Camp BF-3: located 1 mile E, 4 miles S, 1 mile W & 5 miles S
Company: 4723 May 1937-Fall 1939
The Civilian Conservation Corps was a federal relief program during 1933-1942 that gave jobless men work renovating abused lands. The Army . . . — — Map (db m137082) HM
The prairie town of De Smet was the childhood home of children's book author, Laura Ingalls Wilder. The town was the backdrop for several of Wilder's books. Each July, a live, outdoor pageant is held to depict one of her books. — — Map (db m161869) HM
On May 24, 2012, the South Dakota DOT's Transportation Commission officially declared Interstate 90 from the Minnesota border to the Wyoming border as South Dakota's segment of the National Purple Heart Trail. The Purple Heart Trail was . . . — — Map (db m113087) HM
Tom Berry was the first of three Governors elected from West of the Missouri River since statehood in 1889.
Berry with his wife, Lorena McLain, (1879-1963), are buried in the family plot in the Belvidere Cemetery ½ mile north of this marker. . . . — — Map (db m184634) HM
Peacekeepers used in this missile field served in two
primary roles: providing armed response in an 'Area
Security' (backup) role, and serving as armed convoy
escort vehicles.
In the first role, Fire Teams in Peacekeeper . . . — — Map (db m314365) HM WM
The land you see before you is a vast prairie, once home
to herds of bison, bighorn sheep, and deer. Coteries of
prairie dogs dug their holes, and packs of coyotes and
wolves hunted jackrabbits and other game.
Today, much of the prairie of . . . — — Map (db m314350) HM
This vehicle, best known to the US Air Force as the
PEACEKEEPER, was a five-ton (4535.9 kg) lightly-armored
truck, using a late 1970s-model Dodge pickup chassis, and
originally powered by a 360 cu.in. (approx. 5.9 liter) V-8 engine.
In . . . — — Map (db m314366) HM
Someday, an ultimate class of warriors will evolve,
too strong to be contested. They will win battles
without having to fight, so that at last, the day
may be won without shedding a single drop of blood.
—adapted from Sun Tzu, . . . — — Map (db m314363) HM WM
This trail features seven types of animals that once lived in the area now known as Badlands National Park. Each of these lineages met a different fate as the climate changed. Some moved, some adapted to the changes, and some are now extinct. . . . — — Map (db m114175) HM
Thousands of years ago a massive block of stone
broke loose from the cliff above because of water
working down through the softer surrounding
rock. It fell with such force that it compacted this
area, changing the underlying layers to less . . . — — Map (db m312438) HM
In the days when oreodonts walked this land, the rock layer before you was not rock but the muddy bottom of a streambed. Over time, those sediments hardened into the thick horizontal band of grayish red stone you see here.
Thin ribbons of . . . — — Map (db m137007) HM
Water is scarce in the Badlands, which get less than 16 inches of precipitation per year. The bowl-like Cliff Shelf where you stand provides more moisture than commonly found in this desolate land.
Drawn to this spot for more than 11,000 . . . — — Map (db m137125) HM
Rock layers in Badlands National Park contain fossils that show a dramatic cooling and drying of global climate over millions of years. The oldest rock layers contain marine fossils, roughly 70 million years old, from when this area was . . . — — Map (db m113124) HM
Camps NP-2: 8 miles S of Wall on SD 240, 13 miles W (1 mile W of Sage Creek); and NP-3: 3/4 mile S. of Cedar Pass Visitor Center. Company: 2754 (NP-2) -- 11/1/39 - 10/24/41; (NP-3) -- 10/24/41 - 3/25/42. The Civilian Conservation Corps was a . . . — — Map (db m45287) HM
Oredonts were common throughout the Badlands, but became extinct. Their fossil remains provide evidence of their lives and habitat. Fossils can develop over time when animal or plant remains are quickly covered in sediment and replaced by . . . — — Map (db m113122) HM
"I've been about the world a lot and pretty much
over our country, but I was totally unprepared
for that revelation called the Dakota Bad Lands."
Frank Lloyd Wright September 28, 1935
Visitors first saw the White River . . . — — Map (db m314339) HM
Dogs have changed and adapted over millions of years. Members of the dog lineage gradually evolved in to the wolf by growing longer, stronger legs and a shorter tail. This increased size led to increased strength and power to hunt food and . . . — — Map (db m113177) HM
Mako sica - Lakota
Les mauvaises terres
The Badlands
When the Lakota looked on the land around you, they saw the Paha ska (white hills)-a place of bountiful hunting. Historically used for transitory camps, the Paha . . . — — Map (db m137121) HM
These rocks were deposited millions of years ago when rivers and wind spread silt, sand, and ash across the landscape. About 500,000 years ago, ancient rivers began eroding this area, leading to the present day landscape. Modern rivers, rain, . . . — — Map (db m113126) HM
Prehistoric alligators lived in swampy conditions, as they do today.
Physically, alligators have changed mostly in size over the last several million years. Modern alligators are larger, growing up to 14 feet long. Ancient alligators grew . . . — — Map (db m113092) HM
"In the evening all the guests were invited into the
dining room and Ben Millard gave a talk about the
Badlands. He told them even though it was hot, they
would have to reach for the blanket before morning."
Mary (Allburn) . . . — — Map (db m312437) HM
"In the evening all the guests were invited into the
dining room and Ben Millard gave a talk about the
Badlands. He told them even though it was hot, they
would have to reach for the blanket before morning."
Mary (Allburn) . . . — — Map (db m314347) HM
The Badlands Wall constantly retreats north as it erodes and washes into the White River Valley below. The Wall, an intricately carved cliff, divides the upper from the lower prairie.The wall is more than sixty miles long. It is the geologic feature . . . — — Map (db m45289) HM
A few hundred yards to the west, turn left on the sage Creek Rim Road for Roberts Prairie Dog Town and the Sage Creek Primitive Campground. Wildlife, particularly bison, is often seen near this gravel road.
The Sage Creek Rim Road . . . — — Map (db m113127) HM
The French trappers called them les mauvaises terres a traverser - bad lands to travel across. Now good roads make travel easy in the Badlands, one of the strangest and most spectacular landscapes in North America.
Watch for wayside . . . — — Map (db m312452) HM
Here you stand between wilderness and civilization. In the distance before you lie Interstate 90 and a neighboring ranch. Behind you, beyond the Loop Road, Badlands Wilderness Area stretches out across 64,000 acres.
The prairie around you was . . . — — Map (db m282002) HM
The discovery of this specimen led to the golden age of paleontology in North America. After acquiring this fossil from fur traders, Dr. Hiram Prout wrote about it in 1846. His description captured the attention of scientists. At that time, . . . — — Map (db m113176) HM
I was born of wagons west. The oldest town in the badlands.
I've known drought and winter's fierce storms. Three times fire has swept my streets. Yet, my rodeos were known through out the west. Yakima Knute - Stroud - Earl Thode. Champions . . . — — Map (db m312449) HM
Edgar I. Brown, born in 1854, came here with wife, Alice, and son, Charles, to homestead in the Badlands when he was 55. Their first and only home was a side hill, sod wall, dirt roofed house. About it they built up a humble homestead. Intact today, . . . — — Map (db m45288) HM
Ammonite fossils found in the park are evidence that this area was under water 75 million years ago. Some ammonites could grow to more that three feet across and served as a food source for giant mosasaurs and other predators.
The Western . . . — — Map (db m113115) HM
Your fossil discovery begins a scientific process. Every detail is important, even the area around the find. A fossil and its surroundings reveal what types of plants and animals existed and how they lived, died, and changed.
The . . . — — Map (db m113123) HM
Finding the pass too steep and rough for wagon traffic, homesteaders on the way to Interior parked their rigs at the top—then walked or coaxed their horses down.
How steep is Saddle Pass Trail?
Find out for yourself. Half an hour will . . . — — Map (db m237670) HM
...for years, countless travellers had driven across Interstate 90 in western South Dakota, en route to Mt. Rushmore National Memorial, or Yellowstone National Park,...within sight of nearly a dozen nuclear missile sites.... Tim Pavek, . . . — — Map (db m34295) HM
Fossils can reveal how animals lived and died, and what their environment was like. Evidence from one of the park's nimravid fossils offers crime-scene clues. The size and location of the holes in the forehead of this fossil match the knife-like . . . — — Map (db m113121) HM
Horses have adapted in North America over millions of years. As woodlands changed to grasslands, the dog-sized, primitive horses gradually evolved into the lineage that led to the modern-day horse.
Mesohippus was the first three-toed . . . — — Map (db m113091) HM
Mighty few towns have one of them hi-faluting, swank Rolls-Royce type of hyphenated names. In 1904, Murdo Mackenzie, head of the Matador brand, with herds from Mexico to Canada, shipped trainload after trainload of Texas steers to Evarts to graze on . . . — — Map (db m134517) HM
Reading Brands
Two old cowpokes reading twenty brands wont agree on all of them but generally speaking this is how to read a brand.
A letter like this (image of backwards letter F) is a reverse F. But this (image of letter F leaning . . . — — Map (db m134569) HM
East 1/2 mile from this point on the old Cherry Creek - Pine Ridge Trail, Chief Big Foot (Spotted Elk) and his Minneconjou, wagon Horse band, with some forty braves and Sitting Bull's Hunkpapa band was intercepted and surrended on December 28, 1890 . . . — — Map (db m179956) HM
This monument erected by surviving relatives and other Ogallala and Cheyenne River Sioux Indians in memory of the Chief Big Foot Massacre December 29, 1890. Col. Forsyth was in command of the U.S. Troops. Big Foot was a great chief of the Sioux . . . — — Map (db m122747) WM
Dec. 29, 1890, Chief Big Foot, with his Minneconjou and Hunkpapa Sioux Band of 108 warriors, 250 women and children were encamped on this Flat, surrounded by the U.S. 7th Cavalry (470 soldiers) commanded by Col. Forsythe.
The "Messiah Craze" . . . — — Map (db m40643) HM
FOR HE OR SHE WHO SHEDS HIS OR HER BLOOD
WITH ME SHALL BE MY SISTER OR BROTHER
William Shakespeare
We honor these military members from South Dakota
who paid the ultimate price for freedom.
Killed in Action . . . — — Map (db m312797) WM
Ellsworth Air Force Base
Senior Enlisted Advisor[s]/Command CMSGTS
SEAS
Sept 73-Sept 75 CMSgt Robert Power
Sept 75-Jun 76 CMSgt Jones (no first name listed)
Jun 76-May 78 CMSgt Fred H. Quinn
May 78-Mar 79 CMSgt George H. . . . — — Map (db m312800) WM
The Harney Peak fire lookout, dam
and pumphouse were built by the
CCC in 1939 and are listed in the
National Register of Historic
Places. Harney Peak Elevation is
2207 meters (7242 ft). The peak is
the highest point east of the . . . — — Map (db m125087) HM
The B-1A was initially developed in the 1970s as a replacement for the B-52. Four prototypes of his long –range, high speed strategic bomber were developed and tested but the program was canceled in 1977 before going into production. The B-1B is an . . . — — Map (db m70966) HM WM
Painted black, Invaders flew night missions over North
Korea, searching for trucks and trains carrying supplies
to the battlefront. Angling down, the pilot fired the eight
guns in the nose. In some Invaders, a glass nose allowed . . . — — Map (db m313279) HM
It's small compared to the B-1 bomber in front of the
museum, but the Corsair II had a lot in common with that
big machine. The A-7D stayed up a long time without
refueling, carried a lot of bombs, dropped them with great
accuracy, and . . . — — Map (db m313310) HM
In March 2011, under blizzard conditions, the call came:
could the 28th Bomb Wing be ready for action in Libya,
in less than two days? Despite freezing metal and icy
pavement, Airmen began working around the clock. Experts in electronics, . . . — — Map (db m313211) HM
Designed and built to fight a Cold War enemy, the B-1
bomber and its crews adapted to the threat of international
terrorism. Features that made the B-1 effective against
the Soviet Union are now used to directly support ground
troops and to . . . — — Map (db m313147) HM
The Doolittle Raid was the most audacious bomber mission
in history. In April 1942, sixteen B-25s took off from an
aircraft carrier in the Pacific Ocean and bombed Tokyo and
other targets, with plans to land in China. Although seven
crew . . . — — Map (db m313150) HM
Theodore Roosevelt said, "Speak softly and carry a big stick."
In 1948, the Soviet Union stopped ground traffic to West
Berlin. Speaking softly—with unarmed transports—the U.S.
and its allies showed their resolve and ability to keep a . . . — — Map (db m313253) HM
A B-52's crew includes two navigators. They take
stations on the darkened lower deck, constantly
sharing information with the Aircraft Commander,
Co-pilot, and Electronic Warfare Officer on the upper
deck. The Navigator calculates the route . . . — — Map (db m313254) HM
When this plane was built in the 1950s, there was no such
thing as next-day shipping, and more passengers moved
by train than by airplane. To keep national defense moving,
many bases had their own transport planes. Today, it's
much cheaper . . . — — Map (db m313296) HM
Utility aircraft are just as essential to the Air Force
mission as fighters like the F-100 to your right.
Variants of the C-45 trained 90% of our Navigators
and Bombardiers in WWII, carried cameras, or—like
this Expeditor—hauled light . . . — — Map (db m313179) HM
During WWII, C-47s like this one flew over the Himalayas
to supply Americans and Chinese fighting the Japanese.
For three years, daily flights across the world's highest
mountain range were the only way to deliver fuel and
ammunition to . . . — — Map (db m313277) HM
At first, the drone of planes overhead during the Berlin
Airlift (1948-49) reminded Germans of Allied bombing
raids during the recent World War. Then U.S. crews on
approach over the city took to dropping tiny handkerchief
parachutes, . . . — — Map (db m313255) HM
During the Cold War, this plane pretended to be the
enemy. Its bomb bay held electronics that made it
appear on radar like a Soviet bomber trying to sneak
into U.S. airspace. An Electronic Warfare Officer in
the back seat jammed signals and . . . — — Map (db m313294) HM
Crammed with electronics, one of three ALCS from
Ellsworth sat ready for takeoff at all times between 1970
and 1991. If an attack on the United States disrupted
ground-based launch control sites, this plane's crew—from 30,000 feet in the . . . — — Map (db m313209) HM
Ellsworth is home to the 28th Bomb Wing.
Our mission is to provide combat airpower—
anytime, anywhere.
The base has played a vital role in our national
security since 1941. While its facilities and mission
have changed over time to meet . . . — — Map (db m313256) HM
In 1967, a group of F-100 pilots in Vietnam adopted
the call sign Misty and tried something new. They
became Forward Air Controllers (FACs). This job of
flying low to mark targets was usually done by much
slower planes, like our O-2 . . . — — Map (db m313156) HM
Jets like this one—and like the F-102 to your right—served as interceptors: they defended the nation's
borders against aerial attack. But although they were
designed for our Air Force, American aerospace
companies also supplied our allies. . . . — — Map (db m313258) HM
Interceptors like the F-102-and the F-101 to your left-
defended the nation's borders against aerial attack. The
Air Force Reserve and Air National Guard were vital to this
mission. Crews from 23 different Guard squadrons flew and
maintained . . . — — Map (db m313257) HM
When pilots took off in their F-105s to bomb targets
in North Vietnam in the 1960s, they faced some grim
statistics: more than half the Thunderchiefs built were lost
in combat in that war. Their missions—low altitude strikes
on . . . — — Map (db m313302) HM
The United States provided a lot of military aid to
European allies early in the Cold War, including
more than a thousand of these F-84Fs. This
Thunderstreak flew in the French Air Force for 13
years. U.S. military aid helped equip . . . — — Map (db m313299) HM
The F-86 was one of the Air Force's first jet fighters. In
high-performance fighters like the Sabre, acceleration
and turns exert g-forces that drain the blood from
pilots' heads, causing them to lose vision and then
consciousness. To . . . — — Map (db m313259) HM
The FB-111 had Terrain-Following Radar. It could scan
the ground ahead, feed its readings into the autopilot,
and then remain at a constant low altitude without
the pilot's control—at night, at hundreds of miles per
hour. This gave aircrews . . . — — Map (db m313312) HM
In the early 1960s, our leaders suspected the Soviets
had better long-range nuclear weapons. They decided
to install six squadrons of Titan I missiles across
the nation, even given the system's disadvantages.
These missiles stood . . . — — Map (db m313371) HM
Only 17 days after the Titan missiles in South Dakota were
declared operational in the fall of 1962, an Air Force pilot
photographed Soviet nuclear missiles in Cuba, 90 miles
from U.S. shores. Ten days after that, the missile force went
to . . . — — Map (db m313372) HM
Our museum building was originally an
alert hangar complex near the Ellsworth
Air Force Base runway. It held crews and
jet fighters of the 54th Fighter-Interceptor
Squadron. During the Cold War, Soviet
bombers probed American and . . . — — Map (db m313166) HM
During the Cold War, Ellsworth supported two legs of the
nation's nuclear deterrence triad: bombers and land-based
missiles (submarine-launched missiles are the third leg).
For 32 years, the 44th Missile Wing trained to launch and
maintained . . . — — Map (db m313186) HM
Q: When was the last time a nuclear weapon was used?
A: They're used every day, for deterrence.
For 34 years, Ellsworth Airmen kept fields of nuclear missiles
ready to launch. A single Minuteman II could arrive within
half a mile of . . . — — Map (db m313200) HM
Ten years into the Cold War, Ellsworth had hosted the
nation's most effective heavy bombers—the B-29 and the
B-36—and was readying for the B-52. For its protection, the
U.S. Army installed a shield of anti-aircraft missiles around
the base. . . . — — Map (db m313174) HM
This plane flew slow and low over Vietnam, directly
supporting ground troops. Called a Forward Air Controller,
the pilot kept track of friendly forces' locations and marked
enemy positions with smoke rockets, identifying targets
for . . . — — Map (db m313303) HM
With its straight wings and wing-tip fuel tanks, the T-33
was adapted from the very first American jet fighter.
A second seat accommodated the instructor behind
the front seat. Until the swept-wing T-38 Talon was
introduced in 1961, this . . . — — Map (db m313298) HM
At one time, small transport planes like these two
were a common sight on Air Force and Army airfields.
They quickly transported all kinds of passengers and
light cargo. Pilots flew them as an inexpensive way to
keep up their skills. . . . — — Map (db m313309) HM
Air Force UH-1F pilots put in their time rescuing
and evacuating troops in Vietnam in the 1960s. But
the rescue work didn't end when their squadrons
returned to stateside bases. In the summer of 1972,
floodwaters poured out of the Black . . . — — Map (db m313301) HM
This was General Dwight D. Eisenhower's personal
transport in 1944 and 1945, when he led the Allied
Expeditionary Force in retaking northwest Europe
from the Nazis. Eisenhower traveled frequently to
meet with other leaders or to visit troops . . . — — Map (db m313155) HM
This is a beloved plane among Air Force pilots. For over
50 years, Air Force fighter and bomber pilots-tens of
thousands of Airmen-have trained in the Talon. In this jet
they power above the speed of sound for the first time, with
an . . . — — Map (db m313311) HM
This memorial dedicated to
the young men of the
Civilian Conservation Corps
1933-1942
Made possible by a grant from
”Sarge”
Melvin B. Hermanson
2008 — — Map (db m120159) 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
Camp F-2 (DF-2) Horse Creek: Located 2 miles W on Horse Creek. Companies: 791--5/22/33-4/30/34 2752--7/30/34-10/21/35 2761--10/25/35-01/36 2748--01/36-5/25/36
The Civilian Conservation Corps was a federal relief program during 1933-1942 that . . . — — Map (db m184419) HM
Camp F-15 Tigerville: Located 1/4 mile S of here.
Companies: 765--10/26/33-Spring 1934 757--4/21/34-10/20/34
2748--10/21/34-1/36 793--5/25/36-6/13/39
The Civilian Conservation Corps was a federal relief program during 1933-1942 that . . . — — Map (db m184461) HM
When Burlington Northern abandoned their railroad right of way between Deadwood and Custer in 1983, a group of citizens recognized the historic value of the rail line and saw the opportunity to create a recreational trail. They formed an . . . — — Map (db m309699) HM
First laid out as a gold camp in February 1876 by Thomas Harvey, John Miller and Hugh McCullough, the rich strikes in the Northern Hills made it a deserted village by May 1876. Its deserted cabins had many transient occupants and the cabin that . . . — — Map (db m177389) 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
This young Ponderosa Pine forest was thinned by the Civilian Conservation Corps in 1935 to improve the growth of the remaining trees[.] The first commercial harvest was made in 1959 when the area was thinned again for posts and poles. From now on a . . . — — Map (db m37116) HM
This F-9 Hill City Civilian Conservation Corps CCC) Camp was established in March 1933. Congress began the program to address severe unemployment and poverty during the Great Depression and later terminated it in 1942, during World War II. The CCC . . . — — Map (db m155899) 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
It was an exciting time in the late nineteenth century, as people in eastern states became fascinated with business and recreational opportunities in the West. Railroads expanded into vast, new areas and opened them for unprecedented development. . . . — — Map (db m309698) 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
Sheridan, located 1/2 mile NE, now 30 feet under water, was named for General Philip Sheridan and founded in 1875 on Cheyenne-Deadwood Trail, as Golden, in the belief that fabulous placer gold existed here. Still Indian Country and everybody a . . . — — Map (db m184420) HM
The Black Hills Central Railroad
has been placed on the
National Register of
Historic Places
by the United States
Department of the Interior — — Map (db m70976) HM
The Little White Church was built in 1889 of lumber sawed at the mill of the Harney Peak Mining Company which was located four miles east of Hill City on County Road 323. The sawyer was Charlie Clifford; the Chief Carpenter, Joe Hare with three . . . — — Map (db m234793) 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
This building is listed on the National Register as the oldest commercial hand-hewn log building in continuous use in South Dakota.
Built in 1885 by the German immigrant Camillo Von Woehrman as a saloon and sleeping quarters; in 1890 he began . . . — — Map (db m119999) HM
This water tank has a capacity of 3000 gallons. The water tank has been reconstructed, but it is on the original footings. Water tanks were placed along railroad lines to fill steam engines with water. Steam engines were the first engines widely . . . — — Map (db m288427) HM
