Early History
The History of Minnehaha County properly begins
with an act of the first territorial legislature, approved April 5, 1862,
and entitled “An Act to Establish the Counties of Lincoln, Minnehaha, Brookings
and Deuel.”
Section 2, of this act reads as follows:
“That so much of the Territory of Dakota as embraced in the following boundaries
be and the same is hereby established as the County of Minnehaha, beginning
at the south-west corner of the State of Minnestoa; thence west to the
south-west corner of township one hundred and one, north, of range fifty-three,
west; thence due north to the north-west corner of township one hundred
and six, north, of range fifty-three, west; thence due east to the boundary
line between the State of Minnesota and the Territory of Dakota; thence
south on said boundary line to place of beginning.
“Section 5. And be it further enacted,
that for judicial and election purposes the counties of Lincoln, Minnehaha,
Brookings and Deuel form one and the same county, with the county seat
at Sioux Falls City, in the County of Minnehaha.
“Section 6. And be it further enacted
that the county seat of Minnehaha county be established temporarily at
Sioux Falls City.”
To trace the series of evolution which made
this event possible, it is necessary to give the reader some idea of the
history of Dakota prior to this date, but the writer will confine himself
strictly to that portion which relates particularly to Minnehaha county.
Leaving to the ethnological student the unsettled
problem of the origin of the Indian nations, who for centuries were the
inhabitants of this vast country, and passing over the period from the
seventeenth century, in which is included the dispersion of the powerful
Indian tribes of the Northwest; the ceding of the entire northwestern territory
by France to Spain in 1762; the receding to France in 1800, and the purchase
of the same by the United States in 1803 for fifteen million dollars; the
gradual development and reaching out of civilization toward “The Land of
the Dakotahs” first by trading posts established by fur companies; the
famous Lewis & Clark expedition in 1804 (being the first American explorer
to ascend the Missouri river into what is now known as Dakota); the establishment,
in 1808, of the Missouri Fur Company, to which the first settlements here
may be ascribed; the missionary labors of Father DeSmet in 1840; the act
of Congress in 1849, by which a portion of Dakota was included in the new
Territory of Minnesota-all of which are parts of the history of the country-we
come to 1851, in which year was enacted what may properly be termed “the
beginning of the end.”
At Traverse de Sioux, Minnesota, in 1851,
the treaty between the United States and the upper bands of Dakota Indians
was consummated, giving to the government a portion of land in which was
included that part of the present County of Minnehaha lying east of the
Big Sioux river. This constituted a part of the Territory of Minnesota
until May 11, 1858, when Minnesota was admitted to the Union and its western
boundary was defined by a line running due south from the foot of Big Stone
Lake to the Iowa state line, leaving a tract about thirty miles in width
extending from this new boundary to the Big Sioux river to be included
in the new Territory of Dakota.
April 18, 1858, a treaty was made by the government
with the Yankton Indians by which the latter ceded to the United States
all lands owned by them, except 400,000 acres, the eastern boundary of
which was the Big Sioux river, and included that portion of Minnehaha lying
west of said river.
The first person to give the world any information
in regard to the falls of the Big Sioux was Nicollet, who in 1839 was sent
out by the government of Quebec to treat with certain western tribes of
Indian. He wrote a sketch of his travels in the Northwest, which
was afterwards published, wherein he gave a description of the beautiful
and picturesque falls of the river then called by the Indians “Te-han-kas-an-data”
or the “Thick-wooded-river.” A Copy of this sketch found its way
into the hands of Dr. George M. Staples, of Dubuque, Iowa, sometime during
the summer of 1856. The natural advantages of the falls at once struck
him, and he took steps to secure possession of the delectable valley.
At that time speculation in lands and town
sites was at high tide, and the doctor without difficulty soon organized
the Western Town Company of Dubuque, Iowa. The following named persons
comprised the company: Dr. G.M. Staples, Mayor Hetherington, Dennis
Mahoney, Austin Adams, S.P. Waldron, William Tripp, and a number of others
whose names the writer has been unable to obtain. Mr. Ezra Millard
of Sioux City, Iowa, was employed by the company to ascertain the location
of the beautiful falls of the Big Sioux, and was instructed to take up
under the laws of the Unites States three hundred and twenty acres of land
contiguous to the falls for a town site in the name of the Western Town
Company. Early in November of the same year, Mr. Millard accompanied
by Mr. D.M. Mills, also of Sioux City, started out to obey instructions.
They followed the east bank of the Big Sioux, and after several days’ travel
came within sight of the promised land.
Right here the writer will take the liberty
to contradict the fiction which has been frequently published, that the
party upon approaching the falls were intercepted by a band of Indians,
and although neither party was conversant with the language of the other,
the travelers could not misunderstand the meaning of the Indians who, taking
the travelers’ horses by the bridle and turning them about, silently pointed
in the direction from which they had come, and that the party immediately
hastened back to Sioux City. Such an incident happening at the first
approach of white men to the falls of the Big Sioux for the purpose of
permanent occupation, would always add piquancy to the events that transpired,
and it is with some misgivings whether it would not be better to let it
stand, that the writer asserts that nothing of the kind took place.
The fact is, the party had a surveyor with them, and in the name of the
Western Town Company took undisturbed possession of three hundred and twenty
acres of land, and D.M. Mills one hundred and sixty acres. The company
selected the southwest one-fourth of section nine, and the northwest one-fourth
of section sixteen and Mr. Mills the southwest one-fourth of section sixteen.
In a history of Southeastern Dakota, published in 1881, the land taken
up at this time is very differently described, but the description above
is correct beyond question. Mr. Mills built a log house above the
falls, ten by twelve feet in size, and then returned to Sioux City for
the winter.
In May, 1857, the Western Town Company sent
Jesse T. Jarrett, John McClellan, Farwell and Oleson to the Falls, to hold
and improve the town site located by the Mills party. They arrived
at the Falls about the first of June.
Meanwhile, in the winter of 1856-7, the Dakota
Land Company was chartered by the legislature of Minnesota Territory, for
the purpose of securing the best locations for future towns in the proposed
Territory of Dakota, and it is to the efforts of this company, that the
location of the western boundary of Minnesota must be ascribed, they being
anxious to have the desirable tract lying east of the Big Sioux river included
in the new Territory.
The original incorporators of this company
were: W.H. Noble, J.R. Brown, A.G. Fuller, S.A. Medary, Samuel F.
Brown, James W. Lynd, N.R. Brown, F.J. DeWitt, Baron F. Friedenriech, B.M.
Smith, Artemas Gale, Parker Paine, Thomas Campbell, Judge Charles E. Flandrau,
and a number of others. The representatives of the company left St.
Paul in May, 1857, Dakotaward. They proceeded to the Big Sioux river,
and in what is now Brookings county located the town of Medary, which they
intended to be the capital of the new Territory. Continuing their
journey down the river they located the town of Flandrau, named in honor
of Judge Flandrau, and then pushed on to Sioux Falls. But in reaching
that point they found themselves anticipated, and the Western Town Company
in possession of the prize. However, they were not to be so easily
crowded out after all their efforts, and in the name of the Dakota Land
Company took up three hundred and twenty acres of land south of the Falls,
which included that present portion of the city known as Gale’s Sioux Falls;
and erecting a log house thereon, near where the Burlington depot is now
located, named their settlement Sioux Falls City. James L. Fiske
and James McBride remained to hold their claim, and the balance of the
party returned to St. Paul.
The population of Sioux Falls now numbered
five souls, Messrs. McClellan, Farwell, Oleson, Fiske and McBride, and
although representatives of rival companies, they dwelt in peace and harmony,
fearing only their common enemy, the Sioux. They were not troubled,
however, until late in July, when the Indians rose in great numbers, and
threatened the extermination of all the settlements on the Big Sioux river.
We have read in some of the newspaper accounts
of the early history of Dakota, “that Col. Noble about this time, with
fifty men in his employ, while locating a road from Fort Ridgley to South
Pass was driven back by the Indians.” This has been denied, and one
of the first settlers in Sioux Falls is authority for the statement “that
Col. Noble was not molested by the Indians, but after having spent fifteen
thousand dollars appropriated for the purpose of locating the road, endeavored
to get another appropriation, but was unsuccessful.”
However, the attitude of the Indians was of
such a threatening character that the Dakota Land Company withdrew Fiske
and McBride from Sioux Falls. McClellan, Farwell and Oleson, were
now left in sole possession, and recognizing the fact that they were in
no position to defend themselves, and deeming discretion the better part
of valor determined to withdraw from the scene for a time. They placed
their personal effects in a canoe, and starting from the foot of the falls
navigated the Big Sioux to its mouth. The Sioux Valley was once more
deserted by white men, but not for long.
On the 17th day of August, 1857, the Western
Town Company sent Messrs. J.T. Jarrett, J.L. Phillips, W.W. Brookings,
S.B. Atwood, A.L. Kilgore, Smith Kinsey, John McClellan, Callahan and Godfrey
from Sioux City, Iowa, to Sioux Falls. D.M. Mills also joined them at Rock
river. This party took with them machinery for a saw mill, tools
and implements for building, and a large stock of provisions, which were
transported by a team of horses and several ox-teams. They were obliged
to travel slowly, the teams being heavily laden, and it being often necessary
to bridge the streams to be crossed on the way, so that it was not until
the 27th of August, after ten weary days, that the party arrived in sight
of the Falls.
To those of the party who now came for the
first time, the scene was inexpressibly grand and beautiful, and all joined
in three rousing cheers. An encampment was made north of the island,
and the next day each member of the party selected a claim for himself.
On the 29th of August, four of the party,
Jarrett, Mills, Atwood and Godfrey, started back to Sioux City, for more
provisions, leaving the others at work. In about ten days Jarrett
returned, accompanied by Dr. Staples, one of the directors of the company.
When the party first set out, Jarrett was
appointed by the company the agent in charge, but being a man particularly
unfitted for the position, he at once became involved in trouble with some
to the other employees, and Dr. Staples having been sent out with authority
to make a change, removed Mr. Jarrett and appointed W.W. Brookings, agent.
The men worked untiringly, building a saw
mill, a stone house and a store. The two last mentioned structures
were located on what is now north Phillips avenue, near three small houses.
Upon the map showing the survey made in August, 1859, this stone house
is located on the northwest quarter of section sixteen, and was called
the “Dubuque House,” but the fact is, it was located on the southwest quarter
of section nine, near the south line of the section, and was on what is
now lot twelve or thirteen of block twenty-five in Syndicate Addition.
Several of the party went back to Sioux City,
leaving only six men in the settlement. These pursued their labors
undisturbed by the Indians, save once, when some of the men run across
a small party near the settlement, but they retreated as hastily as the
settlers, and so caused no alarm.
On October 10, however, towards evening, about
a dozen Indians rode down over the bluffs, and terrifying the men with
their yells, surrounded the one pair of oxen which had been left, and before
the astonished settlers came to their senses, had driven them away.
Four of the men undertook to follow the Indians,
leaving two to guard the camp, but their efforts to rescue the oxen were
unavailing, and they soon retuned to spend an anxious night. The
Indians were known to be hostile and another and more serious attack was
momentarily expected. With the breaking day their fears were somewhat
allayed, and the arrival of Mr. Brookings, who had been absent for some
days, helped to encourage them. The days passed away uneventfully
until the middle of October, when the Dakota Land Company sent a party
of seven men to look after their interests, and the entire population now
began to make preparations for passing the winter at the Falls.
At the time winter set in they were in a fairly
comfortable condition, having besides the saw mill and store building,
three dwelling houses, one of them the stone one already mentioned.
The men who spent the winter at the Falls were as follows: Messrs.
W.W. Brookings, J.L. Phillips, John McClellan, L.B.Atwood, A.L. Kilgore,
Smith Kinsey, Charles McConnell, R.B. McKinley, S.D. and E.M. Brookings,
representing the Western Town Company, and James L. Fiske, James McBride,
James W. Evans, James Allen, William Little, James McCall and C. Merrill
representing the Dakota Land Company.
At this time the Sioux Falls settlement was
under the jurisdiction of the Territory of Minnesota, and in what is known
as Big Sioux county, which then comprised not only the present County of
Minnehaha, but also a large portion of the adjacent region, and in December
the governor of Minnesota appointed the following officers for the county,
Sioux Falls being the only settlement; James Allen, register of deeds;
James Evans, sheriff; James L. Fiske, judge of probate; W.W.Brookings,
district attorney; J.L. Phillips, justice of the peace; Wm. Little, James
McBride and A.L. Kilgore, commissioners, but there are no records showing
that the officials qualified or acted under their appointment.
In May 1858, Minnesota was admitted to the
Union, thus leaving all the country west of it in an unorganized condition.
During this spring a number of other settlers came, among them the first
white woman who came to the Territory to settle. This was a Mrs.
Goodwin, who came early in May with her husband. Soon after, Charles
White with his wife and daughter came.
In the latter part of June, the Indians again
rose and drove all the settlers from the upper part of the Sioux Valley,
including the settlement at Medary, burning all buildings and destroying
property. They sent a message to the settlement at Sioux Falls, demanding
its immediate evacuation, but by that time the population numbered thirty-five
able-bodied men, who were not to be easily driven from the place they had
hoped to make a home. A consultation was held, and it was decided
to take measures for defense. A sod fort was built surrounding the
house already mentioned as being near where the Burlington depot now stands,
and here at night the people gathered, and a guard was detailed, the men
serving in turns. Scarcely were these preparations completed, when
a delegation of Indians visited the Falls and advised the people to leave.
The settlers pluckily “held the fort”
until the excitement was over, and the Indians once more quieted, but it
is not to be wondered at, that many of them had too great a dread of passing
through another period of such suspense and fear, and when they could at
last withdraw without leaving their companions in danger, they did so,
and the population of Sioux Falls City was materially reduced.
A few years ago, a clipping from a newspaper,
published some time during the seventies, came into the writer’s possession,
and as it is a copy of a letter written by one of the occupants of Fort
Sod, in June, 1858, giving a graphic account of the life led in Sioux Falls
at that time by thirty-five men and one woman, it is transferred to this
work. If this should happen to arrest the attention of any of the
occupants of old Fort Sod, it would undoubtedly surprise them that they
had forgotten so much of the sufferings they had passed through.
But here it is just as we have it:
At this time there were trading posts
established at Yankton and other near points on the Missouri river, which
were controlled by Frost, Todd & Co., and this company, unlike those
at the Sioux Falls settlement, was opposed to any immediate organization
of the Territory until a treaty could be made with the Indians, and the
land beyond the Big Sioux river be ceded to the United States. They
would then be entitled, under the trading post license, to locate a mile
square of land around the post to cover their improvements, which would
include the Yankton town site, and then, should the Territory be organized,
the advantage of Yankton for a capital would be recognized. On the
other hand, should the Territory be organized at once the capital in all
probability would be located at Sioux Falls.
During the summer of 1858, the Dakota Land
Company, deeming it necessary to make known to the world in general and
Congress in particular, the need for organization of the great and increasing
population of the Territory, as well as the wonderful advantages of the
country, sent out from St. Paul a printing press, printer, and editor.
The press was one which had already seen over twenty years of service,
having been purchased of the Smith Press Company in 1836, and used to print
the first paper published in Dubuque, then a small mining town. In
1842, the press was sold to a stock company and used in printing the Grant
County Herald, in Lancaster, Wisconsin. A few years afterward, J.M.
Goodhue bought the old press and moved it with an ox team on the ice to
St. Paul, where it was used for a long time in printing the St. Paul Pioneer.
The Pioneer soon required a larger press, and in 1858, the old Smith press
was again sent on its travels and by ox-power. After a long and tedious
journey over the prairies, through forests and streams and around lakes
it at length reached Sioux Falls, where it was once more to serve its purpose
as the herald of advancing civilization, and was duly installed in a stone
building on the bank of the river. The editor was Mr. S.J. Albright,
and the printer was J.W. Barnes, afterwards a compositor in The Times office
in Dubuque. The result of this step was the birth of The Democrat.
It was issued at irregular intervals, i.e., whenever the enterprising editor
or citizens could think of anything that would advertise Dakota, and copies
were circulated broadcast throughout the east.
The first issue of this paper appeared on
the 2d day of July, 1859, a copy of which is now in the possession of Doane
Robinson of Yankton. Mr. Robinson, in a letter to the writer, says:
“It is printed on the outside only, and contains nothing of local interest
except the poem by Gov. Masters entitled ‘Sioux Falls’ which appears in
the July (1898) monthly South Dakotan. I have my copy framed, and
it is too frail to handle.” He sent the writer four issues of The
Democrat, viz., Vol. I, numbers 3,4,6 and 9. No. 3 was published
August 26, 1859. No. 4 was published November 8; No. 6, December
15, 1859; No. 9 February 18, 1860. In these issues appear the following
advertisements: Albright & Allen, Dealers in Real Estate; J.
McCall, Mason, J.L. Phillips, Physician and Surgeon; W.W. Brookings, Attorney
and Counsellor at Law; John Rouse, Boot and Shoe Maker; and J.W. Evans,
Carpenter. The office of “The Democrat” was in the “Democrat Building”
N.E. corner of Bridge and Main streets.
In 1881, an extensive history of Southeastern
Dakota was published in book form by the Western Publishing Co., of Sioux
City, Ia., and The Democrat is there mentioned as Dakota Democrat, and
the date of the first publication, in its account of the “Sioux Falls Settlement,”
is asserted to be on the 20th day of September, 1858, but in a chapter
entitled “Sioux Falls” we find the following account of this newspaper:
“The first newspaper published in the Territory was issued at Sioux Falls.
This was the Dakota Democrat, established in 1857 by S.J. Albright.”
These dates are clearly erroneous. And this assertion that Mr. Albright
left Sioux Falls in 1860, taking the heading of The Democrat with him,
may also be erroneous. But it is a fact that Mr. Albright left Sioux
Falls about this time, and the paper therafter was published as The Independent,
this heading having formerly been used for a paper published in Iowa by
F.M. Ziebach. During the last fifteen years we have seen several
accounts of this newspaper enterprise, and they differ so much in regard
to dates and other things appertaining to its publication which should
be accurately stated, especially as it was the first newspaper published
in Dakota, that we have taken great pains to ascertain and record the exact
facts in reference to it. Further on, an account of the destruction
of the press will appear as one of the incidents of the burning of Sioux
Falls by the Indians the last of August, 1862.
The Dakota Land Company, as already appears,
was enterprising in its efforts to obtain possession of land in Dakota
favorable for the location of towns, and, believing that it will not be
uninteresting, we transcribe a portion of a report which was submitted
at the annual meeting of the stockholders, of the company in October, 1859.
This report was made by J.L. Fiske, showing the operation and progress
made by the company from August 1, 1858. It briefly referred to the
report of Secretary Gay, made the year previous from which it appeared
that the company had suffered heavy damages and losses by the sacking and
burning of the towns of Medary and Flandrau. The report then proceeded
to show that during the year “twenty-six hundred and forty (2640) acres
of scrip had been purchased to lay on six towns” and that “two of the directors
of the company had taken charge of a special expedition into the Territory
for the purpose of resurveying and establishing the required boundary marks
to six, designated by the board, preparatory to entering them with the
scrip on hand.” That this party visited all these parts, and, after
preparing the necessary plats and other papers, Messrs. Gay and Smith proceeded
to the land office having jurisdiction, and successfully entered the towns.
Two of these towns were in Minnesota, namely, Saratoga, in Cottonwood county,
and Mountain Pass, situated at the head of Lake Benton. In Dakota
four towns were located, and described as follows: “Medary, the county
seat of Midway county, the first organized county in Dakota, situated on
the Big Sioux river at the crossing of the government road, and twenty-five
miles due west of Mountain Pass, two hundred and twenty acres; Flandrau,
the county seat of Rock county at the junction of the Coteau Percee with
the Sioux, fifteen miles south of Medary, six hundred and forty acres;
Sioux Falls City, established seat of government for Big Sioux county,
and the recognized capital of the Territory, at the falls of the Big Sioux,
the head of navigation, three hundred and twenty acres; Emanija, the county
seat of Vermillion county, at the mouth of Split Rock river and Pipe Stone
creek, on the Big Sioux, thirteen miles below the Falls, and at the more
practical head of navigation for large steamers, six hundred and forty
acres.”
As already stated, the eastern portion of
Minnesota Territory was admitted as a State in May, 1858, and this left
all that portion of the present limits of the two Dakotas east of the Missouri
and White Earth rivers in an unorganized condition. From this time
until the Territory of Dakota was organized March 2, 1861, the situation
of the settlers was a peculiar one. During the summer of 1858, the
residents of the Sioux Valley were perplexed with the problem how to proceed
in order to obtain the benefits of a duly constituted government.
Of course, they appreciated the fact that such government must come through
the organization of a territorial government, and this could only be established
by an act of Congress. But this would take considerable time, and until
it was accomplished, unless some provisional laws were enacted, each person
would be a law unto himself. Again the question was considered how
to best present this state of affairs to Congress, and obtain territorial
organization. It was finally determined that it would be advisable
to set up a government themselves, elect a legislature, and enact such
laws as would answer their purpose of the time being, memorialize Congress
for territorial organization, and elect a delegate to Congress to urge
the immediate establishment of a territorial government. Having determined
upon this plan, they proceeded to put it in force, and a mass convention
was called for that purpose. The action of the convention appears
from the following notice, which was printed on small slips of paper:
With the thirty or forty souls who composed
the population at that time, it required considerable ingenuity to arrange
matters, and the elections were conducted in a somewhat peculiar manner.
We learn from one of the members, that on the morning of election, the
whole population organized into parties of three or four, elected each
other judges and clerks of election, and then started off with their teams
in various directions for a pleasure trip, and whenever a rest was taken,
which occurred frequently, an election precinct was established, and the
votes not only of the party but of their uncles, cousins, relatives and
friends were cast, until as a result of the election the total vote rolled
up into the hundreds, and was properly certified to.
Soon after the election the legislature convened,
and Henry Masters was elected president of the council, and at the close
of the session was elected governor. S.J. Albright was elected speaker.
This session lasted only a few days, but with due deliberation all needful
bills for home government were introduced, discussed and passed.
It also passed the strongest resolutions and memorials to Congress, praying
for an early organization of the territory, and elected A.G. Fuller, Esq.,
to represent the Territory in Washington.
Years afterwards in speaking of this legislative
session, a member said: “There has never been a regular legislature
in Dakota in which dignity, decorum and good order were better observed
than in this squatter legislature, and it would be well for other legislatures
to take pattern thereby.”
Mr. Fuller spent the winter of 1858-9 in Washington
endeavoring to secure his admission as a delegate, but his efforts were
of no avail, his influence being counteracted by that of Frost, Todd &
Co., who desired to postpone the organization of the Territory as before
stated. He succeeded, however, in establishing a post office at Sioux
Falls. Mr. James Allen was made the first postmaster, and the post
office was located for a short time in the Dakota Land Company’s building
already referred to.
At this point in the early history of events
we have had not a little difficulty in sifting the truth from a mass of
contradictory statements made by individuals, who were residents of Sioux
Falls at the time of their occurrence. Judge Charles E. Flandrau,
of St. Paul Minn., and one of her foremost citizens, about three years
ago, desiring to obtain the exact facts concerning the first settlement
of Dakota, and especially the facts in reference to the attempt to form
a government on the principles of “squatter sovereignty,” applied to S.J.
Albright, then a resident of New York City, for the coveted information.
This Mr. Albright is the same person who came to Sioux Falls in 1858, and
was the editor of The Democrat. He complied with Judge Flandrau’s
request, and his narrative was so interesting and apparently correct, that
it was published in the Minnesota Historical Society’s Collections, Vol.
VIII, Part II, pages 134 to 147, inclusive. This narrative, with
the preface by Judge Flandrau, has been published in pamphlet form, and
through the kindness of the judge we have a copy before us. This
narrative, while purporting to give an account of the first organized government
of Dakota, entirely ignores the provisional or squatter legislature of
1858, in fact, not only ignores it, but declares that “the first legislative
assembly of Dakota came together in Sioux Falls City in the winter of 1859.”
Mr. Albright would undoubtedly admit he was mistaken in this if he had
before him Vol. 1, No. 4, of The Democrat published November 8, 1858, at
Sioux Falls City, of which he was then the “Editor and Proprietor,” for
in that issue may be found the following account of the assembling of the
legislature in 1859.
“ELECTION NOTICE.
Mr. Albright’s narrative also ignores the fact, that Henry Masters was elected governor by the legislature in 1858, and here again we find in the issue of November 8, 1859, of The Democrat, the following notice of the death of Gov. Masters:
“DEATH OF GOV. MASTERS.
We also find in The Democrat of August 26, 1859, an advertisement of S. J. Albright and J.M. Allen of Sioux Falls City, Dealers in Real Estate, under the firm name of Albright & Allen, and in their list of references the following: “Hon. Henry Masters, Governor of Dakota Territory.”
This would seem to settle the question that
Henry Masters was the first governor.
It is not an important matter, but the statement
by Mr. Albright that “Henry Masters was originally a Massachusetts man
and removed here from Dubuque, Iowa, with his family and effects: should
be corrected. Gov. Masters was born in Bath, Maine, and came from
the city of Brooklyn, N.Y., to Sioux Falls, his family remaining in Brooklyn,
with the exception of his son Harry; who came here some time after his
father, probably in 1859. Gov. Masters, on one occasion at least,
preached a sermon in Sioux Falls, the first sermon preached in the county,
and probably the first within the present limits of the State of South
Dakota. It was in the support of the Swedenborgian faith.
On the 10th day of August, 1859, a convention
was called to meet in Sioux Falls City to nominate a candidate for delegate
to Congress, and, as Mr. Albright says in his narrative, “a few days subsequent
to the adjournment of the convention, the community was startled by the
information that he (Gov. Masters) had been stricken with apoplexy at his
home and that death had followed the stroke,” and as Gov. Masters died
on the 5th day of September, it is undoubtedly true that there was a convention
held on September 3, and was the only convention held that year, for it
is a fact that candidates for other offices were nominated at this time.
In reference to the nomination and election
of Judge Kidder for delegate to Congress in 1859, we do not hesitate to
affirm that the following statements can be fully substantiated.
Judge Kidder came from St. Paul to Sioux Falls late in August, 1859, and
was nominated for delegate to Congress on Saturday, the 3d day of September,
and left Sioux Falls for St. Paul the forepart of the following week; that
before the election took place, A.G. Fuller, who was absent at the time
the convention was held, returned to Sioux Falls, and was so displeased
with the fact that Judge Kidder had been nominated instead of himself,
that the name of Judge Kidder was taken from the ticket and Mr. Fuller’s
substituted, and Mr. Fuller was voted for in the Sioux Valley. After
the election Mr. Fuller went to St. Paul, and it was arranged between the
two candidates that Judge Kidder should have the election, and a return
was made from Pembina showing that Kidder had a majority over Fuller, and
he received the certificate of election.
Gov. Masters was nominated for governor at
this convention, but his death created a vacancy on the ticket. Mr.
Albright soon after the convention went to St. Paul, and during his absence
his name was put on the ticket for governor in place of Henry Masters.
Mr. Albright was elected governor, but, we are informed, did not qualify,
and was displeased with his election, stating that he would prefer to be
a member of the House, and its speaker, the same as he was the year before,
and a certificate was issued to him as a member of the House.
At the top of the first editorial column of
The Democrat in its issue of November 8, 1859, the following appears:
The last issue of The Democrat before this,
was on the 26th day of August, 1859.
When the second session of the legislature
convened on Wednesday the 2d of November, 1859, it adjourned from day to
day until Monday, the 7th, for want of a quorum. On that day Mr.
Albright was nominated speaker by Representative C. Cooper, and was elected
unanimously, and acted as such during the session of the legislature, which
adjourned on the 18th of the same month. A bill was introduced in
the House (H.B. No. 5) “providing for the death or resignation of the governor”
passed by the House on November 14, and by the Council November 16.
It is a disputed question who was the governor after the death of Gov.
Masters, but, according to the best information obtainable, we are confident
that this bill No. 5 made the Hon. W.W. Brookings (who was then President
of the Council) ex officio Governor. He signed the certificate of
Judge Kidder’s election as delegate to Congress “W.W. Brookings ex officio
Governor,” and sent it to him at St. Paul, but Judge Kidder sent it back
requesting him to sign it as “Acting Governor,” which he did.
The members of the legislature were as follows:
It is hardly probable that any members of this
legislature were residents of Vermillion or Yankton counties. In
looking up their residences, and especially the places where elections
were held, we have come to the conclusion that no votes were cast in the
Missouri Valley. The Hon. J.R. Hanson, now residing at Yankton, was
a resident of that place in 1859, and in response to a letter written him
in regard to the matter, he says: “There was a public meeting held
at Yankton November 8, 1859, which declared among other things as follows:
“We do not approve of any election that has been held, nor will we participate
in any that may be held in any portion of this territory for the purpose
of electing a delegate to Congress, but we trust in the wisdom and justice
of Congress to provide us with a legal form of government at an early day.”
Copies of this resolution were ordered sent to Vermillion, Big Sioux, Bon
Homme and Atkinson to be read at meetings to be held at those places.
This resolution was subsequently adopted at Vermillion, but I don’t know
about the other places.
“From the foregoing it is fair to presume
that no vote was had for delegate to Congress, representatives to a legislature
or territorial officers. My personal recollection is that we did
not participate in that election.”
This would seem to settle the question that
this provisional government was participated in almost exclusively by Big
Sioux county, and especially so when the members of the legislature, Greenway,
Brookings, Amidon, Evans, Peters, Little, Kilgore, Scales, Stevens and
Shaw, accredited to Midway, Rock, Pipestone, Vermillion and Yankton counties,
were well known residents of Big Sioux county.
We are indebted to the columns of The Democrat
for a partial report of the proceedings of this legislature. Memorials
to Congress to extend a territorial government over Dakota, to recognize
Judge Kidder as a delegate, to recognize and ratify the laws passed, and
to establish a land office at Sioux Falls, were passed. A bill providing
for filling a vacancy in case of the resignation or death of governor,
and bills for fixing the boundaries of Big Sioux county, and establishing
the counties of Scott and Buchanan, were passed. Bills prohibiting
the setting of prairie fires, the running at large of cattle and swine,
the incorporation of the Sioux Falls Manufacturing Co., and the establishing
of supreme and district courts were killed. Joint resolutions appointing
a public printer, providing for the printing of the laws passed, and instructing
the delegate to Congress to ask for the appropriation of $6,000 to defray
the expenses of the government of Dakota for the current year, were passed.
The year 1860 was a very quiet one, the settlers
anxiously awaiting the result of Judge Kidder’s efforts in their behalf.
Very few immigrants came. Among those were J.B. Amidon and family.
The year 1861 saw the hopes and expectations
of the ambitious population realized. March 2, President Buchanan
approved the bill for the organization of Dakota Territory, and President
Lincoln hastened to perfect the government by appointing the following
officers in accordance with the organic act: William Jayne of Illinois,
governor; John Hutchinson of Minnesota, secretary; P. Bliss of Ohio, chief
justice; L.P. Williston of Pennsylvania and J.L. Williams of Tennessee,
associate justices; W. Gleeson of Maryland, district attorney; W.F. Schaffer,
United States marshal.
By a provision of the organic act, Dakota
was made a distinct land district and G.D. Hill of Michigan appointed surveyor-general.
The name of “Dakota” was given to the territory for the reason that the
numerous tribes of Indians who had inhabited this region from the earliest
times known to the whites bore the general name of Dakotas, although each
tribe had its peculiar name aside from the general one.
The officers appointed by the president at
once entered upon the discharge of their duties, and in June of the same
year Dakota had a regular government. On the 13th day of July, 1861,
Governor Jayne issued his first proclamation, dividing the territory into
judicial districts and assigning the judges for each.
July 29, 1861, Governor Jayne issued his second
proclamation, dividing the territory into legislative districts, and appointing
September 16, for a general election, when members of the legislature and
a delegate to Congress should be elected.
The first district comprised the Big Sioux
valley, and to this district was assigned two councilmen and four members
of the House.
The first general election held in the new
territory was an exceedingly interesting one. There were three candidates
for delegate to Congress: Capt. J.B.S. Todd, independent; A.J. Bell,
union; and C.P. Booge, the people’s candidate. Of 585 votes cast,
Todd received 397, and was declared elected by the board of canvassers,
who issued to him the certificate of election as the first delegate to
Congress from Dakota.
The members of the legislature elected from
the first district were as follows: Council, Austin Cole and W.W.
Brookings; House, J.C. McBride, Christopher Maloney, Geo. P. Waldron and
H.S. Donaldson.
The first legislature convened March 17, 1862,
at Yankton, that place having been designated by the governor as temporary
capital. At this session an act was passed establishing the County
of Minnehaha, and authorizing the governor to nominate, and with the consent
of council, appoint the county officers.
The following officers were elected:
judge of probate and treasurer, J.B. Amidon; register of deeds, Harry Masters;
sheriff, J.W. Evans; commissioners, Wm. Stevens, Wm. Amidon, and B.C. Fowler;
justice of the peace, James McCall.
An act was also passed legalizing the official
acts of James M. Allen as register of deeds, and James McCall as justice
of the peace for the County of Big Sioux as organized under the authority
of Minnesota. A memorial to Congress was also passed, praying for
the establishment of a military post at Sioux Falls City for the protection
of the settlers.
During the previous winter, Company A, Dakota
Cavalry, consisting of ninety-six men under Captain Nelson Miner, was organized
and mustered into service in April, and a detachment of this company was
stationed at the Falls. J.B. Watson, John McClellan and A.F. Shaw
were members of this company.
The spring and summer of 1862, were full of
promise to the young County of Minnehaha, and had the Indians remained
quiet all would have gone well with her. Fate, however, decreed otherwise,
and the bright anticipations of the little band of pioneers who had toiled
and endured so faithfully, were soon to be destroyed.
In August the Indian uprising began again,
and horrible massacres on the frontier of Minnesota were perpetrated.
The news did not reach the Falls until some time afterward, but on the
25th of August an event occurred, which caused consternation among the
settlers. This was the murder of Judge J.B. Amidon and his son.
They left their home in Sioux Falls City early in the morning, to cut some
hay on their land about a mile north, taking their dinners with them.
When night came and they did not return, Mrs. Amidon became alarmed and
notified the soldiers, who, fearing the worst, at once started in search
of them. Not until the next morning was their search rewarded and
their worst fears realized. They were found in a cornfield, adjacent
to the hayfield, Judge Amidon, lying on his face, with a bullet hole through
his back, and the son farther back in the cornfield, his body covered with
arrows. It was evident that the judge had died instantly, but the
boy had survived long enough to draw a number of arrows from his body.
While the soldiers were searching for the murderers a number of Indians
appeared on the bluff with the evident intention of attacking the village,
but on the return of the soldiers, they fled and escaped in the timber
along the river.
The settlers were now thoroughly alarmed,
and when a day or two later messengers arrived with the news of the fearful
massacres on the frontier, and with orders from the governor for the soldiers
to proceed to Yankton and bring the settlers with them, they hastily gathered
up such property as could be easily carried and, with heavy hearts, abandoned
the earthly possessions they had fondly called their own.
After their departure the Indians entered
the village, destroyed everything they found, and set fire to the buildings.
They ended the pioneer labors of the old Smith press by throwing it into
the river, where it laid until 1871, when it was rescued and placed on
exhibition in the town. A part of it was sold to True Dennis, at
that time popularly known as the “village blacksmith,” and the bed lay
for some time near where E.B. Smith’s furniture store is now located, but
Hiram Caldwell, living north of Sioux Falls, took it home and used it for
a door step. R.F. Pettigrew discovering the use to which it was being
put, and thinking it should be preserved as a relic of the first newspaper
enterprise in the county, gave Mrs. Caldwell five dollars for it, and now
has it in his possession. Mr. Pettigrew’s brother Fred has the spindle.
The Indians carried the type away with them, and some of it afterwards
found its way back to the settlements in the form of ornaments to the pipes
which they made of pipestone.
Two months later a number of men with a small
party of soldiers under Captain Miner came back to the deserted village
in the hope of finding and taking back with them some of the movable property
which had been left behind in their hasty flight. They found the
house which had been occupied by W.W. Brookings (standing nearly where
the Milwaukee depot is now located), and two others still left, the fire
having died out without consuming the buildings as the Indians had expected.
Among other things found and saved were some valuable papers belonging
to Mr. Brookings, which were kept in a trunk and were partially burned.
By October of this year all the settlements
in the Sioux Valley were abandoned, and most of the settlers left the country.
A few in Yankton and Bon Homme counties gathered at Yankton, where a good
stockade had been built, and remained there through the troublous times,
not knowing what moment they might be attacked by the savages and their
lives sacrificed. For nearly three years the Sioux Valley remained
almost deserted. A long and disastrous Indian war was feared, and
the settlements were unguarded and defenseless, and murders and depredations
were frequent.
The second session of the territorial legislature
convened on the first day of December, 1862, at Yankton, and after two
weeks of contesting and quarreling, was finally organized. The acts
passed, relating directly to Minnehaha county, were as follows: the
counties of Clay, Lincoln, Deuel, Minnehaha and Brookings were made the
second council and representative district, and entitled to a representation
of three members of the Council and six members of the House. The
counties of Clay, Cole, Lincoln, Minnehaha, Brookings and Deuel were constituted
the first judicial district of the territory, with the seat of jurisdiction
at Vermillion, and the first Tuesday of May in each year appointed for
the court to convene. Memorials to Congress were also passed, praying
for the establishment of a mail route form Mankato in Blue Earth county,
Minnesota, to Fort Randall in Dakota territory via Sioux Falls, and for
the establishment of a military post at Sioux Falls for the protection
of the settlers. The latter is given in full as a picture of the
state of affairs in Dakota at that date, and reads as follows:
“To the Hon. E.M. Stanton, Secretary of War:
“Your memorialist, the legislative assembly
of the Territory of Dakota, would most respectfully represent that the
frontier settlements of western Minnesota, northwestern Iowa, and southern
Dakota will require for several years to come, military protection to guard
the inhabitants and their property from the attacks and plundering of roaming
hostile bands of Indians who are constantly ravaging that section of country;
further, that all the frontier settlements of southwestern Minnesota, northwestern
Iowa, and almost the entire valley of the Big Sioux river in Dakota, have
been depopulated during the past summer through fear of hostile Indians,
the inhabitants having been partially butchered in several of these settlements;
further, that for the last six years, the Minnesota Sioux and the Yankton
Sioux have been in the habit of coming down the river of the Big Sioux,
to a rendezvous near Sioux Falls, then making that a base, strike off into
northwestern Iowa and southern Dakota, where they steal, ravage and harass
the settlers, then escape before any assistance can arrive from either
Forts Randall or Ridgley, and had it not been for the soldiers stationed
at Sioux Falls during the late massacre in Minnesota, it is more than probable,
that a large number of the settlers in this territory would have met with
the same fate as those of the State of Minnesota: Therefore, your
memorialist would most respectfully ask, that a military post be established
and occupied at an early day as possible on the Big Sioux river, in the
vicinity of Sioux Falls. Your memorialist would further represent
that said Sioux Falls is about half way between Forts Randall and Ridgley,
on a direct line with the same and that a military post at said point would
not only protect the immediate vicinity of Sioux Falls, but would amply
protect the frontier settlements of southwestern Minnesota, northwestern
Iowa, and southern Dakota. A small force of cavalry stationed at
said post would be able to keep all hostile Indians north and west of a
line running from Fort Ridgley in Minnesota to Fort Randall in Dakota.
Further, your memorialist would represent that there is abundance of building
material at said Sioux Falls, and your memorialist will ever pray.
“Approved January 2, 1863.”
At the legislative session in 1863-4, nothing
affecting Minnehaha county was done, and it still remained deserted.
At the fourth session of the legislative assembly,
begun in Yankton on the 5th day of December, 1864, and concluded January
13, 1865, the following memorial was passed:
“To the Hon. E.M. Stanton, Secretary of War:
“Your memorialists, the Legislative Assembly
of the Territory of Dakota, would most respectfully represent, that the
safety of the people of southern Dakota and northern Iowa from the attacks
of hostile bands of Indians require the establishment of two small military
posts—on the Big Sioux river in the vicinity of Sioux Falls, and one at
the point on the Dakota river near a straight line between said Sioux Falls
and Fort Randall. Sioux Falls is about half way between Fort Randall,
Dakota, and Fort Ridgley, Minnesota, and your memorialists are of the opinion
that such posts would give better protection to southern Dakota, than the
system heretofore adopted, besides being far less expensive; therefore
your memorialists pray for the establishment of such military posts; and
as in duty bound will ever pray.
“Resolved, That a copy of this memorial be
sent to the Secretary of War, Hon. J.B. S. Todd and Hon. A.W. Hubbard.
“Approved, January 12, 1864.”
In response to this prayer, on May 1, 1865,
a military post was established at Sioux Falls, and Company E, Sixth Iowa
Cavalry, under Captain Eicher, was ordered to take possession of the post.
A tract of land ten miles long and seven miles wide, comprising the present
township of Sioux Falls; sections 13 to 36, inclusive, of Mapleton township;
sections 13, 24, 25 and 36, Benton township, and sections 1, 12, 13, 24,
25 and 36 Wayne township was set apart for a military reservation.
Barracks were built by this company during
the summer of 1865, also a stone house called the commissary building,
as shown in the accompanying illustration. The barracks were located
in part on what is now Phillips avenue, between Seventh and Eighth streets,
the south end being about 125 feet north of Eighth street. The larger
building was about forty feet in width and thirty feet of the south end
was west of the westerly limit of Phillips avenue, and nearly the entire
north end was in Phillips avenue. A portion of the building at the
right was built in 1866.
On the 8th day of June, 1866, Company D, Twenty-second
U.S. Infantry, under Col. Knox, arrived at Sioux Falls to relieve the cavalry,
which left the same day the infantry arrived, only Dr. Nisley and Mr. Pratt,
the hospital steward, remaining.
With the establishment of a military post
in the Big Sioux Valley peace and safety were secured, and gradually immigration
began, though slowly at first, and it was not until 1869 that the population
of Sioux Falls became as large as in the spring of 1862.
The first sutler at Sioux Falls was A.F. Hayward,
who came with the establishment of the post in May, but he afterwards sold
out to Charles K. Howard.
At the legislative session begun in December,
1865, and concluded in January, 1866, a memorial to Congress was passed,
praying that a small number of bloodhounds might be placed at each military
post, for the better protection of the lives and property of the citizens
from the small bodies of Indians, who were frequently skulking in the tall
weeds and timber along the streams, for the purpose of theft or murder.
Congress was also memorialized for the establishment of a mail route from
Sioux Falls to Ponca, Nebraska, by way of Brule Creek and Elk Point, with
weekly service thereon.
In the summer of 1866, a number of families
settled in the county, among whom were John Nelson, John Thompson, Wm.
Melvin, Sylvester Delaney, John J. Aasen, Jr., and Ole O. Gilseth.
Nelson and Thompson left Goodhue county, Minnesota,
with their wives, on June 4. They came across Iowa, and after leaving
Spirit Lake saw no white people until they reached Fort Dakota. They
took up land about ten miles from the fort, and Thompson is still living
where he first settled. Melvin and Delaney took up land in the same
vicinity. Melvin soon left for Kansas, but the log house he built
is still standing about three-fourths of a mile north of Thompson’s place
and is occupied by Ole L. Floren and family. An account of privations
and hardships endured by Aasen and Gilseth in reaching Dakota, as translated
from an issue of the Syd Dakota Ekko, published in November, 1895, will
be found in the chapter of reminiscences.
At the next session of the legislature, which
convened at Yankton on December 4, 1866, and adjourned January 12, 1867,
a memorial to Congress was passed, praying that a road be laid out and
established from Elk Point up the Big Sioux Valley to Fort Dakota, and
asking an appropriation of ten thousand dollars for that purpose.
As all supplies for the fort were transported by teams from Sioux City
by way of Elk Point, a road from the latter place to the fort was a necessity.
A memorial was also passed asking that the unexpended balance of a previous
appropriation amounting to three thousand dollars, be applied to improving
and bridging the main traveled road from Sioux Falls to Yankton by way
of the upper James river ferry.
In 1867, Ole Gunderson, Foster Gunderson,
Martin Gunderson, John Johnson, Larson Sweet, J. Larson, Ole J. Arnson
and their families settled in the county.
During the session of the legislature which
begun December 26, 1867, at Yankton and concluded January 10, 1868 an act
was passed to reorganize Minnehaha county. John Nelson, John Thompson
and William Melvin were appointed county commissioners and Edward Broughton
register of deeds.
In the spring of 1868, John O. Langness and
Sivert and Gullick Kringen started west, from Minnesota, to find a place
suitable to organize a colony. They found no place that suited them
so well as the Sioux Valley, and retuning to Minnesota they came back in
the fall, bringing with them a large number of Scandinavians, among whom
were the following: Gudmund T. Ravlo and his sons, who are still
living in the county; Nils Iverson, Iver and Nils Nilson, Rollof Pederson,
J. Krogstad, Lars Kvarnmo, Jens Berg, Peder and Thomas Paulson; Paul A.
Risvold and his two sons, Andrew and Peder Risvold; Gudmund Dalemo, Ole
Thompson, Guttorm Eklo and his son Peter Magnus; John Bruaas, who settled
at Baltic; Halvor Nyhus, Thorsten and Jonas Nassan and Ole Hougtro.
O.B. Iverson and Ole Bergerson settled in Split Rock, and John Walker also
settled there about this time. John Langness brought with him a whipsaw,
which was in constant demand in constructing the houses the settlers began
to build. Ole Thompson and Mr. Langness would saw two hundred feet
of boards with this saw in a day. John Thompson sent to the “old
country” for one of these saws, and afterwards procured another nearer
home, and there were two or three others in use in this vicinity.
This method of manufacturing lumber by the early settlers affords a striking
illustration of the limited advantages and resources of pioneer days.
John Anderson Ole and Gunder Thompson settled
about two miles from the present city of Dell Rapids. Ole Thompson
used to help the Indians break their lands, and as his plow accomplished
the purpose far better and in much shorter time than their implements,
they gave him the name of “Maka-jubbedu-tanka” or “The great land-breaker.”
A large number of settlers came into the county
during 1869, and several people located at Sioux Falls and engaged in business.
Among them were N.E. Phillips, R.F. Pettigrew, John Hunter, Jephtha Duling,
Clark G. Coats, and D.B. Reynolds. Mr. Duling brought his family,
and moved into a cabin built by one of the soldiers very near where the
Burlington depot now stands. At that time the only women
Mrs. Duling found in Sioux Falls were Col. Duffy’s family, and two of the
soldiers’ wives. Mrs. Duling, however, was accustomed to the privations
of frontier life, having lived with her husband at Fort Randall from 1863,
until his discharge in 1865, and then on a ranch in Charles Mix county
until they removed to Sioux Falls. Later on Mr. Duling built a house
on the bank of the river near the cabin in which they first lived.
In 1874, during a heavy wind, he was struck by the roof of an old shed
and instantly killed. Mrs. Duling soon after removed to Dell Rapids,
where she married James H. Bishop, and resided until her death, which occurred
August 18, 1894.
In those early days the only place where supplies
of any kind could be purchased was at the sutler’s store kept by C.K. Howard,
and the prices paid would delight the hearts of the merchants in Sioux
Falls nowadays, who have to contend with numerous competitors and keep
up in the race of “cut prices.” Then a spool of thread sold for fifty
cents, calico was fifty cents a yard, and molasses two dollars a gallon.
During the legislative session in 1868-9,
a memorial to Congress was passed, stating that Fort Dakota was no longer
needed as a protection to the settlements on the Big Sioux, and praying
that it might be removed to Medary, sixty-five miles north of Sioux Falls,
which resulted in the military post at Sioux Falls being vacated on the
18th day of June, 1869.
In 1870 the military reservation was opened
to settlers, and immigration steadily increased. Among those who
came were Nils Noregaard and Nils Lauritsen from Denmark, who took up land
along the river below the present site of Dell Rapids. James Nisbet,
A.W. Hunt, Wm. Dockstader, John Hoy, Mr. Richardson, and Byron D. Graves
settled west and south of Dell Rapids. John Bippus, and John C.Clellan
returned during this year to the scene of their old labors. Dr. Phillips
came in June, and brought his family, and they moved into the officers
quarters, located where E.J. Daniels’ store is now.
At the advent of Mrs. Phillips, there were
only seven white women in Sioux Falls; and during the summer, in connection
with Mrs. C.G. Coats, she established the Pioneer Union Sunday School.
It was during this year that social matters began to have a standing in
the community.
The spring of 1871, opened auspiciously for
Minnehaha county, and a large number of the most desirable class of citizens
came to Sioux Falls and the surrounding country to make for themselves
permanent homes. Improvements on quite an extensive scale were made
during this year. R.F. Pettigrew built an office, Joe Dupries the
Central House, W.H. Corson the Cataract Hotel, Wm. VanEps a large store
building; all of which were occupied for business purposes. During
the fall of this year the first residence was built at Dell Rapids, then
known as Dell City. The residents at the close of the year felt greatly
encouraged by what had been accomplished during the year, and were hopeful
that 1872 would materially increase their prosperity and lessen the privations
of pioneer life. They were not destined to disappointment.
During 1872, new industries sprung up in Sioux
Falls and Dell Rapids, and considerable land was taken up in the county
by actual settlers; a saw mill was built at Dell Rapids by Dennis Rice,
and a store building was erected during the summer; a newspaper outfit
arrived the latter part of April, and the Dell City Journal soon made its
appearance. In Sioux Falls several buildings were erected; C.K. Howard
built a store 20x64 feet; Charles Hamilton, a photograph gallery; an Episcopal
church was built; John McKee established a harness shop; J.J. Hancock,
a shoe store; Bland & Castor, a meat market; Edwin Sharpe a lumber
yard; and a bakery and restaurant were also among the new business enterprises.
A weekly newspaper was also among the new business enterprises. A
weekly newspaper was started by W.R. Kiter on the 10th of April; the fourth
of July was celebrated on the Island, and R.F. Pettigrew delivered the
oration; the “Dive” was torn down, and a temperance society organized.
Artemas Gale, Melvin Grigsby, and Thomas H. Brown were among the new settlers
during this year.
It has not occupied much space in giving detail
the improvements in the entire county prior to 1873, but during this year
so much was done towards the development of this section that a general
statement must suffice. Immigration set in early, and the Sioux Falls
Pantagraph is responsible for the statement that “the prairies were teeming
with schooners from the states.” On the 15th day of May the Sioux
Falls Independent, a weekly newspaper edited by C.W. McDonald, made its
first appearance. The land office was opened for business in Sioux
Falls June 9, and on that day seventy-three declaratory statements, sixty
homestead and six cash entries were made, covering 22,240 acres of land.
The Webber & Hawthorn grist mill commenced operation May 26.
It appears from the Sioux Falls Pantagraph, in its issue of August 27,
that there were thirty-two buildings in process of erection at that time
in Sioux Falls. At the close of the year the Sioux Falls Independent
enumerated the buildings completed during the preceding six months, and
the list comprised twenty-five business buildings and fifty-nine residences;
thirteen of these buildings were two stories high. A schoolhouse
was built, 22x40 feet. The Methodist congregation had at the close
of the year a church building 20x26 feet nearly ready for occupancy; and
during the summer thirty thousand brick were manufactured by D.H. Tolbett.
In the issue of the Sioux Falls Pantagraph of July 16, it appears that
the barracks had been purchased by True Dennis, and its next issue, July
23, “the barracks have been taken down and removed;” so there need be no
question as to when these old landmarks of Indian warfare disappeared from
the public view. At the close of the year Sioux Falls had eight lawyers,
three physicians, two resident ministers, twenty carpenters, five mason,
two hotels, two restaurants, two lumber yards, two blacksmith shops, two
hardware stores, two meat markets, two wheelwright shops, two bakeries,
one paint shop, one barber shop, one livery stable, two dealers in agricultural
implements, and six general stores. It is needless to add that the
people of Sioux Falls enjoyed the holidays in 1873, so much having been
accomplished.
During the winter of 1873-4 social affairs
engaged the attention of the residents of Sioux Falls as never before;
church socials, balls, sleigh rides, “and other festivities,” as one of
the local newspapers expressed it at the time, were of frequent occurrence.
With the coming of spring quite a large number
of people arrived in the county to settle, and some of the townships had
their first settlers about this time.
But the year 1874, which began so promising,
will long be remembered by the older inhabitants as a year of adversities.
Multitudes of grasshoppers visited this section, and complete destruction
followed in their wake. All the crops were destroyed, and a large
number of the settlers who had expected to raise enough to supply their
wants were doomed to bitter disappointment. To meet this emergency
a society was organized, and T.H. Brown visited the east and obtained a
large quantity of clothing and food, which was distributed by the society;
and $534.68 in money was also raised for the same purpose. The improvements
during this year would not compare favorably with the year preceding, but
several residences and a few business buildings were erected in Sioux Falls,
and Valley Springs township had its first school and --marriage.
The events which make up the history
of the county to the beginning of the year 1875 have been stated in the
chronological order of their occurrence, and comprise the most important
events that transpired during her transition state—from the home of the
savage to the dawn of civilization.
It was during the early seventies that Minnehaha
county passed through the most trying stage of her existence, and it is
fortunate that the settlers were composed of men of remarkable energy and
enterprise. During this period, mills, stores, shops, churches and
schoolhouses were built, regular terms of court were established; the board
of commissioners; projects for better transportation facilities were being
considered, and the limitations of pioneer life were fast disappearing.
How to best present to the reader the events
that have transpired since then, has been a source of considerable anxiety
to the writer. At first it was thought the better way would be to
continue to chronicle the events in the order of their occurrence, but
as the work progressed it became evident that this method was impracticable,
especially after determining to give an account of the settlement and development
of each township and municipality by itself, including a large list of
biographical sketches of the residents.
The plan was therefore adopted of first giving
an account of the county commissioners’ proceedings, courts and other kindred
subjects in which all the people of the county are equally interested,
to be followed by the local history of each township and municipality.