Far from the sea: Dewey, South Dakota

Whether or not there was a veteran of the Spanish-American War living in southwest Custer County in the early 1900s, we don’t know. But there was someone with enough regard for Admiral of the Navy George Dewey to name a town after the military hero.

Fifth generation resident JoAnn Boggs shared that and other stories about Dewey, South Dakota this week (11/3/09) during the November meeting of the Spearfish Area Historical Society at the Senior Citizens Center. Boggs and her husband ranch near the Custer County hamlet – and they also run a saw mill and pellet plant.

Boggs’ interest in genealogy helped her uncover the fascinating story of Dewey, which is nestled along the Burlington Northern Railroad tracks close to the Wyoming border in Custer County. It’s about 40 miles west of Custer on the flatland just west of Elk Mountain.

“Go to the edge of the earth, turn around and go back a quarter of a mile, and you’re there!” says Boggs, quoting another resident of Dewey.

Boggs says her ancestors arrived in the county in 1878 at about the same time that the S & G Ranch was formed there by the Union Cattle Company out of Laramie, Wyoming. It was one of five major ranches in the region, according to Boggs, and once ran as many as 10,000 head of cattle. But the blizzard of 1888 forced the ranch into receivership, ending up in the hands of Goshen Irrigation, which – says Boggs – was a part of the Union Cattle Company!

Thanks to the availability of water in the area, the Burlington & Missouri Railroad chose to build a station and stockyard at the S & G in 1889. Boggs says the facility was important to the area, and it rivaled Belle Fourche as a livestock shipping center for a time.

While there was a post office for a short period in 1899, it was moved to Edgemont until about five years later when mail service returned to the community, and the name Dewey was chosen for the post office. By 1908, the railroad station also changed its name to Dewey.

Boggs recounted the creative ways that some couples would file for homesteads before getting married, thus providing them with larger property holdings after marriage. It also gave rise to a home being built on skids, allowing it to be moved back and forth from one property to the other, thus assisting the homesteaders to “prove up” their land as required by the government.

While there were never many buildings in Dewey, it did have a general store, post office, and school. Hard times and lightning have seen the demise of several buildings, though one of the older homes still stands in the community. JoAnn Boggs has agreed to share some of her photographs with us, and we'll post them to our history gallery when we receive them.

Ranching remains important to the region, and Dewey still feels the rumble of some 60 to 70 coal trains per day passing through – but never stopping – at the old town.

Bentonite was once important to the region, but no more. Boggs says uranium exploration has spurred new activity in the area.

The Spearfish Area Historical Society expressed appreciation that Ms. Boggs would make the 115 mile trek to Spearfish for the program, which sparked many questions from the audience. As always, there were treats and good conversation following the presentation.

The next meeting will feature Leo Orme sharing photos and stories about the Barns of Lawrence County. Mark your calendar for 7:30 p.m., Tuesday, December 1st!