Big Towns and Little Towns

What makes a town grow? What makes a town shrink?

Why do some towns form by rivers and others out on the prairie? This episode looks at what has made towns like Sioux Falls and Rapid City grow continuously and why some towns like Detroit, SD, disappear. It examines the economics of city growth and rural decline throughout our state's history.

Related Resources
Additional videos, activities, and more below.

Episode Activities

Watch Episode

Episode Quiz

Student Glossary

Crossword Puzzle (answers)

Discussion Cards

County Special Class Activity

Episode Script

Related Video Playlist

Big Towns and Little Towns Additional Videos

YouTube Playlist with a variety episode related topics including Dakota Life: Vanished Towns.

Changing Times, Changing Spaces

The first J.C. Penney store opened on 1 April 1916, on Main Street in the community of Redfield.

Why is it called Johnson Siding?

The answer — like the answer to so many town etymologies — has to do with the railroad, and a sawmill.

Carlock: The Dancehall Without a Town

At Carlock, the dancehall stuck around after the town left.

The Great Murdo Fire of 1910

Murdo, SD had only just gotten started as a town when disaster struck on a cold February night in 1910.

Temples of Justice

A look at the history of South Dakota courthouses highlighting several cities across South Dakota .

What are Masonic Temples?

Learn about the history of Masonic Temples in South Dakota.

The Rising Hail Colony

A scattering of crumbling chalk rock cabins on the river bottoms near Marty, SD, on land owned by the Ihanktowan Nation, are all that’s left of a communal ownership scheme.

The Manchester Biscuit Company

The business continued to expand outside of Sioux Falls and had branches in Aberdeen and Rapid City.

Think Deadwood Was Wild in the 1870s? Try Yankton.

Another of Dakota Territory’s first towns was just as wild.

Hot Springs Polio Hospital - Iron Lung

Learn about a medical device called the iron lung, which was used to treat many polio patients.

What's in a Town Name?

Your students should research how their town was named. If they could, what would they change it to and why?

Find Your Own "Images of the Past"

Researching your community? Here are a few online resources for you.

Vanished South Dakota

SDPB visits remnants of once-thriving towns to discover what led to their birth, boom, and demise.

South Dakota Counties

Explore South Dakota Counties.

What I learned from McDonald's "Pollock to Pollock" ads.

It’s not every day you see grain elevator operators or pollock trawlers on TV.

Connecting Rural South Dakota

A look at the advances that have allowed South Dakotans to stay connected to each other.

Diversity Growth In South Dakota

South Dakota’s population is up by 8.9%, according to new numbers from the 2020 Census.

Drive-In Theaters Videos and Activity

Activity - Inverse Proportions and Shadows in the Real World
In this video, students take a quick trip through the history of drive-in theaters and are then asked to consider the question, "What is the relationship between the size of an object’s shadow and the object’s distance from a light source?"

In the accompanying classroom activity, students do a hands-on experiment about the size of their own shadows at different distances from a projector or other light source.