Historical Markers and War Memorials in Vermillion, South Dakota
Vermillion is the county seat for Clay County
Vermillion is in Clay County
Clay County(44) ► ADJACENT TO CLAY COUNTY Lincoln County(26) ► Turner County(7) ► Union County(30) ► Yankton County(33) ► Cedar County, Nebraska(7) ► Dixon County, Nebraska(5) ►
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On South Dakota Route 50, 3 miles west of Interstate 29, on the right when traveling west.
August Bruyer, his wife, Josephine (Simon) and their sons, John and Julius, were born in France, coming to America about the middle of the nineteenth century. By 1858, they had settled in Fairview Township, 4 miles east of what was to be Vermillion. . . . — — Map (db m179897) HM
Near East Cherry Street east of North Dakota Street, on the right when traveling east.
(USD '40)
World War II
Olson, of the U.S. Army Infantry, exhibited extraordinary and repeated personal heroism in the 1943 Italian campaign. After leading his troops in multiple engagements with German forces, he was fatally wounded and . . . — — Map (db m221359) HM WM
Near East Cherry Street east of North Dakota Street, on the right when traveling east.
(USD '39)
World War II
Foss was a U.S. Marine pilot in the Pacific who shot down 23 enemy aircraft and returned home to be elected governor of South Dakota. He was the first commissioner of the American Football League, was president of . . . — — Map (db m221360) HM WM
On West Main Street at High Street, on the right when traveling west on West Main Street.
Dedicated in memory of all who have served and to those who gave their lives in the service of our country in World Wars I & II
Clay County
South Dakota
Rededicated July 4, 1976 our nation's 200th birthday in honor of the Clay County . . . — — Map (db m221604) WM
Near East Cherry Street east of North Dakota Street, on the right when traveling east.
(USD '49) Vietnam War, Korean War, WWII
A U.S. Air Force pilot captured by enemy forces in 1967, Day was recaptured after escaping and was finally repatriated at the end of the war after years of torture and deprivation in prison. Day is one . . . — — Map (db m221357) HM WM
Near South Dakota Street, 1.5 miles south of U.S. 50, on the right when traveling south.
The Missouri River flowed beneath the bluff when Meriwether Lewis and William Clark led the Corps of Discovery on their epic journey. The mouth of the White Stone River was then near this site at Cotton Park. Now known as the Vermillion River, its . . . — — Map (db m179205) HM
On East Main Street west of Church Street, on the right when traveling west.
Vermillion's downtown district moved from below the bluff after the 1881 flood destroyed the original town, forcing development on higher ground. The new business district was located on the north side of Vine (Main) Street. Some of the pre-flood . . . — — Map (db m221597) HM
On State Highway 50 west of 469th Avenue, on the right when traveling east.
On November 25, 1935, 17 farmers from Clay and Union counties held an historic meeting at the Manning/O'Connor store in Burbank, three miles south of this spot. Their purpose was to form a consumer-owned corporation which would allow the rural . . . — — Map (db m179899) HM
On State Highway 19, 0.1 miles north of 312th Street, on the left when traveling north.
Change came slowly to Spirit Mound after 1804. For 55 years the area remained the land of the Yankton Sioux, with fur traders conducting business from posts on the Missouri. The tallgrass prairie continued to thrive as it had for thousands of years . . . — — Map (db m194632) HM
On West Main Street west of South Market Street, on the right when traveling east.
Andrew E. Lee was born near Bergen, Norway, on March 18, 1847. When Lee was four, he and his family moved to Wisconsin. After receiving a general school education, Lee arrived in Vermillion, Dakota Territory, in 1867.
Lee and Charles E. . . . — — Map (db m221599) HM
On South Dakota Street at West Chestnut Street, on the right when traveling south on South Dakota Street.
This stone marks the place where, on the twenty first day of July A.D. 1875, A.L. 5875, the Most Worshipful Grand Lodge, Ancient Free and Accepted Masons of Dakota, was constituted and the officers installed.
Grand Officers
Thos. H. . . . — — Map (db m179206) HM
Near South Dakota Street, 1.5 miles south of State Route 50, on the right when traveling south.
Lewis and Clark
The Lewis and Clark Expedition, officially the Corps of Discovery, was in what is now South Dakota from August 21 to October 14, 1804 and from August 21 to September 4, 1806.
While here they would make numerous . . . — — Map (db m187536) HM
On State Highway 19, 0.1 miles north of 312th Street, on the left when traveling north.
On the hot day of August 25, 1804, captains Lewis and Clark and several of their men walked from the river to explore Spirit Mound. They had heard that little people with deadly arrows inhabited the mound. Although they did not find little people, . . . — — Map (db m194633) HM
On State Highway 19, 0.1 miles north of 312th Street, on the left when traveling north.
The Missouri National Recreational River preserves two splendid segments of the free-flowing, once unpredictable "Big Muddy." These natural-appearing reaches are reminiscent of the river as reported in the journal pages of captains Lewis and Clark . . . — — Map (db m194634) HM
On West Main Street, 1 mile south of State Route 50, on the right when traveling east.
The confluence of the Missouri and Vermillion rivers provided an ideal location for camping, farming, and settling for generations. Yankton Sioux camped below the bluffs in the winter for protection from the harsh winds and moved to the bluffs in . . . — — Map (db m179288) HM
On Canby Street, 1.3 miles south of State Route 50, on the left when traveling west.
Early Vermillion settlers built their homes and businesses below the bluff. The town was susceptible to flooding from the Missouri River, which at that time ran next to the bluff.
The winter of 1880 started early and did not subside until an . . . — — Map (db m179289) HM
On North Plum Street at East Main Street, on the right when traveling north on North Plum Street.
Vermillion's third city park was created in 1923 when Charles E. Prentis donated ten acres of land for that purpose in memory of his late wife. The land was originally part of the A. A. Carpenter homestead, including an apple orchard and nursery, . . . — — Map (db m179293) HM
On State Highway 19, 0.1 miles north of 312th Street, on the left when traveling north.
This trail leads to the summit of Spirit Mound, a sacred site for several Plains Indian tribes. Some tribal members make pilgrimages to Spirit Mound, say prayers on top, and leave offerings. As you approach and walk to the top, please do so . . . — — Map (db m39700) HM
The First Baptist Church
Was built in 1889 and 1925.
The Congregation, organized in
1868, is one of the oldest in
South Dakota. The Church
houses a historic Tracker
Pipe Organ.
Has been placed on the
NATIONAL REGISTER . . . — — Map (db m135986) HM
Near East Clark Street north of North Yale Street, on the right when traveling west.
The University of South Dakota (USD) was Dakota Territory's first university. Proposed during the 1862 legislative assembly, it was originally called the University of Dakota.
Governor Jayne signed the bill in April 1862, but details were not . . . — — Map (db m221453) HM
On South Dakota Street, 1.5 miles south of State Highway 50, on the right when traveling south.
After heavy precipitation in the spring of 1984 averaged between 250 to 300 percent of normal, river levels were higher than normal and the ground was heavily saturated. Record (at the time) rainfall in June caused widespread flooding on the James, . . . — — Map (db m177315) HM
On West Cherry Street, 0.5 miles south of State Route 50, on the left when traveling west.
Vermillion
August 24, 1804, Lewis & Clark camped near the White Stone (Vermillion) River and next day visited Spirit Mound 8 miles north. The military road, Sioux City - Ft. Randall after 1855 provided access, as did steamboats. A. C. Van Meter . . . — — Map (db m179392) HM
Near East Campus Drive west of North Pine Street, on the left when traveling west.
Doc Farber devoted his life to teaching, challenging his students, and improving government at the local, state, national and international levels. Born and raised in Illinois, he came to USD in 1935, served as Chairman of the Department of . . . — — Map (db m221361) HM
On South Dakota Street, 0.1 miles south of East Broadway Street, on the right when traveling south.
Lat 42° 46' 23.0" N
Long 96° 55' 51.0" W
From here the Water Trail follows five miles of the Vermillion River to its confluence with the Missouri River near River Mile 772, then continues down the Missouri nine miles to . . . — — Map (db m221312) HM
On 306th Street east of University Road, on the right when traveling west.
The once thriving community of Dalesburg, a mile and a half north, is now deserted. Created in 1869 and named Dahlsborg for immigrants from Sweden's Dalarna Province, Dalesburg was formally founded in 1892. In its heyday, Dalesburg boasted a . . . — — Map (db m221214) HM
On 306th Street at University Road, on the right when traveling west on 306th Street.
On Midsummer Day, June 24, 1925, William Inberg and Arvid Johnson opened the newly built gas station and repair-business Hub City Garage. The name Hub City was suggested on opening day because the site is equidistant from the surrounding towns. In . . . — — Map (db m221219) HM
On State Highway 19 north of 312th Street, on the left when traveling south.
Spirit Mound was a sacred place to area tribes long before the first settlers arrived here from the east. To the Yankton Sioux, Omaha, Otoes, and other tribes, this was the "mountain of little people."
Indians believed it was "bad medicine" . . . — — Map (db m222055) HM
Near State Highway 19 north of 312th Street, on the left when traveling north.
In 1921 the local DAR chapter had this boulder set atop Spirit Mound with a bronze plaque marking the Lewis & Clark site for posterity. Virgil McDonald, a resident of the farmhouse that stood on the northeastern slope, hauled the two ton monument . . . — — Map (db m222054) HM
Near State Highway 19 north of 312th Street, on the left when traveling north.
When William Clark climbed this "conical hill" in 1804, he concluded, correctly, that it was a natural form, not a human-created mound. Its central core is a bedrock of Niobrara chalk that the continental ice sheet did not erode away. The . . . — — Map (db m222056) HM
Near State Highway 19 north of 312th Street, on the left when traveling north.
On August 25, 1804, several members of the Lewis and Clark Expedition left the river "to visit a High Hill...Supposed to be a place of Deavels...with remarkable large heads...[that] kill all persons who...attemp to approach the . . . — — Map (db m222050) HM
Near State Highway 19 north of 312th Street, on the left when traveling north.
This spot was visited in 1804
by members of the Lewis and Clark Expedition
Placed by Paha Wakan Chapter
Daughters of the American Revolution
1921
Restored by the National Park Service, 2003 — — Map (db m242484) HM
Near Interstate 29 at milepost 26 at State Route 50.
The rich farm country of southeast South Dakota lies in the triangle formed as the Missouri River, to the west, and the Big Sioux River, east of here, flow toward their confluence about 37 miles southeast of this point. This was the land that drew . . . — — Map (db m179908) HM
Near Interstate 29 at milepost 26 at South Dakota Highway 50.
The Missouri, the continent's longest river, figures prominently in the unfolding of America's saga. Flowing nearby in its 2,341 - mile course from the Rocky Mountains to the Mississippi, the Big Muddy is not only loaded with sediment but steeped in . . . — — Map (db m92825) HM