Excerpts of a paper written by Dr. Gene Denison,
Professor of Political Science (retired)
Graciously shared by the author
Permission to republish online granted to Karen Hammer 2007
Beadle County History
General William Henry Harrison Beadle, pioneer educator, soldier and legislator, surveyed the boundaries of this county in 1872, and the next year it was officially created by the territorial legislature and named Beadle. Early in 1879 settlers began to arrive, and the town of Cavour was started as the first in the county.1
The first building was erected in Cavour in February, 1880, by David and Hart and was used as a boarding house with Mrs. Sadie Ebert in charge. In the spring of 1880, Mixter and Hacket established a general store, W. B. Sickles a saloon and N. C. Estey a drug store. A. J. Sweetzer, Ed Sage and Pat Sweeney established real estate offices; and Cavour became a candidate for the county seat.2
In 1879, Marvin Hughitt, surveyor for the North Western Railway, laid out the town site of Huron, and 880 acres were set aside for railroad terminal facilities. A printing press was set up on the banks of the James River by John Cain who published the Beadle County Settler before the town of Huron was actually started. In April 1880 the town's population was 25; by June of the same year it was 500; and on January 4, 1888, there were 5,000 people in the bustling young city.3
The early growth of Huron was rapid, with continual building and additional plats being laid out. The first structure on the townsite was a building moved from the high ground near the river and placed at the corner of Dakota Avenue and First Street by W. B. Ingersoll and John Cain. It was 12 x 16 feet in size and from it was issued the Beadle County Settler. The second building was moved in by Van Brunken and Strahorn; it was used as a hotel and land office. A saloon, post office and drug store soon made their appearance. Mudgett, Loveland, and Fairbanks built the Jim River House which later became a part of the famous Dakota House.4
Huron was declared incorporated on February 1, 1881. On February 19, 1881, the first officers of the town were elected. E. B. Ingersoll, C. C. Hills, T. F. Nicholl, S. W. Roberts, and Edward Sterling were elected trustees. H. M. Jewett was elected clerk, treasurer and assessor.
Other towns sprang up with the development of the railroad lines. Wessington, Wolsey, Hitchcock, Broadland, Bonilla, Virgil and Yale came into existence.
The town of Hitchcock was begun in 1881 with the erection of a general store by Richard H. Lee. It was first called Clarksville on the railroad map; but on October 6, 1884, the people incorporated under the name of Altoona. The railroad changed the name of its station to Hitchcock and later the town adopted this name owing to the confusion in getting mail. By 1906 Hitchcock had become a lively trading center, represented by two newspapers, a bank and numerous professional and business firms.6
In 1882 Wolsey consisted of a section house and half a switch, with a small lumber yard owned by Henry Mosher. The Chicago Milwaukee and Saint Paul Railroad was built in 1883, and the town of Wolsey was born. Buildings began to spring up at a rapid pace; and in 1883 the first newspaper, the Wolsey Journal, was published by J. B. Cogan.7
Wessington is situated on the Chicago and North Western Railroad, twenty-five miles west of Huron. In 1881 Wessington was known as Siding Number Two; later in the same year it was platted as a townsite and took its present name from the Wessington Hills. During the years 1882 and 1883 many stores, dwellings and warehouses were built. 8 On August 5, 1905, Wessington was incorporated and by 1806 had improved rapidly. There were two churches, an excellent school, a printing office which issued a weekly paper, and numerous business places.
The town of Virgil was platted in 1883, when the Chicago, Milwaukee and Saint Paul Railroad reached that point, on the west side of the tracks but was later shifted to the east side. Settlement was made in the Virgil area in 1881 when the Cane Brothers built and lived on their claim in Dearborn Township. Growth was gradual after 1883, and the town was incorporated January 4, 1917.9
Like Virgil, the town of Bonilla was platted with the coming of the Chicago, Milwaukee and Saint Paul Railroad. The town grew rapidly at first but has never been more than a small town, since nearby Wessington and Hitchcock drew from its natural support. The town has never been incorporated.
A product of the Chicago and North Western Railroad spur line, Broadland grew at the usual small-town pace and was incorporated on September 6, 1911.
The youngest among Beadle County towns, Yale, was platted September 12, 1888, but development of the village, except for the erection of a dwelling house and a hotel did not start until seventeen years later. Yale's real start was with the platting of the second addition, April 26, 1905. The town continued to grow and was incorporated on April 7, 1925.
The early growth and development of these Beadle County towns can be attributed to the coming of the railroad. Once the rail lines were established, growth was generally quite rapid. By 1910 the towns were well established and with the influx of homesteaders the rural areas began to grow space. In the ten years from 1900 - 1910 the population increased by 95.7 per cent.
Organization
General Beadle has described the legal origin of Beadle County in the following vivid fashion:
"Hon. Alfred Brown strongly wished to secure the passage of a bill to create large counties in the central and northern portions of what is now South Dakota. He drew the bill, then brought it to me for criticism, as I knew well all that region. Finally he requested and I rewrote the entire bill, making definite by lines of public land surveys all the county boundaries. I also favored his idea that counties should all be larger than had before been the general rule. In writing it out I left the names of the counties blank, and he later filled in the names of Kingsbury, Beadle, Hand, Hyde, Clark, Spink, day, Brown, Hutchinson and others as he chose. The bill was passed. Though there was for a time some objection to the large area of Spink and Brown and attempts made to divide them, the plans failed of popular support and the boundaries remain. The county of Day was divided later."10
The bill referred to in the preceding reference was a legislative act of 1873 which created Beadle County. The Journals for the 1873 legislature are not available in State Historical files, but an act of 1879 which changed the boundaries is given below:
Chapter 12
Session Laws of 1879
"An act to define the Boundaries of certain Counties and to combine and consolidate others, and for other purposes. Be it enacted by the Legislative Assembly of Dakota Territory, #12, Beadle County.
All that district of country included within the following boundaries shall be, and the same is hereby made, constituted and declared the county of Beadle, via: Beginning at the southwest corner of the county of Kingsbury as hereinbefore described, and running thence north and along the west boundary of said county to the third standard parallel; thence west and along said parallel to the corner of township s number 113, north of ranges number 58 and 59 west; thence north and along the line between ranges number 58 and 59 west, to the northeast corner of township 113, north of range number 59 west; thence west and along the line between townships number 113 and 114, north of ranges number 59, 60, 61, 62, 63, 64, and 65 west, to the northwest corner of township number 113, north of range number 65 west; thence south between ranges 65 and 66 west; thence south between ranges 65 and 66 west, to the third standard parallel; thence east and along said parallel to the closing corner for township number 112, north of ranges number 65 and 66 west, to the second standard parallel and thence east along said standard parallel and thence east along said standard parallel to the place of beginning. The county of Clark shall remain as heretofore bounded, except as modified by this section."
Dakota Territory Governor Ordway appointed Eli C. Walton, Charles Miner and S. S. Neilson to organize the county, They held their first meeting at the Riverside Hotel, in the town of Huron on the 26th of July, 1880, and appointed the following officers: Register of Deeds, John H. Alexander; School Superintendent, James E. Biship; Coroner, O. M. Farrington; Judge of Probate Court, W. B. Ingersoll; Assessor, Watson Weed; Surveyor, W. B. Joy; Justices, A. J. Wells, A. H. Risdon, Dennis H. Flynn, El L. Lyman; Constables, William Mixter, W. J. Easton, M. Baum, and M. A. Falls. On July 27, 1880, E. G. Wheeler was appointed Treasurer, and the county was divided into three Commissioner districts. On the 28th of July, 1880, the Board of Commissioners of Beadle County unanimously selected the city of Huron as the county seat of Beadle County. 11
The county was divided into voting precincts on the 9th of August, 1880. The first election took place on the first Tuesday in November, 1880, and resulted as follows: Commissioners, E. C. Walton, S. S. Nielson, R. R. Van Dusen; Register of Deeds, L. V. Van Vranklin, Treasurer, R. A. Harris; Judge of Probate, E. P. Caldwell; Superintendent, J. S. Bishop; Sheriff, D. Bell; Coroner, H. Russell; Justices; T. F. Nicholl, J. H. Bishop, A. J. Sweetser, M. Baum; Constables, J. McDonald, E. M. Chase, and S. Markham. On the 14th of January, 1881, J. H. Alexander was appointed Register of Deeds as Mr. Van Vranklin failed to qualify.12
On May 5, 1883, a special election was held for the purpose of voting for or against issuing $50,000 Court House and Jail Bonds. The bond issue passed with a majority of 427 votes and later in the year construction was begun.
May 3, 1884, the board of commissioners, having received petitions signed by more than one-third of the legal voters of Beadle County Dakota Territory asking for the division of the county into five Commissioner District as provided by law did establish the five districts as follows: Commissioner District Number 1, Township 113 Ranges 59 and 60. Township 112 Ranges 59, 60 and 61. Township 111 Ranges 59 and 60. District Number 2, Township 113 Ranges 61, 62, and 64 and Township 112 Ranges 62, 63 and 64. District Number 3, Township 111 Ranges 61, 62, 63, and 64 and Township 110 Ranges 61, 62, 63. District Number 4, Township 110 Ranges 59 and 60 and Township 109 Ranges 59, 60, 61, 62, and 63. District Number 5, Township 113 Range 65, Township 112 Range 65. Township 111 Range 65, Township 110 Range 64 and 65 and Township 109 Ranges 64 and 65.13 The Board balloted for Commissioners for the fourth and fifth districts and Horace G. Wolfe and John Barry were appointed respectively.
In these first few years as a newly organized governmental unit, the staff worked well and disposed of the problems which came before them with a great deal of efficiency. In reading the minutes of the first meetings, however, one finds that the problems were not particularly difficult. The principal business was the issuance of liquor licenses and the building of the jail.
Characteristics of Land, Population, Agriculture, Industry, and Transportation
Topography and Soil14
The major portion of Beadle County lies in the prairie plain of the James River Valley. This is a flat to undulating area ranging from 1,300 to 1,400 feet.
The northeast part of the county is flat except for a few knolls and drainageways. With the exception of the extreme corner, the remainder of the county is undulating. Depressions occur throughout the county but are more pronounced in the undulating area. In the extreme southwest corner of Beadle County are found the Wessington Hills. These slopes rise abruptly several hundred feet above the prairie plain.
The James River has a fall of less than one foot per mile, making for poor drainage. Much of the rainfall runs into depressional areas where it evaporates or moves downward slowly by percolation.
The soils of Beadle County have been developed in a sub-humid climate under a vegetative cover of tall and short grasses. This combination has produced soils known as Chernozems. The soil is characterized by a dark surface layer, and by a zone of free lime accumulations, usually found at a depth of 18-24 inches. Most of these soils have been developed from glacial till. Two small areas of soils in the county have been developed from glacial outwash. Till is a mixture of fine and course material. Outwash differs from till in that the materials are sorted, or in separate layers.
Two major soil associations have been developed on the till areas. The Barnes, Buse, Aastad association in Beadle County consists of soils developed from friable glacial till on level to undulating topography. This association covers the greater part of the county.
Population15
Because of the economic factors always present in South Dakota, Beadle County has had its up and down in population. The United States Census of 1880 established the population as 1,290. Times were very good during the early history of the county. Heavy early snows created an abundance of moisture and hence, excellent crops. The glowing letters written to relatives and friends, along with the very efficient advertising of the railroads enticed settlers to Beadle County until in 1885 they numbered 10, 318. However, in the latter eighties and early nineties a drought of such intensity settled over the Great Plains and Prairie States that many Beadle County settlers were driven to bankruptcy or just gave up and moved on.17 In 1890 the population had dropped from the peak of 10,318 to 9,368 and continued to decrease so that in 1900 only 8,081 remained.
By 1896 the drought had run its course and those who remained were about to be rewarded for their stubborn faith in the land. With the exception of 1911, when a drought caused an almost complete crop failure, residents of the county experienced an ever increasing prosperity. There seemed to be no end in sight; crops were excellent and prices reached a record peak. In order to feed the hungry post-war world the government in 1920 encouraged the farmer to plant more and borrow more to make expansion possible, but before the 1921 crop could be harvested the bottom fell out of the market. As if this were not enough, 1921 saw the beginning of a twenty-year drought which reached such disastrous proportions that all South Dakotans witnesses bank failures, dust storms, grasshoppers and an almost total lack of income. This led to widespread economic disaster because farmers could not pay their mortgages and taxes.18 The farmer could not have existed without outside assistance, most of which came from the federal government. The only surprising fact about the 14.3 per cent drop in the Beadle County population from 1930-1940 is that it was not higher.
In 1941 rainfall again became adequate and prices soared, due to wartime needs. Prosperity came to Beadle County and business as well as agriculture was moving forward. The past twenty years have been relatively good; and this, no doubt, accounts for the slow, but steady climb in the population.
It will be interesting to note how the consolidation of high schools, population shift to urban areas, the larger farm, and the abandoning of railway passenger service will affect the population picture of the county.
Population Make-up19
Beadle County was settled mostly by native-born from other states, those in the immediate vicinity making up most of the original residents. Of the original 1,290 inhabitants all were white and 390 were foreign-born. By 1900 the foreign-born increased to 1,642 and there were seventeen colored persons and one Oriental.
Since the turn of the century, the number of foreign-born has been gradually decreasing. In 1900 there were 462 Germans, 169 Swedes, 164 Canadians, and 125 English. By 1910 the Russian element was making itself felt. These people practiced a communal way of life and were bound tightly together by their religion. Colonies exist today, but many of these people have broken away from the religious corporation and moved into towns.
By 1930 the Germans numbered 545, Swedish 175, Russians 156, and Norwegian 154. These four groups still lead the number of foreign-born, but are gradually decreasing in numerical strength.
Beadle County has never had a significant number of Indians, Orientals or Negroes. The state census of 1945 reports that there were thirty-three Negroes and forty Indians.
The religious characteristics of the county have remained about the same for the past forty-five years. In 1915 there were four main denominations: Lutheran, Methodist, Catholic and Presbyterian. There was a steady increase in church membership until 1935 when, according to state census data, a rather abrupt drop occurred in the ten-year period up to 1945.
Some general conclusions may be drawn from a survey of population statistics and economic factors of the accompanying periods. Since there were few immigrants after 1910, one may see that during good times the birth rate rose. During poor times there was some emigration and a lower birth rate. This is compensated for somewhat by the decreasing death rate. The increase in the aged Beadle County population will inevitably raise the death rate.
An increase in the aged has an effect upon the county. More attention must be paid to welfare, different types of entertainment, housing, disease of the aged, health facilities, rest homes and changing demands for goods and real estate. Also this makes a more conservative population. Perhaps this conservatism is also aided by the increase in native-born white and decrease of foreign-born which may produce more like-mindedness and bring more cooperation and unity.
It could be said that the county has reached the point of a mature state; it has the characteristics of an older state. Although the population has increased somewhat, it has not taken an abrupt leap ahead. This stationary population has a great effect on the social, economic, and political life of the county.
Agriculture20
Agriculture is the principal industry and the main source of employment of the population of Beadle County. As the basic economic activity of the county, however, as the crops go, so goes the county. The optimistic settlers, as encouraged by the government anti-railroads, took a wide gamble on farming resources quite different from what they were used to. Beadle County has a harsh wind, a short growing season, low rainfall, and a wide range in temperature and moisture.
The land is fairly uniform and potentially very fertile, but weather is still the factor in successful farming. When Beadle County has a good crop, and precipitation is above average and the summer temperature is below average. The county has experienced four drought periods, the last in 1930-1938.
In examining census figures on the number of farms, value per acre, average size farm, and tenancy, one can almost determine the exact years of economic impression. The effect of a bad crop year of course affects all economic activities because other businesses rely on the farmer for their existence.
Beadle County does lie in one of the better regions of the state and ranks high in most categories of agricultural statistics. In 1945 the county ranked as follows: tenancy, second; value of farm land and buildings, twenty-second; land in farms (acres), eighteenth; number of farms, eleventh; and cropland harvested (acres), third. In the same year the county ranked ninth in cattle production, eighth in corn, tenth in wheat, seventh in oats and second in rye. Agriculturally the county is not the most stable in the state, but it does rank above the average.
Industry
Since the principal industry in Beadle County is agriculture, nearly all of the other income is dependent upon serving or using it in one way or another. Over one-half of the retails, wholesale and manufacturing enterprise is located in the city of Huron which serves a territory made up of 19 of the richest counties in the state. The trade area covers a radious of 80 miles, and a population of 100,000. The wholesale area covers a radious of 150 miles and a population of 200,000.21
Armours, a meat-packing plant, is the largest manufacturer and employs 650 persons. The other manufactured products in 1958 were dairy products, confections, cereals, distilled products, feeds and milwork. The wages paid the skilled worker in Huron range from $1.75 - $3.50 per hour; the semi-skilled, $1.25 - $1.75; and the unskilled, $1.00 - $1.35. Manufacturing enterprise in Huron, in 1959 employed 436 males and 77 females.
Huron is also the center of many activities throughout the year which add to the volume of trade. Early in the fall, the state fair attracts thousands of visitors. This is followed closely by the hunting season. As the population center of the state, Huron plays host to many conventions. The Huron Arena, which seats 7,000 spectators, is often filled with people from throughout the state enjoying the sports events and entertainment presented there.
In the past ten years Huron has built the most modern hospital in the Northwest and a nursing school. The city has installed a three-quarter of a million dollar water-softening and filtering plant. It has built new schools and churches and expanded existing facilities. Progress still continues; homes are being built, business and industry expanded and new ones are being built. Huron is also the center of a 750,000 acre irrigation development now under development. From this one can assume that Beadle County will continue to grow and prosper.
- York Sampson (ed.), South Dakota, Fifty Years of Progress, 1889 - 1939, S. D. Golden Anniversary Book Co., 1939
- Unpublished documents of Beadle County Historical Society.
- Ibid.
- E. Frank Peterson, Atlas of Beadle County, South Dakota, Huron Printing, 1906, p. 98
- Loc. Cit.
- Unpublished documents of Beadle County Historical Society.
- Ibid.
- Peterson, op. cit., p. 98
- Unpublished documents of Virgil history, in possession of the Town Clerk.
- "Memoirs of General William Henry Harrison Beadle," South Dakota Historical Collections, Vol. 3, p. 172, State Department of History, Pierre, South Dakota.
- Peterson, op. cit., p. 98
- County Auditor's Records, Beadle County Commissioners Proceedings, 1884, Vol. I.
- County Auditor's Records, op. cit.
- South Dakota Agricultural Statistical Series, Beadle County, South Dakota Co-op and Livestock Reporting Service, Sioux Falls, 1950, pp. 5-6.
- All figures cited in this section were taken from official United States Census or South Dakota Census Reports for the year indicated.
- For a complete picture of Beadle County population statistics, see Tables 1, 2 and 3.
- Unpublished letters of Beadle County Historical Society.
- Evening Huronite, Editorial, January 15, 1934.
- All figures cited this section were taken from official United States Census or South Dakota Census Reports for the year indicated.
- All figures cited this section, unless otherwise indicated, were taken from official United States Census or South Dakota Census Reports for the year indicated.
- City Directory, Huron, R. L. Polk and Company, 1958.
- Registered Community Audit, Huron Chamber of Commerce, Oct., 1959, p. 1.
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