State Maps added to South Dakota Digital Archives

This undated map of the Black Hills Region
is one of hundreds now available online from
the SD State Historical Society-State Archives,
which provided this image.  Many thanks!

 PIERRE, S.D. -- The South Dakota State Historical Society-State Archives has added nearly 700 digitized maps and made them accessible online in the South Dakota Digital Archives thanks to an Outside of Deadwood grant from the Deadwood Historic Preservation Commission.

Six hundred ninety-eight maps were digitized, cataloged and placed online as part of this grant. They are available at: https://sddigitalarchives.contentdm.oclc.org/digital/

The digitized maps include tourist maps, such as maps of snowmobile trails and maps of caves, maps of the Custer National Forest and the former Harney National Forest, as well as city plans of Sturgis, Custer and Rapid City. Maps of various South Dakota dams, American Indian reservations, highway maps and a few aerial photomaps were also included.

“The maps are from the archives’ collections and are very popular with students, teachers, researchers, authors, newspaper editors and general history buffs,” said Chelle (SHEL-ee) Somsen, state archivist. “Now these maps are available to researchers worldwide and not just to those who can visit the archives in person.”   

The South Dakota Digital Archives contains 80,589 items from the State Archives including photographic images, government and manuscript collections, land survey records, the South Dakota Historical Society publication “The Wi-Iyohi” and 1,289 maps.

For more information, contact the State Historical Society-Archives at 605-773-3804. State Archives hours at the Cultural Heritage Center in Pierre are 9 a.m.-4:30 p.m. CST Monday-Friday and the first Saturday of most months.

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About the South Dakota State Historical Society

The South Dakota State Historical Society is a division of the Department of Education. The State Historical Society, an Affiliate of the Smithsonian Institution, is headquartered at the South Dakota Cultural Heritage Center in Pierre. The center houses the society’s world-class museum, the archives, and the historic preservation, publishing, and administrative/development offices. Call 605-773-3458 or visit www.history.sd.gov for more information. The society also has an archaeology office in Rapid City; call 605-394-1936 for more information.

From the slaughter of the Great Plains bison....to their return!

by Larry Miller

We've just completed reading a short (111 pages) fascinating book by Dan O'Brien entitled Great Plain Bison.  It concisely chronicles how the influx of European-American settlers in the Old West presaged the slaughter of the American bison.

It's estimated that 40 million to 60 million bison roamed the Great Plains at the end of the 17th century, but by 1900, there were fewer than 1,000.   

Today, that number has grown close to 500,000, thanks to folks like O'Brien and his wife, Jill.

Dan O'Brien is a wildlife biologist.  He and Jill operate the Cheyenne River Ranch – a 3,200-acre bison ranch – along the west edge of the South Dakota Badlands.  They raise only free-range, grass-fed bison.

O'Brien's book was published two years ago by the University of Nebraska Press.  NET, Nebraska's first-class public television network, produced the following short video about the return of the American bison:

The Cultural Heritage Center: More than a Museum

The Cultural Heritage Center is a magnificent building in Pierre. In its underground setting, South Dakota history has been carefully interpreted and the state’s historical documents and objects have been safely protected and stored for 30 years.

Gov. George S. Mickelson, First Lady Linda Mickelson and other dignitaries broke ground for the 63,000-square-foot center on May 1, 1987. It was completed in early 1989 and dedicated in November of that year as a lasting legacy of South Dakota’s centennial. South Dakota became a state on Nov. 2, 1889.

Many people associate the Cultural Heritage Center with a world-class museum, but it offers more than that. It houses a whole team of people dedicated to preserving South Dakota’s past in a variety of ways. 

As headquarters of the South Dakota State Historical Society, the Cultural Heritage Center houses administrative, research and publishing, archives, historic preservation, and museum operations. The South Dakota Historical Society Foundation, the fundraising arm of the Society, also maintains offices in the Cultural Heritage Center. The Archaeological Research Center, operated by the State Historical Society, is located in Rapid City.

The South Dakota Historical Society Press publishes award-winning books on the history and heritage of the Northern Great Plains -- from scholarly works to picture books designed to engage children with the past. The Press’ biggest popular success thus far was the publication of “Pioneer Girl: The Annotated Autobiography of Laura Ingalls Wilder,” which made the New York Times Best Seller list.

The Press also publishes the State Historical Society’s journal, “South Dakota History,” which members of the Society receive quarterly.

The State Archives collects and makes available records which have permanent historical and research value. Genealogists visit the archives to use the records to learn their family history. Researchers and scholars use the archival collections to write articles, books and theses. Business owners, students and authors use historical photographs from the archives in their buildings’ décor, school projects and books. The records have also been instrumental in court cases, resolving land ownership disputes and ensuring that citizens receive the benefits to which they are entitled.

The archives contains 20,000 cubic feet of records, including private collections, state and local government documents, rare books, audio and video recordings, 1.2 million photographs, 12,000 maps and more than 2 million files of digital materials.

Business owners and homeowners sometimes have questions about their historic properties. “How can I protect my grandparents’ homestead from being destroyed?” “I hear preserving my old wood windows is better than replacing them with vinyl windows. Why is that and how can it be done?” “The porch on my 1932 house is collapsing. Do you have any money to help me fix it?” “Family stories say American Indians used to camp in what is now our pasture. Now some stranger wants to dig it up. What should we do?”

The State Historic Preservation Office or SHPO in the Cultural Heritage Center can help.

The SHPO implements the National Historic Preservation Act in South Dakota. The basis of the Act is the National Register of Historic Places, a program of the National Park Service which helps protect America’s historic resources. The SHPO staff helps owners determine if their property is eligible for listing in the National Register of Historic Places and, if so, can assist them in getting it listed. Those properties listed are eligible for a variety of financial incentives such as Deadwood Fund grants, the state property tax moratorium program and federal Historic Tax Credits.

SHPO is also responsible for protecting South Dakota’s historical properties and sites by reviewing any federal, state, or locally supported project which may have the potential to damage these important cultural and historical resources.

Most people think of the Cultural Heritage Center as the museum. It is the most evident aspect of the building. It features temporary exhibits in the Hogen and Observation galleries, along with the primary exhibit “The South Dakota Experience.” They bring to life South Dakota’s history from earliest inhabitants to current day. The museum collection contains more than 34,000 objects that focus on South Dakota’s history -- from the Great Sioux Horse Effigy to political buttons.

“History Explorer” backpacks for youngsters make for a fun, family-friendly museum experience. The monthly Family Fun Saturday programs are a way children and adults can come to the Cultural Heritage Center to make a history-related craft together.

Although the Cultural Heritage Center is in Pierre, the State Historical Society offers services throughout the state.  In addition to a catalog of books on South Dakota history, the Society presents off-site programming to groups and provides field service consultation and training for those needing professional assistance.  

Through www.history.sd.gov, nearly 35,000 photographs and maps are available on-line and instant access is provided to collection indexes.  Businesses, community groups and schools can rent suitcase education kits and traveling exhibits.  A fourth-grade South Dakota history curriculum is accessible at www.sd4history.com and is available to anyone interested in learning more about the state’s history.  

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This moment in South Dakota history is provided by the South Dakota Historical Society Foundation, the nonprofit fundraising partner of the South Dakota State Historical Society at the Cultural Heritage Center in Pierre. Find us on the web at www.sdhsf.org. Contact us at info@sdhsf.org to submit a story idea.

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Just who was Verne Sankey: America's First Public Enemy?

On Tuesday, Aug. 13, Tim Bjorkman will tell the story of a good man gone bad when the History and Heritage Book Club meets at 7 p.m. CDT, at the Cultural Heritage Center in Pierre. Bjorkman, a Canistota resident, is the author of “Verne Sankey: America’s First Public Enemy.”

“Verne Sankey’s name is almost lost to history. But in 1934, as authorities delivered John Dillinger to an Indiana jail, the United States Justice Department announced that the Federal Bureau of Investigation had just captured America’s Public Enemy No. 1. The Justice Department was not referring to Dillinger, but to Sankey,” said Catherine Forsch, president of the South Dakota Historical Society Foundation.

The foundation is the nonprofit fundraising partner of the South Dakota State Historical Society and the sponsor of the History and Heritage Book Club.

Sankey was born on July 18, 1891, in Avoca, Iowa. His family moved to Wilmot in northeastern South Dakota when Sankey was a boy. As an adult, Sankey and his bride moved to Melville, Saskatchewan, Canada, in 1914 to work for the railroad. The family returned to South Dakota in 1931 and bought a farm southwest of Gann Valley. By then, Sankey had become a gambler, bootlegger and bank robber. In 1933, he kidnapped a wealthy Denver man and held him for ransom.

Bjorkman became interested in Sankey when he was a child, listening to two barbers talk about the outlaw. His interest was rekindled when, as an adult, he stopped in Gann Valley and read about Sankey in old editions of the town’s newspaper.

“Sankey was the first – and actually the only – Public Enemy No. 1 ever identified by the United States Department of Justice,” Bjorkman said. “That claim – first made in this book – has never been challenged and corrects oversights and misstatements on the topic of public enemies which entirely overlooked Sankey.”

Bjorkman served for a decade as a judge of South Dakota’s First Judicial Circuit, comprising 14 southeastern South Dakota counties. He graduated from the University of South Dakota in Vermillion in 1978 and from its law school in 1982. He practiced law in Bridgewater for 24 years. Bjorkman was elected as judge of the First Judicial Circuit in 2006 and re-elected in 2014. Now retired from the bench, he writes, gardens and, together with his wife, travels and relishes time with his children and grandchildren.

Copies of “Verne Sankey: America’s First Public Enemy” are sold at the Heritage Stores at the Cultural Heritage Center and the Capitol, online at www.sdhsf.org or by calling 605-773-6346.

People can find out how to join the program at locations other than the Cultural Heritage Center by calling 605-773-6006.

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About the South Dakota State Historical Society

The South Dakota State Historical Society is a division of the Department of Education. The State Historical Society, an Affiliate of the Smithsonian Institution, is headquartered at the South Dakota Cultural Heritage Center in Pierre. The center houses the society’s world-class museum, the archives, and the historic preservation, publishing and administrative/development offices. Call 605-773-3458 or visit www.history.sd.gov for more information. The society also has an archaeology office in Rapid City; call 605-394-1936 for more information.

About the South Dakota Historical Society Foundation

The South Dakota Historical Society Foundation is a private charitable nonprofit that seeks funding to assist the South Dakota State Historical Society in programming and projects to preserve South Dakota’s history and heritage for future generations.

The Civilian Conservation Corps in South Dakota

Historical markers across South Dakota indicate the location of Civilian Conservation Corps camps, telling the stories of the CCC and the work done at the camps. But one need only look at our state’s landscapes to know this would be a much different place without the work of the men of the CCC.

The Civilian Conservation Corps was a major part of President Franklin D. Roosevelt’s New Deal. Begun in 1933, the CCC was originally designed to preserve natural resources, provide jobs for single men ages 18-25 and to help their families financially during the Great Depression. Most of the men who worked for the CCC received pay of $30 a month in addition to room and board, with $25 a month sent home to support their families. Later, the allotment going home was reduced and camps were established for World War I veterans.

More than 30,000 men served in the South Dakota corps between 1933 and 1942, according to the website of the CCC Museum of South Dakota, located in Hill City.

The majority of the 50 CCC camps and smaller side camps in South Dakota were in the Black Hills.

Enrollees in the Black Hills thinned forests; planted trees; developed trails; removed flammable debris; built bridges, dams, roads and fire towers; put up telephone lines; landscaped and fought forest fires. According to the CCC museum’s website, fighting fires consumed much of the men’s time because summers were so dry. A fire detail of at least 25 men remained in each camp, prepared to immediately respond when a fire was reported.

The largest and most difficult project undertaken in the Black Hills National Forest by CCC crews was building the stone fire lookout tower at Black Elk Peak.

CCC worker with a "Ben Hur Chariot" at work in the 1930s

All the building materials had to be transported up the mountain.

Approximately 7,500 rocks were hand-picked from French Creek and the surrounding countryside and transported by truck to the foot of the nearly 4-mile trail leading to the 7,242-foot peak. Small two-wheeled carts consisting of half of an oil drum mounted on a short axle were pulled by one horse to transport rocks and other items to the top. These carts, called “Ben Hur Chariots,” could haul only 15 to 20 stones per trip. Pack trains of 10 horses each were used to transport sand and sacks of cement to the summit. On the way up the trail each man carried a board or other light item. CCC workers dammed a spring at the top of the peak to use for water to make cement and mortar.

Some of the lakes in the Black Hills are the result of CCC projects. Sheridan Lake was created after CCC and Works Progress Administration crews built an earthen dam over Spring Creek. Dams built by CCC crews created Horsethief, Stockade, Center and Bismarck lakes. Orman Dam and the surrounding irrigation ditches were rehabilitated by CCC workers.

In Custer State Park, CCC crews built the Pigtail Bridges on Iron Mountain Road, the Norbeck building that served as the park’s visitor center and is now an education center, a lookout station and rangers’ quarters on Mount Coolidge, cabins at Blue Bell and Sylvan lakes, and Grizzly Bear Campground. They also developed five springs with water tanks for bison.

Enrollees developed Wind Cave National Park, Jewel Cave National Monument and Badlands National Park. Some of the projects at Wind Cave involved renovating tour trails, installing an elevator shaft and concrete steps and constructing the park’s water and sewer system. At Jewel Cave, enrollees constructed a headquarters building, parking lot and foot trail. At Badlands National Park, enrollees built the park’s headquarters, a check-in station at Pinnacles, a water system at Cedar Pass Lodge and the custodian’s residence at Cedar Pass.

Although the majority of the CCC camps were in the Black Hills, camps were also located in eastern South Dakota.

CCC workers turned Farm Island near Pierre and American Island near Chamberlain into recreational playgrounds. Among the projects at Farm Island were building a causeway connecting the mainland to the island; picnic areas equipped with shelter cabins; cabins for Boy Scouts, Girl Scouts and Izaak Walton League; and a monument to the Lewis and Clark Expedition. At American Island, enrollees built tourist cabins, a bath house, racetrack, roads and parking areas, and planted shrubs, trees and shelterbelts.

At the CCC camp at Alcester, men demonstrated soil and water conservation. The men planted trees in Union County State Park and established a tree nursery at Vermillion. Tours showing results aided in the organization of conservation districts in Clay, Union, Bon Homme and Lincoln counties.

Camp LaCreek near Martin was part of a national CCC program to develop waterfowl refuges. The CCC and WPA built levees, roads, boundary fence and an observation tower and planted thousands of trees and shrubs to develop the 9,302-acre Lacreek National Wildlife Refuge.

Following the attack on Pearl Harbor on Dec. 7, 1941, the Roosevelt administration directed federal programs to emphasize the war effort. The 77^th United States Congress ceased funding the CCC, and operations were concluded on June 30, 1942.

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This moment in South Dakota history is provided by the South Dakota Historical Society Foundation, the nonprofit fundraising partner of the South Dakota State Historical Society at the Cultural Heritage Center in Pierre. Find us on the web at www.sdhsf.org. Contact us at info@sdhsf.org to submit a story idea.

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Hills properties added to National Register of Historic Places

Eight more South Dakota properties have been added to the National Register of Historic Places, according to the South Dakota State Historical Society. 

The listed properties are the Chambers Dugout in the Belle Fourche vicinity, the Roosevelt School in Belle Fourche, the First Presbyterian Church of Groton, the Solomon and Martha Hann Homestead near Nemo, the Haakon County Courthouse in Philip, the Jackson Boulevard Historic District in Spearfish, the Perkins Congregational Church near Springfield and the Dickens Round Barn in the Worthing vicinity.

The National Register is the official federal list of properties identified as important in American history, architecture, archaeology, engineering and culture. The State Historic Preservation Office of the State Historical Society works in conjunction with the National Park Service, which oversees the National Register program, to list the properties. 

"South Dakota's history is rich in American Indian culture, pioneer life and change," said Jay D. Vogt, state historic preservation officer and director of the State Historical Society at the Cultural Heritage Center in Pierre. "The more than 1,300 state individual properties and districts listed on the National Register are important for their role in South Dakota's culture, heritage and history. And when properties get listed, it shows that their owners take pride in their role in preserving that culture, heritage and history."

Buildings, sites, structures and objects at least 50 years old possessing historical significance may qualify for the National Register, according to Vogt. Properties must also maintain their historic location, design, materials and association. Listing on the National Register does not place any limitations on private property owners by the federal government. 

Following is more information about these newly listed properties.

Chambers Dugout, Belle Fourche vicinity

The Chambers Dugout, built around 1885, is located on private property in Butte County. It is listed for its significance as a homesteading-era housing type. Born in Paris, France, in 1859, John Chambers came to America with his parents about 1860. The family moved to the Black Hills in the 1880s, and Chambers filed a claim on his homestead along Hay Creek not long thereafter.

Roosevelt School, Belle Fourche

The Roosevelt School was built in 1921. Located at 1010 State St., it is listed as significant for the educational role it played in Belle Fourche.  The original portion of the school was a rectangular shape. In 1929 an L-shaped addition gave the school its current T-shape. The Roosevelt School served as a high school and junior high school for 73 years. The building is currently undergoing rehabilitation to complete its transformation into the Historic Roosevelt Events Center.

Jackson Boulevard Historic District, Spearfish

The years of significance for the Jackson Boulevard Historic District in Spearfish are 1882 to 1961. The district is significant for the variety of architectural styles it features. It is a good representation of late 19th and early 20th century residential architecture, which is a testament to the growth and prosperity of Spearfish during this period.

First Presbyterian Church of Groton 

Located at 300 N. Main St., the First Presbyterian Church of Groton was built in 1912. It is listed for its architectural significance as an excellent example of Gothic Revival architecture adapted to fit changes in Protestant worship practices. It is also listed for its modified Akron plan with the Sunday school located adjacent to the sanctuary and separated by a movable partition.

Solomon and Martha Hann Homestead, Nemo vicinity

After emigrating from Finland around 1889, Solomon and Martha Hann established a claim on the land that would eventually become their small farm in the Black Hills Forest Reserve. Located at 21732 Hann Pl., their homestead is significant for its vernacular log architecture and as a representative of an early Finnish homestead in the Black Hills.  The Hanns provided food to the large mining industry in the northern Black Hills. Miners depended on local farmers since the delivery of supplies from the outside was limited due to the rough terrain and other logistics.

Haakon County Courthouse, Philip

Built in 1930, the Haakon County Courthouse is located at 140 Howard Ave. in Philip. It is significant for its Art Deco architecture and as a representation of Haakon County’s political and governmental past.  Originally, the courthouse leased the old wooden Philip schoolhouse. When their new building was completed, it brought hope to the citizens of Philip despite deteriorating economic conditions.

Jackson Boulevard Historic District, Spearfish

The years of significance for the Jackson Boulevard Historic District in Spearfish are 1882 to 1961. The district is significant for the variety of architectural styles it features. It is a good representation of late 19th and early 20th century residential architecture, which is a testament to the growth and prosperity of Spearfish during this period.

Perkins Congregational Church, Springfield vicinity

The Perkins Congregational Church was built in 1901. Located at 31205 409th St., this property is significant for architecture as a rural Gothic Revival wood-frame church in Bon Homme County.  The Perkins Congregational Church Society was organized in 1900 and formed by settlers of mixed ethnicities including English, German, Scandinavian (Danish) and Dutch. The frame church was the first and only church built in the hamlet of Perkins.

Dickens Round Barn, Worthing vicinity

The Dickens Round Barn, located at 27882 473rd Ave., is listed for its architecture as a rare, surviving clay tile round barn. Built in 1917, the barn is listed under the South Dakota Round and Polygonal Barns and Pavilions (1995) Multiple Property Listing.  Additionally, the Dickens Round Barn represents a unique trend of mail-order barn plans specific to Lake, Lincoln, McCook and Minnehaha counties in southeastern South Dakota around the Sioux Falls area. The building embodies the distinctive characteristics of the last stage of round barn buildings in South Dakota. Defining features of this property type include hollow clay tile construction, true round plan, round interior silo and a self-supporting roof not requiring extra supports except for the silo.

For more information on the National Register or other historic preservation programs, contact the State Historic Preservation Office at the Cultural Heritage Center, 900 Governors Drive, Pierre, SD 57501-2217; telephone 605-773-3458 or website history.sd.gov/Preservation (click on National Register of Historic Places in the right column).

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About the South Dakota State Historical Society

The South Dakota State Historical Society is a division of the Department of Education. The State Historical Society, an Affiliate of the Smithsonian Institution, is headquartered at the South Dakota Cultural Heritage Center in Pierre. The center houses the society’s world-class museum, the archives, and the historic preservation, publishing and administrative/development offices. Call 605-773-3458 or visit history.sd.gov for more information. The society also has an archaeology office in Rapid City; call 605-394-1936 for more information.

"Operation Black Hills Cabin" – God Bless These Folks!