Fascinating Facts about South Dakota

South Dakota is a state with a rich and colorful history. Named for the Lakota and Dakota Tribes of the Sioux Indians and created from the southern half of the Dakota Territory, South Dakota was admitted to the Union on November 2, 1889. Most of South Dakota was purchased in 1803 as part of the Louisiana Purchase. The most recent estimated population is 812,313.

• State Capital: Pierre
• State Facts and Symbols
• State Nicknames: Mount Rushmore State, Coyote State
• State Motto: Under God, the people rule
• State Slogan: Great Faces, Great Places
• State Song: “Hail, South Dakota”
• State Flower: American Pasque
• State Bird: Ring-necked Pheasant
• State Animal: Coyote
• Largest City: Sioux Falls

There are no professional sports teams in South Dakota. There is a minor league baseball team, the Sioux Fall Canaries, and a minor league hockey team, the Rapid City Rush.

Wounded Knee Massacre
On December 29th 1990 The Battle of Wounded Knee, or the Wounded Knee Massacre, took place at the Pine Ridge Indian Reservation. This event was the last armed conflict with the Sioux Nation in the Indian Wars. On this day 350 troops of the US 7th Cavalry opened fire, and when all was said and done an estimated 300 Sioux were massacred with more to freeze to death as they tried to run. Most of the Sioux deaths were women and children. About 25 servicemen also lost their lives, most due to friendly fire since the entire skirmish was at point-blank range.

The Dust Bowl
Lack of rain, over-cultivation of the soil, excessively high temperatures and strong winds combined to cause most of the fertile top soil to blow away in horrific dust storms. Most of the crops were lost in many of the plains states. This, combined with the effects of the Great Depression, hit South Dakota very hard and caused many South Dakotans to leave. It is estimated that during the 1930’s more than 7% left the state.

Notable Places to Visit

• Mount Rushmore National Memorial
• Crazy Horse Memorial
• Badlands National Park
• Custer State Park
• Laura Ingalls Wilder Memorial Society
• Corn Palace
• Black Hills National Forest
• For Sisseton Historic State Park
• Deadwood
• Minuteman Missile National Historic Site
• Buffalo Ridge
• Presidents Park

South Dakota is located in the upper Midwest and has the fifth lowest population density of all the states. With a land mass of 77,116 square miles, South Dakota is the 17th largest state in the union. It is often called the Land of Infinite Variety because its landscape includes deep canyons, wide rivers, a rolling stretch of plains, the Badlands and Black Hills.

Perhaps the most colorful landmark is Mt. Rushmore. A granite sculpture created by Gutzon Borglum features the heads of four former U.S. Presidents: George Washington, Theodore Roosevelt, Abraham Lincoln and Thomas Jefferson. The mountain was originally knows as the Six Grandfathers, it was renamed in 1885 after a New York lawyer, Charles E. Rushmore. The carving began in 1927 and was completed in 1941 with the help of 400 workers.