The northern Great Plains, divided by the course of the Missouri River, presents two starkly different landscapes. West of the Missouri River is a broken landscape of deep valleys and projecting buttes, carved from a pre-historic ocean floor by the Missouri River and its’ tributaries. East of the river the land is a more gentle expanse of rolling plains and low hills left behind by the retreating glaciers of the Ice Ages. For our purposes the famed Black Hills of western South Dakota form the western edge of the “heartland” and this tale begins as we leave the Black Hills and head east. Those interested in exploring the Black Hills and southern South Dakota along the I-90 corridor can refer to Chapters 1-4 of Volume 7, “Heading to the Big Easy.” The proposed path will tour the agricultural center of the Great Plains during what is usually the best weather of the year in this region. Fall is a glorious time on the plains; cool, crisp mornings and warm, sunny afternoons. Fingers crossed that in this year of unpredictable weather the pattern holds! Here is the proposed route of our journey around the “Heartland”
A hint of fall is in the air as our journey begins as we leave Wall, SD, (“B” on the map above) and head northeast to Pierre, “C”).
Wall, SD, to Pierre, SD
Looking back while leaving Wall, the Black Hills rise above the “wall” of eroded rock in Badlands National Park.
Turning around and facing east at first the land is clothed in the grasslands that define the prairie. The brief, torrential rains characteristic of the frequent thunderstorms of the plains have left a land where the smallest stream has created divisions in the land. The prairies is generally treeless but lines of trees at the bottom of distant valleys denote the presence of a stream.
As the road heads due east towards the Missouri River the land transitions from primarily cattle ranching to mixed use, with large fields of soybeans, sun flowers, grains and corn unfolding in all directions. This is a sparsely populated region as it takes large expanses of land to sustain a profitable agricultural operation. Small family farms and ranches long ago gave way to large agribusinesses.
A country church, still in use, punctuates the distant skyline.
The Missouri River slices across the South Dakota from northwest to southeast in a dramatic division of the land. The part of the state that we have been crossing west of the Missouri is called the “West River” and it comes to an abrupt end as we descend the bluffs towards the Missouri River.
The area was first visited by the French Verendrye brothers in during the 1743 French expedition’s exploration of the Missouri River. They claimed the west for France and staked their claim by burying a lead plate atop a bluff on the west side of the river. This claim was the basis for the later purchase of the west by the United States known as the Louisiana Purchase. The original plate was found in 1913 by a group of boys playing on the hill above Fort Pierre and is now in the South Dakota Cultural Museum. A stone cairn on the hill contains a replica of the plate.
The view southeast from the hill is across the town of Fort Pierre down the river valley. Fort Pierre was named after Pierre Choteau, local representative of the American Fur Company, on the west bank of the river in 1832. Today Fort Pierre is a town of about 2,000 people.
Across the river on the east bank is the state capital of South Dakota, Pierre. Pierre was founded in 1880 when the railroad came to the area and became the state capital in 1889, primarily due to its’ location virtually in the center of the South Dakota. Pierre is not on the way to anywhere, far from the interstates, and isolated in the center of the state. It is home to less than 15,000 people today. Sitting on the east bank of the Missouri, the town stretches across the gentle bluffs that rise above the river. A church tower on the left and the dome of the state capitol building on the right frame the small town center. Buildings appear taller than they are because the town climbs steeply from the river bank.
Just below the Verendrye monument in Fort Pierre is the Casey Tibbs Rodeo Museum, dedicated to the state sport of South Dakota, rodeo.
Casey Tibbs Center
A sculpture court sits outside the entrance to the museum and features bronzes of two of South Dakota’s most prominent rodeo champions. Casey Tibbs was born in West River on a ranch about 50 miles northwest of Pierre in 1929 and began participating in rodeos in the 1940’s. By the end of his career he was 6 Time World Saddle Bronc Champion, 2 Time World All-Around Champion, and 1 Time World Bareback Champion. He was also one of the founding fathers of the National Finals Rodeo. Tibbs appeared in over 30 movies as a stunt man and actor. Billy Etbauer was raised on a ranch outside of Ree Heights, South Dakota, and participated in rodeo for nearly 25 years, concentrating on saddle bronc riding and winning every PRCA rodeo in North America at least once during his career.
Galleries in the small museum document rodeo at all ages. Little Britches Rodeo begins with the 5 year olds and competitive opportunities continue through high school, 4-H, and college before the elite reach the professional rodeos.
Rodeo as entertainment began during the late 1800’s when Buffalo Bill’s Wild West show toured the nation and provided the genesis for such acts as trick riders and rodeo clowns.
Mattie Goff Newcombe is one of the most famous female trick riders of the 20th Century and in the center of the museum a display honors both she and Casey Tibbs. Mattie is shown in her famed “Statue of Liberty” pose, based on a photograph from the Faith, SD, Fair and Rodeo in 1928. The Casey Tibbs sculpture shows him posed above the bucking bronc in the chute, ready to drop and ride for his ten seconds of glory.
A fitting tribute to life in the “West River.” Across the river is Pierre, home to the state government since 1889.
Pierre, SD
The best way to get off on the wrong foot with locals in Pierre is to pronounce the name incorrectly. Rather than the French pronunciation (pee-air) the capital of South Dakota is pronounced “peer”. The railroads began to reach west in the late 1860’s at the same time that a particularly wet weather cycle made the prairies lush and green. The resulting Great Dakota Boom of 1878-1887 brought thousands of settlers to the western plains. In 1880 the town of Pierre was established on the east bank of the Missouri River at a ferry crossing opposite Fort Pierre where the railroad would cross the river. The wet weather cycle ended when drought hit the area and the period of prosperity ended. This “boom and bust” cycle resulting from weather patterns would prove to repeat itself time and time again. In 1889 the Dakota Territory was separated into two states and South Dakota entered the Union in 1889 as the 40th state. Then as now the bulk of the state’s population was in the eastern third of the state but Pierre was selected as the state capital due to it’s location in the center of the state.
Pierre is a small town, population less than 15,000, and the town center lines a couple blocks along Pierre Street which runs perpendicular both to Sioux Street along the river and Capitol Street on the other side of the railroad up the hill (essentially forming a commercial “H” shape). Most of the buildings along this short stretch of Pierre Street were built during the Great Dakota Boom period.
Street corners on Pierre Street from the river east up the hill to Capitol Street and then south along Capitol Street to the state capital building are decorated with life-size statues of South Dakota governors. Here is William H. McMaster, governor of South Dakota 1921-1925 (I’m sure there is some significance to the gasoline can at his feet, can’t tell you what it is!)
On the other side of the railroad tracks on Capitol Street the St. Charles Hotel, built in 1911, and served as the power center of Pierre, frequented by state politicians and their friends. The building now houses offices and apartments.
The dominant building in Pierre is the magnificent state capitol building, situated on the north side of Hilger’s Gulch, a large draw (a term used to denote a small valley) that divides the bluffs on which the main town sits. Hilger’s Gulch was dammed and an artificial lake created on the south side of the capitol building.
South Dakota State Capitol
The capitol building was constructed in 1905-1910 using a modification of the plans developed for the State of Montana capitol building that had been completed in 1902.
Passing through the main entrance one is actually on the second floor of the building. The structure is built on a small hill and the front entrance is on the second floor while the back entrance is on the first floor. The Capitol Rotunda is a magnificent space under the dome 96 feet above. The main feature is the Grand Staircase, which connects all four floors of the building with white marble steps. The gleaming floor is actually composed of glass prisms enclosed in narrow stone strips. This feature allows natural light to reach into the first floor below.
Once up the Grand Staircase to the fourth floor the legislative chambers are to the right (State House of Representatives) and left (State Senate).
Standing between the two chambers on the gallery that runs around the building the view is down to the second floor and the Grand Staircase.
The first floor (lowest level) houses a gift shop and gallery that displays miniatures of gowns worn by all of the first ladies of South Dakota.
Many are accompanied by pieces of jewelry worn at the time. This example displays the gown of Annie Chappell Lee, first lady from 1895-1901.
A dedicated believer in temperance (the prohibition of alcohol), she often wore a Carrie Nation pin, named after Carrie Nation, leader of the temperance movement and symbolizing a hatchet she used to attack the doors of establishments serving alcohol..
Looking up one sees the bottoms of the glass tiles in the floor of the second level, letting in light to the ground floor.
Turning around after leaving through the rear entrance, one can clearly see the four floors as opposed to the three floors visible in the front.
For many years most of the functions of the state government were contained within the walls of the capitol building, today most of the other state buildings are on the other side of Hilger’s Gulch and are of much more modern provenance. One stunning exception stands directly across Capitol Street from the main entrance to the state capitol, the Soldiers and Sailors World War Memorial Building.
Soldiers and Sailors World War Memorial Building
Built in the 1930’s the stunning simplicity of the building stands in memorium of military service. It continues to house the offices of the South Dakota Department of the Military in the two wings the frame the central hall. The imposing hall contains a stunningly emotional remembrance of those who have served and will never return. A simple table, set for one, waits for those who have not yet returned.
A somber and contemplative moment…
While Pierre is a small town its’ status as the capitol of the state drew a number of wealthy people to reside close to the center of power in the state. They built their homes on the bluffs above the city, many in an area known as Pierre Hill.
Beyond the neighborhoods on the edge of the bluffs that overlook the Missouri the grasslands unfold. Just east of the government buildings on Hilger’s Gulch above the capitol sits one of the crown gems of South Dakota, the South Dakota Cultural Museum.
South Dakota Cultural Museum
In 1989 the South Dakota Cultural Museum was opened to preserve and interpret the heritage and culture of South Dakota. The design of the building honors this mission as it emulates one of the primary housing practices of the area that had been used for hundreds of years by natives and then copied by the white settlers, the dugout and/or sod house. Trees are scarce on the prairie and shelter from the extreme heat of summer and cold of winter is necessary. Many of the tribes who lived along the Missouri River lived in dugouts, caves dug into the sides of the bluffs that used the protection of the earth to cool in the summer and retain heat in the winter. The entire museum is under a blanket of native grasses.
One walks a roughly circular path through galleries that trace the history and culture of South Dakota. Of particular note is the large, impressive gallery honoring the Native American history of the area. Entering, the first sight is of a prayer rock with a large buffalo in the back. People in ancient times chipped animals, symbols, feet and hands into prayer rocks (also known as medicine rocks.)
The buffalo, “Dancing Bull”, was named by Melvin Williams, a young student from Sioux Falls selected in 1993 as the winner of a contest to name the buffalo.
The extensive native galleries document life on the prairie.
The first white men to enter the plains were fur trappers, primarily looking for mink, beaver, and buffalo hides.
The near extermination of the buffalo really didn’t occur until the 1870’s after a tannery in Pennsylvania developed a method to make leather out of buffalo hides. Between 1872 and 1883 over nine million buffalo were killed on the plains.
Christian missionaries were recruited to bring the word of God to the “savage natives”. A quote from an advertisement for Catholic missionaries lays bare the life ahead for those who chose to dedicate their life to this goal.
A rare copy of an 1879 Sioux translation of the Bible is on display.
Homesteaders rushed to the Dakotas, often living in dugouts or sod houses.
The discovery of gold in the Black Hills brought stage transportation to the Dakotas.
At the back of the museum a bank of windows look out over the grasses, across Pierre to the bluffs on the other side of the Missouri.
In 1903 the South Dakota legislature appropriated $5,000 to purchase a silver service for the newly commissioned USS South Dakota, an armored cruiser in the US Navy. The designs engraved on the pieces are all emblematic of the various resources and industries in the state at that time.
Though Pierre was a small town, it tried to provide the same luxuries and services found in other state capitals. This landau was the “taxi cab” of the day and President Taft rode in it during his visit to Pierre in 1911.
The galleries continue…
The visit to Pierre was a pleasant surprise, from the great campground down along the Missouri River to the rich and varied sites around the city!
Next up: The Land of the Wizard
Post a Comment