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 . . . — — Map (db m70966) HM WM
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
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
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 1893 — — 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
Journey to Wounded Knee-December 24, 1890 a bitter Christmas Eve wind rattled the wagon in which Minneconjou Chief Big Foot lay waiting while his people cleared a pass down the Badlands Wall. Several hours of hard work with axes and spades made the . . . — — Map (db m62104) HM
Camp F-4: Pactola Campsite inundated by Lake Pactola. Companies: 1789--6/8/33-10/35 2748--5/25/36-1940
The Civilian Conservation Corps was a federal relief program during 1933-1942 that gave jobless men work renovating abused lands. The Army . . . — — Map (db m184423) HM
Construction of Pactola Dam began in 1952 and was completed in 1956. At times nearly 200 men worked on the dam. Unskilled workers earned $1.25 an hour and skilled workers $2.75 an hour. The men placed 2,163,251 cubic yards of impervious earthfill . . . — — Map (db m37064) HM
By the mid-20th century, water in the West did more than irrigate 160 acre patches of alfalfa. Water flowed as the life blood of cities, private industries, and military bases. Droughts during the 1930s illustrated that Rapid City could not depend . . . — — Map (db m37070) HM
1923 Colossal sculpture in the Black Hills first suggested by Doane Robinson.
1924 Gutzon Borglum's first visit to the Black Hills.
1927 Address by President Calvin Coolidge at Mount Rushmore and first actual drilling.
1929 Senator . . . — — Map (db m89492) HM
Born: February 12, 1809, in a log cabin in Harden (now Larue) County, Kentucky
Married: Mary Todd (1818-1882), November 4, 1842
Children: Robert Todd, Edward Baker, William Wallace, and Thomas "Tad"
Died: April 15, 1865, Washington, D.C., . . . — — Map (db m89398) HM
The Galena Fire consumed 16,788 acres, mostly within the borders of Custer State Park. More than $2.1 million was spent fighting the fire, and about $4.4 million worth of timber burned. None of Custer State Park's buildings were damaged, no people . . . — — Map (db m45351) HM
Born: February 22, 1732, Westmoreland County, Virginia
Married: Martha Danbridge Curtis, (1732-1802), January 6, 1759
Children: John and Martha Curtis (adopted)
Died: December 14, 1799, at Mount Vernon, Virginia
Education: No formal . . . — — Map (db m89399) HM
His birthplace was Idaho. California first taught him art. Then France, who first gave him fame. England welcomed him. America called him home. His genius for the exquisite as for the colossal, gave permanence on canvas, in bronze, in marble, to . . . — — Map (db m49105) HM
His birthplace was Idaho. California first taught him art. Then France, who first gave him fame. England welcomed him. America called him home. His genius for the exquisite as for the colossal gave permanence on canvas, in bronze, in marble, to . . . — — Map (db m134568) HM
Almighty God, from this pulpit of stone the American people render thanksgiving and praise for the new era of civilization brought forth upon this continent. Centuries of tyrannical oppression sent to these shores, God-fearing men to seek in freedom . . . — — Map (db m89493) HM
Norbeck Wildlife Preserve
Created by Act of Congress, 1949
Peter Norbeck 1870 – 1936
Well driller, Statesman, first native Governor of South Dakota, U.S. Senator, founder of Custer State Park, sponsor of Mount Rushmore . . . — — Map (db m4395) HM
Doane Robinson (1856-1946) was the South Dakota state historian from 1901 to 1926. Speaking to the Black and Yellow Trail Association in January 1924, Robinson proposed his idea to carve legendary figures of the American West into the Black Hills . . . — — Map (db m184424) HM
Contributing Factors For several months prior to the Galena Fire, weather conditions were unusually hot and dry. Average annual precipitation for this region is 18 inches. In the 12 months before the fire only 11 inches fell in the Park.The . . . — — Map (db m45350) HM
Over 450,000 tons of rock were removed from Mount Rushmore to bring out the four presidential faces. Although about 90% of the rock was removed with dynamite, the remaining rock was removed by drilling with jackhammers and wedging the rock off the . . . — — Map (db m89491) HM
Born: October 27, 1858, New York, New York
Married: Alice Hathaway Lee (1861-1884), October 27, 1880; Edith Kermit Carow (1861-1848), December 2, 1886
Children: Alice, Theodore, Jr., Kermit, Ethel, Archibald, Quentin
Died: January 6, . . . — — Map (db m89459) HM
Thomas Jefferson
I have learnt to expect that it will rarely fall to the lot of imperfect man to retire from this station with the reputation & the favor which bring him into it. - First Inaugural Address, March 4, 1801
Born . . . — — Map (db m181435) HM
It would seem that a large forest fire would destroy an area for wildlife. However, the Galena Fire has improved much of the Park's wildlife habitat. The fire created many open meadows where grasses and shrubs are now growing. The mixture of meadow . . . — — Map (db m45352) HM
Castle Creek was named by General Custer when he and his troops traveled through its headwaters in 1874.
Gold was discovered in this valley to the west in 1875. A mining camp soon developed into the town named Castleton with a population of . . . — — Map (db m184801) HM
Camp F-1 Mystic: Located at this spot
Companies: 760--6/29/33-10/20/34 2753--10/20/34-10/30/35
2763--10/30/35-1/20/36 1790--1/20/36-1/6/38
The Civilian Conservation Corps was a federal relief program during 1933-1942 that gave jobless . . . — — Map (db m184462) HM
Walter Dale Miller was born October 5, 1925 near Viewfield. He graduated from New Underwood High School and spent his life ranching in Meade County.
Miller served in the State House of Representatives from 1967 to 1987. He is the only person in . . . — — Map (db m183905) HM
(for) people who are on alert at the launch missile control centers it's very much an invisible thankless job. nobody sees what they do, nobody cares about it. I see them as almost invisible warriors, the security police that are there, the . . . — — Map (db m113088) HM
For 49 years, Berlin, former capital of Adolf Hitler's Nazi Germany, was occupied by the victorious allies of World War II--the United States, Great Britain, France and the Soviet Union. For much of that time an ugly wall divided the city . . . — — Map (db m136630) WM
Berlin Wall Segment A.
This Berlin Wall Segment, located between the Brandenburg Gate and Checkpoint Charlie from 1961 - 1989, is donated in gratitude to all Military Chaplains, who in time of war and peace, faithfully served God and . . . — — Map (db m136418) WM
World War I 1914 - 1918
Our object now is to vindicate the principles
of peace and justice in the life of the world as
against selfish and autocratic power and to
set up amongst the free and seit-governed
peoples of the world such concert of . . . — — Map (db m190720) HM
Panel A.
On November 9, 1989, to stem the flow of refugees, desperate Communist leaders announced amid chaos that they would issue passports to all East Germans, allowing them to come and go as they pleased. That evening hundreds of . . . — — Map (db m136631) HM
Because of the Four-Power Agreements, the Allies had insisted upon free access to Berlin at any time. In 1958, Premier Nikita S. Khrushchev of the Soviet Union demanded that the Allies leave West Berlin and Berlin be made a "demilitarized free . . . — — Map (db m136629) HM
Early on August 13, 1961, the East German Army, with Soviet support, began constructing a barrier of barbed wire, cinder blocks and mortar between East and West Berlin. The barrier was intended to stop the exodus of citizens fleeing from . . . — — Map (db m136408) WM
Rufus "Pap" Madison's Cabin
As seen in George Mansfield's drawing. The original cabin stands at the Journey Museum.
Rapid City High School
Located on school land where Dakota Middle School sits today. The fencing and hay bales in . . . — — Map (db m187542) HM
In Founders Park Plaza the history of the first developed part of Rapid City is literally written in concrete. The Plaza shows the town (in colored concrete) skewed on its foundation (in uncolored concrete), orienting the town toward magnetic north . . . — — Map (db m187541) HM
A one time member of Buffalo Bill Cody's Wild West Show, Madison came to Dakota Territory in 1886 and the history of South Dakota Rodeo began. Russ won the Champion Relay Race in Sioux City, Iowa, in 1907 and then began building his bucking horse . . . — — Map (db m113149) HM
George B. Mansfield's drawing of Rapid City, Dakota Territory, 1876. Mansfield went on to become an executive with Dakota Power Co., organized 1883.
1. John W. Allen and Jake Claussen
2. John R. Brennan and Oscar Nicholson
3. Reddy Johnson . . . — — Map (db m187539) HM
The adjacent graph reflects the water levels in height of feet of Rapid Creek under certain events average winter stage flows, average summertime stage flows during the irrigation season, and the stage flow of June 9, 1972. It must be noted that . . . — — Map (db m184416) HM
Dr. Valentine McGillycuddy with his wife Fannie, at home at 727 South St. McGillycuddy was Mayor, Indian Agent, Dean of the School of Mines and South Dakota's first State Surgeon.
Joseph and Alice Gossage
Publishers of the city's most . . . — — Map (db m187540) HM
Near a perpendicular sandstone cliff a short distance North of here and across Rapid Creek (a marker denotes the site) was the first camp of those hardy pioneers who founded Rapid City. Here John R. Brennan, Martin Persinger, Thomas Ferguson, W. P. . . . — — Map (db m184409) HM
John Richard Brennan
From John Brennan's Journal
February 23, 1876
A party consisting of W.P. Martin, J.W. Allen, Mart Persinger, William Marston, John R. Brennan, Tom Ferguson, and Dick King left Palmer Gulch with a view . . . — — Map (db m187538) HM
Heavy thunderstorms on the afternoon and evening of June 9th, 1972, caused Rapid Creek to flood this area. The water reached the elevation of this flood benchmark. — — Map (db m184418) HM
a relief sculpture in concrete
Martin Wanserski, creator and designer
Fiorenzo Berardozzi and Nancy Losacker, artist assistants
Lost Cabin Constructors, Inc., fabricators and installers
Trout are not native to the Black Hills. They were . . . — — Map (db m184831) HM
Tank Trap A.
This tank trap, located between the Brandenburg Gate and Checkpoint Charlie from 1961 - 1989, is donated in honor of the citizens of Potsdam, Germany (the sister city of Sioux Falls, South Dakota), where religious freedom was . . . — — Map (db m136417) WM
The United States never wavered in its commitment to freedom and democracy in Berlin, a city isolated 100 miles inside Easts Germany. In 1948, to assert its influence over Germany, the Soviet Union blockaded land access to Berlin. The Western . . . — — Map (db m136414) WM
Given to Rapid City by Generous Citizens Mindful of the Price of Freedom
COMMITTEE
Gale Holbrook
Ra Vae Luckhart
Jim Kuehn
Phil Nichols
Carolyn Mollers
Paul Reinke, DDS
Col. Josiah Wallace
Dale Clement, PhD . . . — — Map (db m136399) WM
Here, in America's Heartland between Mount Rushmore national Memorial and Ellsworth Air Force Base, remnants of the Berlin Wall are a vivid remainder that vigilance must never give way to complacency where freedom is concerned.
The . . . — — Map (db m136400) HM
Sometimes East German border guards themselves took advantage of lapses of attention to escape the watch of their colleagues, as Conrad Schumann did by leaping over the barbed wire and fleeing to the West. Most often, however, people attempting . . . — — Map (db m136412) WM
The Eagles
"On eagles wings they soar, forever free, forever in our hearts."
On August 2, 2011, three Rapid City Police Officers were shot while on a routine public nuisance call. Officer Ryan McCandless died at the scene, Officer Nick . . . — — Map (db m184743) HM
Original Construction
The Madison cabin was built in 1876 with logs from the abundant groves of cottonwoods along Rapid Creek. After the trees were felled and trimmed, the logs were squared on the ground (typically with a broadaxe) . . . — — Map (db m154847) HM
This cabin, dating to Rapid City's is founding in early 1876, is the oldest known structure in the city and one of the oldest standing structures in the Black Hills. Rufus "Pap" Madison built it at the corner of Fifth and Rapid Street, the center of . . . — — Map (db m154909) HM
What is Founders Park Plaza's mission?
1. To mark the location where the founding party camped in 1876 while they laid out Rapid City.
2. To honor Rapid City's founders and pioneers.
3. To educate visitors about the 50 years of Rapid . . . — — Map (db m187537) HM
From the floor
of the Stratobowl below
on November 11, 1935
The Stratosphere Balloon Explorer II rose to the world altitude record of 72,395 feet
★
The ascent was made for scientific . . . — — Map (db m161947) HM
This loop trail rises 300 feet to a dramatic view of the White River Valley. From this elevation you can also see the flat-topped Eagle Butte, 25 miles (40 km) to the south. Humans have used the Cliff Shelf for more than 11,000 years. More than 50 . . . — — Map (db m45290) HM
Thirty-seven million years ago, the ancient crystalline core of the Black Hills had already been exposed by erosion. The long blue profile of those mountains, visible to the west, looked much as it does now.
About that time, streams flowing . . . — — Map (db m4404) HM
The fence in front of you once guarded the Delta-09 Launch Facility which held a Minuteman II intercontinental ballistic missile (ICBM). During the Cold War, anyone or anything that crossed this fence was in serious trouble. Standing orders meant . . . — — Map (db m66953) 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
A jungle grew here. Before that, a shallow sea covered the land. Both are gone now, but both left evidence of their passing.
The sea's signature is ammonites, baculites, and clams, pearly fossils entombed in a fossil mud called the Pierre . . . — — Map (db m4399) HM
On this Memorial Day, May 30th, 1939
The Carrol McDonald Post No. 246
Of the American Legion
Erects and Dedicates
This Monument to the Memory of
Those Soldiers who were called
From Wall and Vicinity to
Serve their Country . . . — — Map (db m168856) WM
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 Indian . . . — — Map (db m184631) 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 m192323) HM
When the Oahe Dam was built, taming the
Mighty Missouri River, the resulting reservoir
backed up 231 miles. The dam was completed
in 1962 and was dedicated by President John
F. Kennedy. The body of water, named Lake
Oahe, boasts 2,250 miles of . . . — — Map (db m161878) HM
South Dakota is home to nine tribes of the Sioux Nation, each of which is identified by one of three dialects: Dakota, Lakota and Nakota. One way to experience a part of tribal culture is by attending a "wacipi" or "powwow," to see the colorful . . . — — Map (db m161875) 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 m124101) HM
Mitchell is home to the World's Only Corn Palace.
It was originally constructed in 1892 to celebrate
the harvest and stimulate the economic growth
of the community. Today, visitors can still enjoy
celebrations at the Corn Palace and can . . . — — Map (db m161876) HM
