Sioux Falls in Minnehaha County, South Dakota — The American Midwest (Upper Plains)
Remnants of Change: The Mill Race & Dam
The Falls
October 18, 2025
1. Remnants of Change: The Mill Race & Dam Marker
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Remnants of Change: The Mill Race and Dam. . The Queen Bee Mill was built from 1879 to 1881, but closed only two years later due to inadequate wheat supply and lack of water flow from the Big Sioux River. In 1907, Sioux Falls Light and Power Company purchased the Queen Bee Mill for water rights. Shortly afterwards, the mill race and lowhead dam were constructed to funnel and capture the water for the production of hydro-electricity. A new power plant building was constructed and completed in 1908 that was active for ten years before the company filed for bankruptcy. The mill was converted into a warehouse in 1929 and, today, houses the Falls Overlook Cafe., Over the years, the low head dam associated with the Queen Bee Mill deteriorated and no longer maintained necessary water levels downtown. The dam was removed and replaced in 2024-2025, ensuring that water levels remain at an appropriate level for years to come., View of Previous Lowhead Dam with Debris, 2023., The Queen Bee Mill and its history are more widely known, but it was not the first mill to be built at the Falls. Constructed in 1873, the Webber and Shaw Grain Mill was in operation at the Falls for several years until it was damaged by flooding in 1881., In 1883, they sold the site and their water power to the Drake Polishing Works. Drake Polishing Works was known for polishing petrified wood from Arizona and stone monuments, some of which are still displayed at the Woodlawn Cemetery and Pettigrew Home and Museum in Sioux Falls today. The polishing works ceased operations just after the turn of the century and the site and water power was sold around 1906 to an investor who started a power plant from the site. The Visitor Center now stands at this location., Queen Bee Mill and Dam, circa 1928. Photo Courtesy Siouxland Heritage Museums., Queen Bee Mill Dam Headworks, 1928. Photo Courtesy Siouxland Heritage Museums., Queen Bee Mill and Dam, 1921. Photo Courtesy Siouxland Heritage Museums., In 1956, a fire destroyed the Queen Bee Mill. Deemed a hazard, much of the building was torn down in 1961, leaving only the foundations and the adjacent mill race and dam. These structures are still visible on site today. The site was donated to the City of Sioux Falls in 1963 and improvements converting the mill race into a Falls Park overlook took place the following year.
The Queen Bee Mill was built from 1879 to 1881, but closed only two years later due to inadequate wheat supply and lack of water flow from the Big Sioux River. In 1907, Sioux Falls Light and Power Company purchased the Queen Bee Mill for water rights. Shortly afterwards, the mill race and lowhead dam were constructed to funnel and capture the water for the production of hydro-electricity. A new power plant building was constructed and completed in 1908 that was active for ten years before the company filed for bankruptcy. The mill was converted into a warehouse in 1929 and, today, houses the Falls Overlook Cafe.
Over the years, the low head dam associated with the Queen Bee Mill deteriorated and no longer maintained necessary water levels downtown. The dam was removed and replaced in 2024-2025, ensuring that water levels remain at an appropriate level for years to come.
View of Previous Lowhead Dam with Debris, 2023.
The Queen Bee Mill and its history are more widely known, but it was not the first mill to be built at the Falls. Constructed in 1873, the Webber and Shaw Grain Mill was in operation at the Falls for several years until it was damaged by flooding in 1881.
In 1883, they sold the site and their water power to the Drake Polishing Works. Drake Polishing Works was known
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for polishing petrified wood from Arizona and stone monuments, some of which are still displayed at the Woodlawn Cemetery and Pettigrew Home & Museum in Sioux Falls today. The polishing works ceased operations just after the turn of the century and the site and water power was sold around 1906 to an investor who started a power plant from the site. The Visitor Center now stands at this location.
Queen Bee Mill and Dam, circa 1928. Photo Courtesy Siouxland Heritage Museums.
In 1956, a fire destroyed the Queen Bee Mill. Deemed a hazard, much of the building was torn down in 1961, leaving only the foundations and the adjacent mill race and dam. These structures are still visible on site today. The site was donated to the City of Sioux Falls in 1963 and improvements converting the mill race into a Falls Park overlook took place the following year.
2. Remnants of Change: The Mill Race & Dam Marker (second from left)
The tower in the distant right is the Falls Park Visitor Center, which is where the polishing works was located.
Marker is in Sioux Falls, South Dakota, in Minnehaha County. It can be reached from North Weber Avenue north of East Third Street, on the right when traveling south. Located in southeast Falls Park. Touch for map. Marker is at or near this postal address: 131 E Falls Park Dr, Sioux Falls SD 57104, 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 Ruperts Land and also the Louisiana Purchase.
In the upper right are the ruins of the Queen Bee Mill. Left of the ruins, farther back is the power plant building, now the Falls Overlook Cafι.
Credits. This page was last revised on November 9, 2025. It was originally submitted on November 9, 2025. This page has been viewed 94 times since then and 37 times this year. Photos:1, 2, 3, 4. submitted on November 9, 2025.
