Wolsey: A Crossroad of the Heartland
Wolsey has been a crossroad of the heartland of South Dakota from its beginnings. In 1880 the Dakota Central Railway, a subsidiary of the Chicago & North Western, laid track following a wagon trail called . . . — — Map (db m123906) HM
Downtown Brookings located its commercial, public, and civic buildings in proximity to the railroad depot, creating the main street. As in many towns of that era, Brookings' main street and railroad line formed a "T" shape. The Chicago and North . . . — — Map (db m213617) HM
Meckling, like so many small American towns, was built by progress, and it was progress that slowly took the town away. The town was named for railroad grading contractor Jonas S. Meckling, who helped to build the Dakota Southern Railway through the . . . — — Map (db m179346) HM
Named for a grading contractor on the Dakota Southern Railway, built in 1872. George W. Gilbert became the first postmaster on 29 April 1873. Prior to that Lincoln Post Office, Charles M. Taylor, Postmaster, 27 July 1864 was nearby to the south. In . . . — — Map (db m179347) HM
Watertown was platted by the Winona & St. Peter Railroad. The uptown district, consisting of six square blocks, was divided into narrow lots intended mostly for commercial use running parallel to the railroad tracks. Important noncommercial . . . — — Map (db m120097) HM
This depot, originally the Rock Island Lines New Passenger Station and Division Office Building, was erected as a joint venture of
the Rock Island, and the Minneapolis and St. Louis Railroads in
1912 for $50,000.00.
Over the years, it has . . . — — Map (db m90413) HM
Watertown was formed as the junction of two divisions of the Chicago and North Western Railroad. While construction of the Winona and St. Peter line reached the present location of Watertown in 1873, service did not start until 1879. Originally, . . . — — Map (db m245308) HM
In 1874, George Armstrong Custer led a force of more than 1,000 men on an expedition to the Black Hills to explore and map this little-known area. The photographer with Custer, William H. Illingworth, was the first to take glass-plate photographs in . . . — — Map (db m155656) HM
Indians from the Lake Region now Northeastern South Dakota visited this area frequently in the early 1800's and white traders also traveled this way while buying furs. The government survey party of Horace J. Austin arrived June 21, 1879, and began . . . — — Map (db m197685) HM
The town of Firesteel takes its name from nearby Firesteel Creek. First known as “Firesteel Station”, it started in May of 1910 with an influx of settlers drawn by rumors an entire section (square mile) to become a government townsite. Many who had . . . — — Map (db m161846) HM
The Cheyenne to Deadwood Stage Line changed routes several times during its history.
In 1876 and 1877, the Cheyenne to Deadwood stagecoaches came through what would become present day Edgemont over what was known as Pollock’s Cutoff Route. The . . . — — Map (db m119900) HM
Welcome to Edgemont, the beginning of the Burlington Northern George S. Mickelson Trail! This winding trail follows the abandoned Burlington Northern Railroad route 114 miles through the heart of the Black Hills and ends at Deadwood.
The . . . — — Map (db m123925) HM
In early 1890, the Burlington Railroad established Siding 7 three-quarters of a mile up the tracks north from here. The siding consisted of four short, fan-shaped tracks and a hand-operated turntable over an open pit used for servicing engines. . . . — — Map (db m119899) HM
This building is the Chicago Northwestern Depot built in 1906. This was also the year the railroad was built into Midland. It was purchased by the Midland Pioneer Museum Association in 1974 and moved from its site along the railroad tracks about . . . — — Map (db m124093) HM
On June 2, 1983, a meeting to save rail service was organized by area shippers and community leaders at the American Legion Hall in Philip that began a three year struggle which culminated in the creation of the Dakota, Minnesota & Eastern . . . — — Map (db m125975) HM
In the early 1880s homesteaders immigrated to Dakota Territory settling in this area. They established the villages of Dolph, three miles west, and Poinsett, five miles east. They traveled by foot, oxen or horse-drawn wagons to market products and . . . — — Map (db m206446) HM
As Pierre grew during the late
19th and early 20th centuries, Pierre Hill became the most
prestigious real estate in town.
Business owners, lawyers, and
judges all built homes on "the Hill.” Most of the Hill's houses were built
during . . . — — Map (db m169318) HM
Pierre Was a Cowtown (marker side 1)
Yes sir, Mister, Pierre was a cowtown. Why they built the sidewalks two feet off the ground to keep the cows from spattering ‘em up. The stockyards ran longside the river for half a mile and three . . . — — Map (db m124153) HM
Beginning in 1893, the "Emmanuel" served as a church on wheels throughout much of the western United States. Only thirteen total chapel cars were built and commissioned: seven Baptist, three Episcopalian, and three Catholic.
As communities were . . . — — Map (db m205394) HM
The combination of steep grades, sharp curves, creek crossings, and tunnels required exceptional civil engineering to satisfy the need for railroads required by the Black Hills mining boom.
Constructed 1881 to 1928 Designated by South . . . — — Map (db m183192) HM
This is the site of the Burlington Interurban Power Plant, commonly known as the Burlington Powerhouse. The Powerhouse was originally built to generate electricity to run a passenger trolley between the cities of Lead and Deadwood. The Powerhouse . . . — — Map (db m183463) HM
The view of the Belle Fourche reservoir, Belle Fourche,
and Spearfish has great significance to how
Seth Bullock tied those communities together with
Deadwood.
Belle Fourche Business and
Railroad Train Deals Bullock and Sol . . . — — Map (db m183473) HM
(Panel 1)
In its heyday, the Chicago Burlington & Quincy Railroad yard was a beehive of activity. Four different railroads including the Deadwood Central, the Black Hills & Ft. Pierre, the Grand Island & Wyoming Central, and the . . . — — Map (db m121051) HM
After using a long stretch of track that went through the scenic Black Hills for almost a century, the Burlington Northern & Santa Fe (formerly Chicago Burlington & Quincy Railroad Company) quit running in 1983. The idea to turn the railroad into a . . . — — Map (db m121055) HM
The Burlington Interurban Railway was part of a focused effort to modernize the City of Deadwood at the turn of the century. The town had transformed in a relatively short period of time from a lawless gold camp to a law abiding community and . . . — — Map (db m183252) HM
On October 21, 1911, U.S. President William Howard Taft delivered a 30 minute address from this location to a large crowd of spectators. President Taft's visit to Deadwood was one stop on a nationwide campaign tour across South Dakota and the . . . — — Map (db m183189) HM
It took about a thousand people just 255 days to build the 114-mile Chicago, Burlington and Quincy Railroad between Edgemont and Deadwood using primitive methods. It took more than 15 years to complete the George S. Mickelson Trail on the . . . — — Map (db m183281) HM
A hundred years ago,
almost every Deadwood railroad
passenger would have spent a few
moments right here. They waited
to see how much it would cost to
bring goods on the train. Freight companies and railroads charged by
the pound, so lever . . . — — Map (db m183425) HM
Battery locomotives were the work horse of locomotives used in the Homestake Mine. Every operating level had at least one locomotive and up to 4 or 5 locomotives. These locomotives hauled ore trains, miners to the work area, mechanics and . . . — — Map (db m121722) HM
Homestake Mining Company Locomotive Number 9 was purchased in 1907 from the H.K. Porter Company of Pittsburgh Pennsylvania. The H.K. Porter number for this locomotive was 3847.
This locomotive is powered by compressed air. The capacity of the . . . — — Map (db m121593) HM
Englewood, once called Ten Mile, began as a stop along the Cheyenne-Deadwood Stage. Every 10 miles along the route there was a stoop where horses could be changed and riders could rest.
The town came to life when the railroad was built in . . . — — Map (db m168894) HM
Originally known as Ten-Mile ranch, this area served as a stagecoach stop on the Cheyenne to Deadwood trail in the 1870s. The name was changed to Englewood in 1891 when the railroad came through. It was easier for the telegraphers to tap out . . . — — Map (db m168893) HM
Locomotive Number 35 was purchased in April, 1931 from the H.K. Porter Company of Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. This locomotive was in service on the Homestake Tramway hauling ore from the Homestake shafts to the Homestake mills.
This locomotive is . . . — — Map (db m121492) HM
This gas-powered locomotive was operated as a tramway locomotive, hauling ore in the Trojan Mining District, west of Lead. The mines serviced by this locomotive were the Clinton, the Two Johns, and the Trojan. The ore from these mines was hauled to . . . — — Map (db m121506) HM
This man car was used by the Homestake Mining Company to transport men and equipment from the shafts to the mining areas. This man car has 18" gauge trucks (distance between wheels) that were used in the upper levels of the Homestake Mine.
In . . . — — Map (db m121598) HM
A man car is used in underground mining operations to transport miners to and from shafts to underground mining locations, traveling on a railroad. These man cars usually held eight miners, packed tightly with their equipment, tools and lunch pails. . . . — — Map (db m121594) HM
The Bald Mountain district, which includes the Portland area, is 3½ miles southwest of the Lead district. Claims were located in the Portland area in 1877, but early mining was handicapped by the highly refractory (difficulty) nature of the . . . — — Map (db m121597) HM
After the inception of Deadwood's railroad system in 1890, rising flood waters and washouts became an ever growing threat to the mining camps in the northern Black Hills. Three significant washouts, caused by spring flooding, occurred at this . . . — — Map (db m121093) HM
South Dakota's George S. Mickelson Trail is a 109 mile, multiuse recreational trail that runs through the heart of the Black Hills. The Mickelson Trail is one of the United States premier "Rails to Trails" projects that began in 1983 after the . . . — — Map (db m121089) HM
In 1895, the Lead Evening Call newspaper described the small community of Pluma, strategically placed between Deadwood and Lead, as ”One of the most thriving places around”. Soon after, Deadwood began marketing itself as the . . . — — Map (db m121100) HM
"But how it is that I've heard so little of this miracle and we, toward the Atlantic, have heard so much of the Grand Canyon when this is even more miraculous? All the better eventually… (that the Dakotas are not on the through line to the . . . — — Map (db m124130) HM
In November of 1887, the Fremont, Elkhorn and Missouri Valley Railroad pulled into Whitewood. These passenger and freight trains were the first to reach the Northern Black Hills from the East. Whitewood remained the end of the line for three years . . . — — Map (db m184290) HM
In 1886 the Cedar Rapids, Iowa Falls & Northwestern Railroad built a railway line from Larchwood, Iowa, through Springdale Township, Lincoln County, to Sioux Falls, Dakota Territory. The Springdale Station depot was established here; later it became . . . — — Map (db m183589) HM
In 1888, the Burlington, Cedar Rapids and Northern Railroad Company completed their route between Rock Rapids, Iowa, and Sioux Falls, South Dakota. Regional residents viewed the railroad's arrival as a sign of progress, but portions of the site . . . — — Map (db m195077) HM
Flowing just north of here, Medicine Creek runs through the center of Lyman County, emptying into the Missouri River 27 miles (43 kilometers) to the northeast. The place-names of this Central South Dakota area read like an index to early state . . . — — Map (db m192318) HM
South Dakota's rich western heritage has been remembered along the Interstate highway system at safety rest areas and tourist information centers.
The eight pillars which thrust skyward here merge in the framework of a tipi, the Plains . . . — — Map (db m179882) HM
For hundreds of years, the land on which Brandon is situated was the home and hunting grounds of Native Americans. A prehistoric village site and numerous burial mounds are located nearby. Many early Brandon area settlers were of Norwegian descent; . . . — — Map (db m181916) HM
Following the establishment of the 1897 Taopi Creamery at the future townsite of Colton, discussions began about the need for a farm-to-market railroad. Paul F. Sherman of Sioux Falls and John E. Colton, village founder, spearheaded a movement to . . . — — Map (db m186914) HM
This caboose was donated to the city of Dell Rapids by L.G. Everist Inc. in appreciation to the Milwaukee Railroad for 100 years of service to the Dell Rapids Community.
The Milwaukee Railroad first arrived in Dell Rapids on September 17th, . . . — — Map (db m208398) HM
In the city's early days, the falls attracted both industry and pleasure seekers. During their leisure time, settlers and visitors enjoyed both the falls and Seney Island
The Island, as it was called by early residents, was an oasis for . . . — — Map (db m124198) HM
to grow from a seed or spore into a new individual
header:
Photo Courtesy of Siouxland Heritage Museums, Sioux Falls, South Dakota [SHM 41.15.20]
Illinois Central Railroad
In 1887, the quarries at East . . . — — Map (db m199157) HM
Sioux Falls took its name from these falls which are located in the Big Sioux River. Surrounded by a sea of grass, the falls were a remarkable discovery for explorers. For the land speculators that followed the explorers, these falls provided an . . . — — Map (db m127423) HM
Typical in many ways of the small-town depot, this building was unusual in being part of the South Dakota Railroad, one of the few rail lines built inside the state. The line was built originally from Sioux Falls to Colton, and then to Rutland, and . . . — — Map (db m244815) HM
The Great Northern Railway (GNR), once one of the premier railroad systems in the nation, was the dream of entrepreneur James J. Hill. Beginning in 1878 with a small bankrupt St. Paul railroad, Hill developed a huge rail network that he named the . . . — — Map (db m194746) HM
At the urging of the Sioux Falls City Council, in March of 1887, Richard F. Pettigrew agreed to build and operate the city's first public transit system. After the city council granted him a franchise, Pettigrew, who was a public-spirited civic . . . — — Map (db m184702) HM
Directly east is the Illinois Central Railroad Passenger Depot. The Illinois Central, the fourth railroad company to extend its service to Sioux Falls, opened its line and passenger depot in December, 1887. The building became a freight depot after . . . — — Map (db m124587) HM
The combination of heavy snowfall and spring rains have been flooding the banks of the Big Sioux River for many years – these destructive events led to levee improvements and the reconstruction of downtown bridges & businesses. . . . — — Map (db m195034) HM
(side 1)
President Woodrow Wilson came to Sioux Falls on September 8, 1919, as part of a 29-city campaign to stump for the Treaty of Versailles, which included the League of Nations. An excited crowd of onlookers cheered the 28th . . . — — Map (db m124172) HM
The Great Dakota Land Boom took place from the late 1870s through the 1880s. This influx of settlers was driven largely by rapid railroad expansion. In 1878, the first rail service arrived in Sioux Falls and by 1888 it had five lines. The population . . . — — Map (db m124641) HM
(panel 1)
”If you didn't drink whiskey, play cards, use your fists or otherwise intimidate, you didn't belong in the arena with Frank Pettigrew… a man who came to the Dakotas with nothing but desire, talent and ambition. He pitched his . . . — — Map (db m124226) HM
The depot and bridge located to the east were constructed by the Burlington, Cedar Rapids, and Northern Railroad Co. (the Rock Island Line). This was the third railroad line in Sioux Falls and was established on October 26, 1886. The architectural . . . — — Map (db m184837) HM
No one knows when the first people came to live on the land that now comprises Minnehaha County, but native Woodland and Oneota peoples were here over 1000 years ago. The Big Sioux River which flows south through the county, appears on maps in . . . — — Map (db m179043) HM
On January 1, 1880 the Southern Minnesota Railroad claimed the $10,000 prize offered by Flandreau businessmen as the first railroad to reach Flandreau. The depot was built that summer on Wind Street. The depot was moved and restored as one of . . . — — Map (db m181281) HM
Engine #7 turned 100 in 2019. This engine was in service at the 1880 Train until 2012, when it was retired and placed here for all to enjoy and photograph.
Built by the Baldwin Locomotive Works in 1919, this historic 2-6-2 (wheel arrangement) . . . — — Map (db m202718) HM
This signal was retired from service on the Burlington Northern Santa Fe Railway, Powder River Division, Butte Subdivision, Milepost 400 in Marsland, Nebraska on August 10, 2011. The Butte Subdivision is part of BNSF Railway's coal loop which . . . — — Map (db m202702) HM
The Hill City Depot was built in 1889 by the Burlington and Missouri River Railroad (B&M.R.) an early subsidiary of the Chicago Burlington and Quincy Railroad (C.B &Q). This depot was originally two stories with living quarters for the station agent . . . — — Map (db m202705) HM
The George S. Mickelson trail follows the old railroad of the abandoned Edgemont to Deadwood line of the Chicago, Burlington, and Quincy Railroad (CB&Q). The railroad was converted to the Mickelson Trail in the Fall of 1998 as part of the Rails to . . . — — Map (db m162782) HM
The George S. Mickelson trail follows a raised railroad right-of-way that is the abandoned Chicago, Burlington, and Quincy Railroad (CB&Q). In 1849, construction of the CB&Q began in Aurora, Illinois and by 1864, the CB&Q spanned the 400 miles . . . — — Map (db m155900) HM
Samuel Finley Breese Morse, an American, developed the telegraph system, which consisted of one wire. A further development called the Highton Signal System, introduced in 1837, employed the Morse code, transmitted from a device know as a . . . — — Map (db m202698) HM
The Black Hills Central Railroad has been placed on the National Register of Historic Places by the United States Department of the Interior 1893 — — Map (db m70976) HM
The strength of the steam engine is its ability to convert raw heat into mechanical work. The first Steam Locomotive Engine was designed by George Stephenson in 1814 at the age of 20. The diagram shows major components of a piston steam engine, . . . — — Map (db m202710) HM
Homesteaders poured into the Badlands when the Milwaukee Railroad completed track through the White River Valley in 1907.
"Visualize if you can," one observer wrote, "a tar paper shack, tent, or dugout on every quarter section of land... . . . — — Map (db m236155) HM
In 1880, the Chicago & North Western (C&NW) Railroad completed laying tracks from Tracy, Minnesota, to Pierre, South Dakota, part of the settling of the Dakota Territory. In 1906, a C&NW subsidiary, the Pierre, Rapid City and North Western . . . — — Map (db m187067) HM
Railroads were economically and socially important in South Dakota. They furthered new settlement, population growth, and community prosperity by recruiting homesteaders and platting townsites. Trains provided passenger traffic, transported farmers’ . . . — — Map (db m125193) HM
The depot was donated to the Tripp County Historical Society by Chicago and Northwestern Railroad officials and moved to the current site in 1980. It served as a link to the outside world for the homesteaders to receive and distribute livestock, . . . — — Map (db m235031) HM
Just 14 miles from Sioux City on the Military Road from that place to Ft. Randall, this house was built of logs by Francis Reandeau about 1861. A Frenchman, he and his son, Lyzimon, whose name is carved on one of the original logs, ran this stage . . . — — Map (db m190126) HM
