The Lure of the Falls

The Lure of the Falls. . For as long as humans have inhabited this area, they have been attracted by the Falls. Rumors about these falls drew early American explorers. The sound of the Falls could once be heard for several miles around., The sound, smell and sight of the water crashing against the rocks entertains visitors, bringing them closer to nature. The Falls have inspired letters and poetry. They have been the subject of paintings, postcards and photographs., Stereographs, like the one on the left, were viewed with a special type of glasses. When you looked at the photograph through the viewer, which you held in front of your eyes, the image seemed three-dimensional., This stereograph is an early image of the falls, before the banks of the river were lined with trees and industries. Since early settlement days, the falls were a popular attraction, and stereographs of the falls allowed visitors to recall its magnificent scenery. , Siouxland Heritage Museums photo,

A thousand waterfalls in one, , A thousand rills around me run; , A thousand brooklets laugh and leap, , And make this lovely scene complete., I love Dakota more and more - , Her prairies vast, her mines of ore - , I love her mountains and her glades, , But most her beautiful cascades., And, though I roam in other lands - , In city dense, on ocean's strands - , Thy charms shall reign in mem'ry's halls, , And bring me back to thee, "Sioux Falls."

, Poem published in American Miller, August 1880. Richard Ferrell Flour Milling History Collection,

On we go toward the falls ..., Soon our eyes catch glimpses of the cascades glittering in the light of the rising sun. There are many water falls, arrested for a moment and then the many cascades finally meet and go laughing, foaming and bounding into the chasm below ..., From every waterfall and rock Nature with a thousand tongues, proclaims Omnipotence.

, Letter from Carrie J. Peabody, Dubuque, Iowa, to the Sioux Falls Pantagraph, Nov. 7, 1877.