Images of the Past

Warm springs in and around the town of Hot Springs, South Dakota, have been drawing tourists to the region since the 1880s.

Part historian and part artist, Fred Farrar chronicled the Black Hills from the turn of the century through the depression of the 1930s.

In downtown Rapid City, South Dakota, you can see giant creatures on a ridge of sandstone at the top of a hill. It’s one of the area’s original tourist attractions – Dinosaur Park. So how did those dinos get there?

A very hard sedimentary stone favored by 19th century builders and pavers in and around Sioux Falls gave the city's downtown its distinctive architectural look.

When Dakota was opened to white settlement in 1859, businessmen, lawyers, and politicians of every stripe flocked to the brand new town of Yankton seeking once-in-a-lifetime opportunities to grab land, cut deals with the railroads coming west, and above all, write laws and policies for their own benefit.

Vermillion was a thriving and important community in the early days of Dakota Territory. The town was destroyed by a flood in 1881 and rebuilt in a new location on higher ground.

The history of white settlers and Native people along the Missouri River in southeastern South Dakota dates to the 18th century.

The history of South Dakota's William J. Fitzmaurice Veterans Home dates to the mid-1880s.

Carrie Ingalls, sister of Laura Ingalls Wilder, lived a productive life in South Dakota as a newspaper manager, mother, and philanthropist.

Bon Homme County's first white settlers arrived illegally in 1858. They were removed by the U.S. Army and returned, legally, in 1859.