Near Pierre in Hughes County, South Dakota — The American Midwest (Upper Plains)
Medicine Knoll River
April 2, 2023
1. Medicine Knoll River Marker
Inscription.
On September 22, 1804 Lewis & Clark passed by this river and camped a couple of miles up the Missouri. They called it Reuben River for Reuben Fields, one of their hunters. In 1839 however this was called Medicine Knoll River by Nicollet & Fremont, who held a 4th of July pyrotechnic display on the Medicine Knoll 12 miles up the creek. In 1855 Lt. G. K. Warren, noted western topographer camped here while mapping this area. The same year Paul Narcelle quit the American Fur Company and started a ranch just South of here near the creek where he raised cattle, the first settler in this area. In 1857 the Yankton Sioux by treaty ceded the area of SE, South Dakota to the Government and this creek was part of the Northern line of the lands so ceded. In 1863 the U.S.A. moved the Winnebagoes from Minnesota and Wisconsin to Dakota and this Creek was the west line of a Reservation that extended down to Ft. Thompson, created that same year. By 1876 the Narcelle ranch was a stage stop on the Yankton-Ft. Randall-Ft. Thompson-Ft. Pierre stage line. In 1955 the Reclamation service plans a huge Reservoir, north of Blunt on its Headwaters.
Erected
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1955 by Vilas Drug Company and State Highway Commission. (Marker Number 82.)
Location. 44° 19.012′ N, 100° 4.286′ W. Marker is near Pierre, South Dakota, in Hughes County. It is at the intersection of Medicine Creek Road and South Dakota Highway 34, on the left when traveling north on Medicine Creek Road. Touch for map. Marker is in this post office area: Pierre SD 57501, United States of America. Touch for directions.
Regionally, this marker is in East River. 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.
Other nearby markers. At least 8 other markers are within 11 miles of this marker, measured as the crow flies:
Credits. This page was last revised on November 10, 2025. It was originally submitted on April 9, 2023. This page has been viewed 789 times since then and 54 times this year. Photos:1, 2, 3. submitted on April 9, 2023.
