Historical Markers and War Memorials in Brandon, South Dakota
Sioux Falls is the county seat for Minnehaha County
Brandon is in Minnehaha County
Minnehaha County(338) ► ADJACENT TO MINNEHAHA COUNTY Lake County(23) ► Lincoln County(26) ► McCook County(8) ► Moody County(17) ► Turner County(7) ► Lyon County, Iowa(7) ► Pipestone County, Minnesota(12) ► Rock County, Minnesota(1) ►
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On East Elm Street at South 2nd Avenue, on the left when traveling east on East Elm Street.
The First Schoolhouse
After the Brandon Township organized in 1880, this two-room wood frame schoolhouse was built in 1885. Alma Langhout taught these students during the 1914-1915 school year. The school was moved south across Elm Street . . . — — Map (db m230814) HM
The house was built around 1869 by Ole and Soren Bergeson, two
brothers who had immigrated to America from Norway with their
parents in 1851. Ole was one of the first settlers to homestead in Split
Rock Township where he and his wife, Bergitta, . . . — — Map (db m183964) HM
On Aspen Boulevard near South Splitrock Boulevard (State Route 11), on the right when traveling west.
Brandon Veteran's Memorial
United States of America
Funding for Brandon Veterans Memorial was provided by the Mary Chilton Chapter National Society Daughters of the American Revolution
Through the Mary Chilton DAR Foundation Sioux . . . — — Map (db m181915) WM
On South Splitrock Boulevard (State Highway 11) 0.4 miles south of South Sioux Boulevard, on the right when traveling south.
In May of 1857, land speculators from the Dakota Land Company, of St. Paul, Minnesota Territory, surveyed and located the town site of Eminija in this immediate area. Eminija was the Santee Sioux Indian name for the Split Rock River . . . — — Map (db m198935) HM
On South Splitrock Boulevard (State Highway 11) 0.4 miles south of South Sioux Boulevard, on the right when traveling south.
In 1922 pioneer archeologist Dr. W. H. Over recorded the Brandon Village site, the only documented prehistoric fortified village in Minnehaha County. It is located one-half mile west of this spot, on top of a narrow ridge 85 feet above the flood . . . — — Map (db m198934) HM
Near South McHardy Road, 0.1 miles south of East Aspen Boulevard, on the right when traveling south.
The first Europeans to enter Minnehaha County in search of animal pelts to satisfy the demand abroad for furs may have been French trappers. Some historians believe that trader Charles Pierre Le Sueur, or his men, visited this area as early as 1683. . . . — — Map (db m198826) HM
Near South McHardy Road, 0.1 miles south of East Aspen Boulevard, on the right when traveling south.
In 1870, Thorsten Lee homesteaded what is now part of McHardy Park. In 1972, owners Dr. Bryson and Hazel McHardy donated 35.85 acres of that land to Brandon Lions Club for park development. In 1973, lacking funds, the Lion's turned the property over . . . — — Map (db m198825) HM
Near East Custer Parkway east of East Sylvan Circle, on the left when traveling east.
After acquiring a quarter section of land in 1870 through the Homestead Act of 1862, Nels Nelson (N.N.) Graff and his wife Elise, Scandinavian immigrants, built a dugout where they lived the first three years. In 1873, Nels built the first permanent . . . — — Map (db m242346) HM
Near South McHardy Road, 0.1 miles south of East Aspen Boulevard, on the right when traveling south.
Split Rock Creek is an unpretentious waterway that rises northeast of Ihlen, MN, and wanders through rich farmlands and quartzite walls until it joins the Big Sioux River approximately two miles southwest of this spot. In July 1879, this tranquil, . . . — — Map (db m198824) HM
On 479th Avenue, 0.5 miles south of 258th Street (County Highway 130), on the right when traveling south.
A group of emigrants from Sweden gathered in Lockport, Illinois, in the mid-1870s and dispatched N.J. Ronlund to inspect potential farmland near the Swedona settlement in Minnehaha County, Dakota Territory. Upon receiving his favorable report, 33 . . . — — Map (db m205270) HM
On Aspen Boulevard west of South Splitrock Boulevard (State Route 11), on the right when traveling west.
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
On South Splitrock Boulevard (State Highway 11) 0.4 miles south of South Sioux Boulevard, on the right when traveling south.
The Eminija Mounds, the largest and most numerous burial mound group in South Dakota, were built by Native Americans of the Late Woodland Period and may date from 500 to 1000 A.D. The original group consisted of at least 38 dome-shaped burial . . . — — Map (db m198936) HM
Near 264th Street, 0.5 miles west of 484th Avenue (County Road 109), on the left when traveling west.
The Samuelson Family
Dakota Pioneers
John A. Samuelson was born in Sweden in 1837. He immigrated to the United States in 1868 and lived for one year in Iowa. In 1869, he came to Dakota Territory and filed on a homestead of 160 acres, . . . — — Map (db m222435) HM
Near 264th Street, 0.5 miles west of 484th Avenue (County Road 109), on the left when traveling west.
The 160-acre tract in this Nature Area was homesteaded by John A. Samuelson, (top left) originally from Sweden, who settled here in 1869. His first home was a dugout in the hillside where he and his wife Anna (bottom left) lived for three years and . . . — — Map (db m222432) HM
