitive wooden affair, at this crossing.

Builder S. M. Hewett constructed the Yankton Trail Bridge in 1895. A rare example of a pin-connected Parker Through-Truss bridge, it is an elongated rectangular steel span, 177 feet long by 21 feet wide. Originally used by horse-drawn wagons and buggies traveling the Yankton Trail, its roadway was a wood plank floor.

The Old Yankton Bridge was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1999.
 
Erected 2007 by the Minnehaha County Historical Society, Kameron & Nancy Carlson, and Woods, Fuller, Shultz & Smith P.C.
 
Topics. This historical marker is listed in these topic lists: Architecture
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Bridges & ViaductsRoads & VehiclesWaterways & Vessels. A significant historical year for this entry is 1880.
 
Location. 43° 30.058′ N, 96° 45.072′ W. Marker is in Sioux Falls, South Dakota, in Minnehaha County. It is on West 57th Street north of Old Yankton Circle, on the right when traveling west. Located in Farm Field Park by the Old Yankton Bridge. Touch for map. Marker is in this post office area: Sioux Falls SD 57108, United States of America. Touch for directions.

Regionally, this marker is in East River. It is also in the American Midwest, in the Lewis & Clark Corridor, in the Corn Belt, 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 Rupert’s Land and also the Louisiana Purchase.

Other nearby markers. At least 8 other markers are within walking distance of this marker: The Great Bend (here, next to this marker); South Dakota Achieve (approx. 0.3 miles away); "Mr. Soccer" Manfred Szameit (approx. 0.6 miles away); Wallner Gardens (approx. 0.6 miles away); Sertoma Park (approx. 0.6 miles away); Soo Skyways Airport (approx. Ύ mile away); Thomas Jefferson (approx. 0.8 miles away); George Washington (approx. 0.8 miles away). Touch for a list and map of all markers in Sioux Falls.
 
Yankton Trail Bridge Marker <i>(Side two)</i> image. Click for full size.
December 1, 2021
2. Yankton Trail Bridge Marker (Side two)
Yankton Trail Bridge Marker <i>(left)</i>, from the south image. Click for full size.
December 1, 2021
3. Yankton Trail Bridge Marker (left), from the south
Yankton Trail Bridge Marker, from the north image. Click for full size.
December 1, 2021
4. Yankton Trail Bridge Marker, from the north
Big Sioux River, view nearby marker image. Click for full size.
December 1, 2021
5. Big Sioux River, view nearby marker
Yankton Trail Bridge, Old Yankton Bridge image. Click for full size.
December 1, 2021
6. Yankton Trail Bridge, Old Yankton Bridge
Yankton Trail Bridge, Old Yankton Bridge <i>(side view)</i> image. Click for full size.
December 1, 2021
7. Yankton Trail Bridge, Old Yankton Bridge (side view)
 
 
Credits. This page was last revised on December 3, 2021. It was originally submitted on December 2, 2021. This page has been viewed 1,257 times since then and 59 times this year. Photos:   1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7. submitted on December 2, 2021. • J. Makali Bruton was the editor who published this page.
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Jun. 5, 2026