Dalesburg School / Dalesburg Village

Dalesburg School, also, Dalesburg Village. . , Dalesburg School , The Dalesburg School was located one-half mile south of the village site on land donated by Andrew and Lina Berg in 1872. Classes were held in the Berg home until the schoolhouse was built in 1874. A second building was erected in 1887 and a third was built in 1916. The brick school was constructed in 1926, after a fire destroyed its wooden two-room predecessor on January 11, 1926., Grade levels taught at the school varied over the years. Grades first through eighth and sometimes ninth and tenth grades were offered. In 1969 the school district was divided between the Centerville and Beresford School Districts, but classes were held in the building until 1974. The schoolhouse was sold in 1977 and is now a private residence., August Peterson, a resident of Dalesburg, recorded the history of the village and the community in his History of the Swedes who settled in Clay County, South Dakota and their Biographies in 1947, and for this we are grateful., Dalesburg Village , The name Dalesburg (originally Dahlsborg) was first suggested for this community of Swedish immigrants in 1869, when attempts were made to organize a church. The name was selected because many of the immigrants came from Dalarna Province, Sweden. The village was not founded until 1892 when Andrew Lyckholm and John Aust purchased the merchandise of the Dalesburg Store and moved it to Mr. Lyckholm's home on the east side of the road. In 1893, Mr. Lyckholm became the sole owner of the business and the post office also was moved to his home. Lyckholm later built a general store on the west side of the road. He and his wife Martha sold the store in 1927 to Axel and Adena Swanson and sons. The Swanson family continued to operate a store and meat locker there until the 1950's., In addition to the general store, at one time or another, the village of Dalesburg consisted of a blacksmith shop (Soderbergs, Winthers and Danielsons), harness shop, hardware store/well drilling (Carlsons), paint shop (Petersons), post office, gas station/garage (Eklunds, Bartletts, Lindbergs and Nelson), implement dealership (Bartletts), feed and seed store (Westburgs and Thedorffs), family dwellings, the Lyckholm farm, a band shell, a baseball field, horseshoe pits, and a mink farm. The Dalesburg Post Office served the community from 1879 to 1906. Most of the homes and establishments were located on either side of this road, but little evidence of this once thriving village remains today.