Siblings Eric Rosenbaum and Kim Rosenbaum Baker wrote an article on behalf of the Union County Historical Society explaining the origins of Elk Point.
“Lewis and Clark's journal entries are often credited for naming the town of Elk Point. Clark's journal referenced "a Great Deel of Elk Sign" near the river on August 22, 1804, when they camped near the current town site.
In reality, the name Elk Point came from the Indians and Fur Traders at least 50 years earlier. The location lies between the Missouri and Big Sioux Rivers. Timber groves, meadows, and waterways made the terrain a natural runway for elk and deer, which the Indian traders harvested for food and skins; this likely made the area a natural winter camp and trading post for natives and traders alike.
The Hudson Bay Company built a line of small outposts for fur traffic down the Sioux River to the Missouri in French Territory. Agnes C. Laut, a noted early 20th-century fur trade author, reported that the HBC records, discovered in London, mentioned the Elk Point Post in 1755. Furs were floated down the Missouri River to St. Louis or Kaskaskia Il from these forts. Likewise, some were taken overland via the Chemin des Voyageurs or "the Trail of the Voyageurs," and the later trail dates to 1718 and terminated at the mouth of the Wisconsin River on the Mississippi, near the current town of Prairie du Chein.
In 1858, 53 years after the Corp of Discovery first visited the site, a treaty was negotiated between the Yankton Sioux and the US government that ceded the Indian land west of the Sioux River to the east bank of the Missouri River. On July 10, 1859, the land was opened to immigrants for settlement.
In 1859, Eli Wixson (1833-1908) came from Sioux City and built his cabin at the current Elk Point location. He was the first white man to settle in this region. His first cabin was a 12' by 16' log home that had a dirt floor. During the following winter, his only neighbors were some seventy-five Santee Sioux Indians, possibly the remnants of War Eagles' old tribe. They were camped here for the purpose of hunting. It was reported that he dealt extensively with them that winter. Others like Myron Sheldon, W W Adams, David Benjamin, and Israel Bartlett came later in 1859. Lieut. John R Wood's son, Charles, reported years later that when his family arrived in 1860, the only structure on the town site was a single log cabin and a teepee. In 1862, Wixson built a 2nd log building that would serve as a hotel, post office, and station for stagecoaches traveling between Sioux City, Elk Point, and Fort Randall. The cabin was located near the intersection of Main Street and Douglas St.
Due to problems with Indians near New Ulm and Sioux Falls, a company of volunteers was organized in the winter of 1862, and the Wixson Hotel served as a barracks. In the spring of 1863, locals were mustered into service with a volunteer cavalry; that Company was known as the First Dakota Cavalry, Co. B. They accompanied General Sully in his 1864 punitive expedition against the Indians. They participated in the battle of Killdeer Mountain and the subsequent battles in the North Dakota Badlands as Sully retreated to Yellowstone. Most of the Company was mustered out of service in the spring of 1865—however, Lieut. John R. Wood and 24 select other cavalrymen volunteered for additional service accompanying The Sawyer Wagon Road expedition to the minefields of Montana. Along the way, they corralled the wagons twice in defense of Sioux, Cheyenne, and Arapaho warriors who attacked the train. They returned in November 1865 and were mustered out of service to return to their former occupations.
In 1865, Congress appropriated $85,000 for a military road from Sioux City to Fort Randall and Cheyenne, via Elk Point. In 1873, the population of Elk Point was between five and six hundred, which exceeded the population of Sioux Falls at that time. Elk Point had the first county court house in the Territory.
Finally, Elk Point was once home to such business titans as Mark Wentworth Sheaf, Amund Ringsrud and C W Beggs. Influential attorneys and politicians included EC Ericson and a civil war hero, Alexander Hughs. Hughs cast the deciding vote to move the territorial capital from Yankton to Bismark.”
Dakota Life Greetings from Elk Point premieres on Thursday, January 16th at 8 PM Central (7 PM Mountain) on SDPB1, Facebook, and YouTube. Stream the next day on the PBS App.
