South Dakota is a Midwestern state of the United States. It is an area of many startling and beautiful physical contrasts. The Missouri River flows south through the middle of the state. Low hills, lakes formed by ancient glaciers, and vast stretches of fertile cropland lie east of the river. West of the river are deep canyons and rolling plains. The Black Hills rise abruptly in the southwestern part of the state. Southeast of the Black Hills are the ravines, ridges, and many-colored cliffs of the Badlands. South Dakota is sometimes called the Land of Infinite Variety because of the many great differences in the state’s landscape.
Pierre, in central South Dakota, is the state capital. Sioux Falls ranks as the largest city. It lies in the southeastern part of the state.
Farming plays a leading role in the South Dakota economy. Farms and ranches cover about nine-tenths of the state. Sprawling livestock ranches lie in the western part of the state. Smaller livestock farms and most of the state’s crop farms lie in eastern South Dakota.
Service industries also play an important role in South Dakota’s economy. An increasingly large number of people are employed in such activities as education, health care, banking, and trade.
Millions of tourists visit South Dakota every year. The Black Hills are one of the most popular vacationlands in the United States. Attractions in the Black Hills include Mount Rushmore National Memorial, also called the Shrine of Democracy. Heads of George Washington, Thomas Jefferson, Theodore Roosevelt, and Abraham Lincoln, 60 feet (18 meters) high, have been carved out of a granite mountain. The Mount Rushmore memorial is one of the largest sculptures in the world. Nearby, an even larger statue of the Sioux leader Crazy Horse is being blasted out of a mountain.
Gold was discovered in the Black Hills in 1874. In 1876, the rich Homestake lode (deposit) was discovered in the state. Until its closure in 2001, the Homestake mine was one of the world’s greatest gold producers. Today, gold is mined on a smaller scale. Other mined products include cement and sand and gravel.
A French trader established the first permanent settlement in South Dakota in 1817. Until the 1850’s, all white settlement was along the Missouri River and was related to the fur trade. Agricultural settlement began in the 1850’s. The population soared during the late 1870’s and 1880’s in the stampede for gold as well as a rush for farmland and rangeland. The state’s history includes such famous Wild West figures as Calamity Jane, Wild Bill Hickok, Crazy Horse, and Sitting Bull. It also includes many farm families and townspeople who endured droughts, depressions, and blizzards to make South Dakota an important agricultural state.
South Dakota was named for the Native American Sioux who once roamed the region. The Sioux called themselves Dakota or Lakota, meaning allies or friends. South Dakota’s official nickname is the Mount Rushmore State. The coyote is the state animal of South Dakota, and the state is also known as the Coyote State.
The geographic center of the United States is in western South Dakota. This point lies 17 miles (27 kilometers) west of Castle Rock. Pierre is the capital of South Dakota, and Sioux Falls ranks as the largest city in the state.
People
Population.
The 2020 United States census reported that South Dakota had 886,667 people. The state’s population had increased 9 percent over the 2010 census figure, which was 814,180. According to the 2020 census, South Dakota ranks 46th in population among the 50 states.
About half of South Dakota’s people live in metropolitan areas. The state has three metropolitan areas—Rapid City; Sioux City, Iowa; and Sioux Falls. South Dakota has no great manufacturing industries to prompt the growth of large cities. Only Aberdeen, Brookings, Rapid City, Sioux Falls, and Watertown have more than 20,000 people. The largest city, Sioux Falls, has about 193,000 people. Most towns were established to serve surrounding agricultural regions and are east of the Missouri River, in the state’s chief farming area. Many towns also have grown up in the Black Hills, where mining once prospered and the tourist industry flourishes.
About 9 percent of South Dakota’s people are of Native American descent, a higher percentage than in any other state except Alaska and New Mexico. South Dakota’s other large population groups include people of Dutch, English, German, Irish, and Norwegian descent. African Americans, Asians, and Hispanic Americans together account for about 8 percent of South Dakota’s population.
Schools.
The first schoolhouse in the South Dakota region opened in 1860 in Bon Homme. The building was torn down after three months, and its logs were used in a stockade built for protection against attacks from Native Americans. The first territorial legislature authorized a public school system in 1862. In 1864, a superintendent of public instruction was appointed.
Today, the governor appoints a Board of Education to set policies for the public schools and post-secondary vocational schools. Children must attend school between the ages of 5 and 18.
Libraries.
South Dakota’s first libraries were established in the 1880’s. Today, there are public libraries throughout the state.
The state’s largest libraries are located at the University of South Dakota in Vermillion and at South Dakota State University in Brookings. Siouxland Libraries is South Dakota’s largest public library system. The South Dakota State Library has collections on art and on the history of South Dakota, as well as a large braille and talking-book collection for patrons with visual impairment.
Museums.
The South Dakota Cultural Heritage Center in Pierre houses the museum of the South Dakota State Historical Society. The National Music Museum in Vermillion displays rare musical instruments. Other state museums include the Museum of Geology at the School of Mines and Technology in Rapid City, the South Dakota National Guard Museum in Pierre, and the South Dakota Art Museum and the South Dakota State Agricultural Heritage Museum at South Dakota State University in Brookings. City museums include the Adams Museum and House in Deadwood, displaying pioneer items, and the Journey Museum and Learning Center in Rapid City, which explores Black Hills history. 
Visitor’s guide
Each year, millions of visitors choose the national parks and memorials in South Dakota as a vacation destination. All of these destinations are in the Black Hills and Badlands areas, where visitors can also visit Custer State Park, home to one of the world’s largest publicly owned buffalo herds. Other state parks and recreation areas offer breathtaking scenery, wildlife viewing, hiking, biking, bird-watching, water recreation, and camping. South Dakota communities stage such cultural events as powwows, rodeos, and pioneer celebrations.
Land and climate
Land regions.
South Dakota has three major land regions. They are: (1) the Central Lowlands, (2) the Great Plains, and (3) the Black Hills.
The Central Lowlands,
in eastern South Dakota, cover about a third of the state. A series of glaciers crossed this region during the most recent ice age, which ended about 11,500 years ago. The glaciers leveled off high places, filled in valleys, and created lakes. Most of the lakes of the Central Lowlands are in the eastern part of the region, which early French fur traders named the Coteau des Prairies (Prairie Hills).
The Coteau des Prairies is a plateau that rises abruptly from its surrounding landscape. Its northeastern corner ends at an escarpment (steep slope) along the Minnesota River Valley. The state’s lowest point is in this valley, near Big Stone Lake. The western part of the Coteau des Prairies ends in another escarpment, along the edge of the James River Lowland.
The James River Lowland is a flat to slightly rolling lowland that occupies the western section of the Central Lowlands region. The James River Lowland extends in a wide belt down the width of the state, and the James River winds through it. The lowland’s surface is covered with materials deposited by glaciers called drift and with windblown soil particles called loess.
In southeastern South Dakota, just south of the James River Lowland, are three ridges of drift-covered limestone bedrock. These ridges—James, Turkey, and Yankton ridges—form an end moraine or terminal moraine. They mark the end point to which glaciers advanced in the region.
The Great Plains
cover most of the western two-thirds of South Dakota. The region is also called the Missouri Plateau. It is part of the immense highland that extends from northern Canada to southern Texas (see Great Plains).
The Coteau du Missouri, an area of hills and valleys, forms the eastern edge of the Great Plains. The Coteau du Missouri extends west to the Missouri River Valley. The Missouri River flows through the middle of South Dakota from north to south. The valley through which the Missouri flows is often called the Missouri River Trench because of its steep slopes and narrow width. Among the chief features of the land west of the Missouri are smooth, rounded hills; plateaus; and buttes (steep, flat-topped hills that stand alone).
In the southern part of the Great Plains region lie the nation’s most famous badlands. Badlands are regions of small, steep hills and deep gullies formed primarily by water erosion. See Badlands.
Just south of the badlands is the Sand Hills area. This area is an extension of the Sand Hills section of Nebraska. In this area, sand piled up by the wind formed into sand dunes, and the dunes have become fixed (stationary).
The Black Hills
are a low, isolated mountain group in southwestern South Dakota. The region has great beauty, with deep canyons and towering rock formations. The Black Hills also have rich mineral deposits, and thick forests of tall pines, spruces, and other trees. The state’s highest point—7,242-foot (2,207-meter) Black Elk Peak—rises in the Black Hills.
Rivers and lakes.
The Missouri River is the state’s most important river. The Missouri and its branches drain all the state except the northeastern corner. The Missouri’s western branches include the Cheyenne, Grand, Moreau, and White rivers. The Big Sioux, James, and Vermillion rivers join the Missouri in the eastern part of South Dakota.
Most of the state’s lakes were formed by glaciers at the end of the most recent ice age, which ended about 11,500 years ago. A series of glacial lakes stretches across eastern South Dakota. The state’s biggest lakes are created by four dams on the Missouri River. The largest lake is Lake Oahe, about 230 miles (370 kilometers) long, created by Oahe Dam. Fort Randall Dam created Lake Francis Case, 140 miles (225 kilometers) long. Lake Sharpe, a reservoir formed by Big Bend Dam, is 80 miles (130 kilometers) long. Gavins Point Dam forms Lewis and Clark Lake, which is 25 miles (40 kilometers) long.
Medicine Lake, near Florence in Codington County, has a salt content of more than 4 per cent, compared with about 3 1/2 per cent for seawater. Its water was once believed to have medicinal qualities.
Plant and animal life.
Trees in the Black Hills include junipers, pines, and spruces. Such hardwood trees as ashes and oaks are scattered throughout the rest of the state.
The eastern pasqueflower, also called the American pasqueflower and the prairie crocus, blooms on hillsides in early spring (see Pasqueflower). Black-eyed Susans, goldenrod, mariposa lilies, poppies, sunflowers, and wild orange geraniums grow on the eastern prairies. Cactus plants are common in western South Dakota. Bluebells, forget-me-nots, lady’s-slippers, and larkspurs blossom in the Black Hills.
White-tailed deer live in all parts of South Dakota. They are most numerous in the Black Hills and in the woodlands of the Missouri River Valley. Pronghorns roam the land west of the Missouri. Mule deer graze in the rocky butte and canyon areas of the west. Bighorn sheep, elks, and Rocky Mountain goats live in the Black Hills. Thousands of buffaloes roam in various areas. South Dakota has more buffaloes than any other state.
The common pheasant or ring-necked pheasant, the state bird, is found throughout South Dakota. Hungarian partridges nest in northern parts of the state, and sage grouse in the extreme northwest. Sharp-tailed grouse and prairie chickens are found chiefly west of the Missouri River. Wild turkeys feed in the Black Hills.
Bass, bluegills, crappies, perch, walleyed pike, and other fishes are abundant in the glacial lakes of northeastern South Dakota. Among the fishes in the Missouri River and its branches are bass, catfish, northern pike, paddlefish, sauger, sturgeon, and walleyed pike. Brook, brown, and rainbow trout are found in the rivers and lakes of the Black Hills.
Climate.
South Dakota has great ranges in temperatures. Temperatures over 100 °F (38 °C) occur every summer. But even the hottest days are seldom uncomfortable, because the humidity is low. Below-zero temperatures are common on midwinter mornings. 
Average July temperatures in South Dakota range from 75 °F (24 °C) in the south-central part of the state to 65 °F (18 °C) in the Black Hills. The record high, 120 °F (49 °C), was set at Gann Valley (also spelled Gannvalley) on July 5, 1936, and at Fort Pierre on July 15, 2006. Average January temperatures range from 12 °F (–11 °C) in the northeast to 22 °F (–6 °C) in the southwest. The record low, –58 °F (–50 °C), was set at McIntosh on Feb. 17, 1936.
South Dakota’s annual precipitation (rain, melted snow, and other forms of moisture) ranges from about 16 inches (41 centimeters) in the northwest to about 27 inches (69 centimeters) in the southeast. Most of the rain falls in the growing season, from April through September. The heaviest snowfalls occur in February and early March.
Economy
Agriculture contributes a larger portion of the gross domestic product of South Dakota than it does for most other states. Gross domestic product is the total value of all goods and services produced in the state in a year. Many of the state’s other industries rely on farm products. For example, food processing is an important manufacturing activity, and the distribution of food products is the most important type of wholesale trade.
Service industries account for most of South Dakota’s gross domestic product and employment. Each year, the millions of tourists who come to South Dakota contribute billions to the state’s economy.
Natural resources.
South Dakota’s most precious natural resource is its fertile soil. The state also has rich mineral resources. Most of the forest reserves are in the Black Hills.
Soil.
Rich soils that developed from glacial materials cover most of eastern South Dakota. These soils are loamy and range in color from dark brown to black. A belt of loess—yellow-brown soil composed of tiny mineral particles—stretches along the east bank of the Missouri River. A deep deposit of loess also covers the lower Big Sioux River Basin in the eastern part of the state. The soils of eastern South Dakota are good for growing corn, wheat, and other crops. Most of the soils west of the Missouri River were formed from the weathering of shales. These soils make good grazing lands.
Minerals.
South Dakota’s northwestern counties have deposits of lignite, a low-grade coal. Much of western South Dakota lies in the great Williston Basin. This basin is a rich petroleum reservoir that extends across North Dakota and eastern Montana and into Canada. From the 1870’s to the early 2000’s, the Homestake lode, a rich vein of gold ore in the Black Hills, yielded millions of tons of the ore. But yields decreased in the late 1990’s. Gold mining continues in the state, but on a smaller scale. Other mined products in South Dakota include cement, clays, feldspar, gypsum, iron ore, limestone, mica, quartzite, sand and gravel, and silver.
Forests
cover about 3 percent of South Dakota. Most of the forests lie in the Black Hills and contain chiefly cone-bearing trees, including junipers, ponderosa pines, and spruces. Ashes, cottonwoods, oaks, and other hardwoods are scattered throughout the state.
Service industries
account for the majority of both South Dakota’s gross domestic product and its employment. Service industries are centered in the state’s largest cities.
Sioux Falls is the state’s leading financial center. Citigroup Inc., one of the largest financial services companies in the world, has some of its operations based in Sioux Falls. Several other financial companies are also based in the city. Many of the state’s motels and restaurants are concentrated near Sioux Falls and leading tourist sites, such as Mount Rushmore.
The federal government employs many people on Native American reservations, Ellsworth Air Force Base near Rapid City, and national parklands in the state. Some of the nation’s largest Indian reservations are in South Dakota, including the Cheyenne River Sioux Reservation and a portion of the Standing Rock Sioux Reservation. Trucking companies and railroads play a major role in the economy because the state lies a great distance from most major markets.
Manufacturing.
Much of South Dakota’s manufacturing is dedicated to processing the state’s agricultural products. Food products rank among South Dakota’s leading manufactured products. Meat processing and packing is the chief food-processing industry. Meat-processing and packing plants and dairy-processing plants operate mainly in eastern South Dakota. 
Chemical products are produced mainly in the eastern part of the state. Electronic scoreboards and other electronic display systems are made in Brookings. Farming and construction equipment are the leading types of machinery produced. Major types of transportation equipment include truck trailers and motor vehicle parts.
Agriculture.
Farmland covers about 90 percent of South Dakota’s land area. Larger farms lie in the western and central parts of South Dakota, while smaller farms lie in the eastern part of the state. Irrigation is used on many farms in the state.
Crops account for about three-fifths of the state’s agricultural income. Corn, soybeans, and wheat are South Dakota’s leading crops. The eastern part of the state is the chief region for growing corn and soybeans. Spring wheat is produced mainly in the northern part of South Dakota, and winter wheat is grown mainly in the central part of the state. South Dakota ranks among the leading states in the production of wheat. South Dakota is also among the chief producers of flaxseed, hay, oats, and sunflower seeds.
Livestock and livestock products account for about two-fifths of South Dakota’s farm income. South Dakota is a major producer of beef cattle, hogs, lambs, and sheep. Beef cattle graze on the enormous ranches of the western section. The ranchers often ship their calves and yearlings to cattle ranchers called feeders in eastern South Dakota or in neighboring states. The feeders fatten the young cattle on grains before sending them to market. Sheep are raised throughout South Dakota, especially in the northwest part of the state. The state is a leader in wool production. Most of the state’s chickens, eggs, geese, and turkeys are produced in the eastern half of the state. Farmers raise dairy cattle throughout the east, and milk is an important source of farm income.
Mining.
South Dakota’s most important mined products include cement, crushed stone, gold, natural gas, petroleum, and sand and gravel. Cement, formed from a mixture of clays and limestone, is produced in Pennington County. Crushed stone is produced in the southeastern and southwestern parts of the state. Gold is mined in Lawrence County. Most of the sand and gravel comes from pits in the eastern part of the state. Custer, Fall River, and Harding counties are the centers of South Dakota’s oil and natural gas production.
Electric power and utilities.
Hydroelectric projects and wind turbines produce most of the state’s electric power. Four huge Missouri River dams—Big Bend, Fort Randall, Gavins Point, and Oahe—supply most of the state’s hydroelectric power (see Fort Randall Dam). Most of the wind power is produced from turbines in the eastern half of the state.
Transportation.
The wide Missouri River provided the first great highway into South Dakota. Early explorers, fur traders, and missionaries sailed up the river in canoes or flat-bottomed boats. In 1874, gold was discovered in the Black Hills. Prospectors carved trails into the region as they rushed to the gold fields in stagecoaches and oxcarts. In 1872, the first railroad to enter South Dakota reached Vermillion. By 1880, two rail lines crossed eastern South Dakota to the Missouri River. A railroad reached the Black Hills in 1885.
Today, railroads provide freight service throughout South Dakota. No passenger railroads cross the state. Sioux Falls has the state’s largest airport.
Communication.
South Dakota’s first newspaper, the Dakota Democrat, began in Sioux Falls in 1859. The oldest newspaper still published in the state is the Yankton Press and Dakotan. It was founded as the Weekly Dakotian in 1861 and became a daily in 1875. Today, daily papers with the largest circulations include the Argus Leader of Sioux Falls and the Rapid City Journal.
The South Dakota School of Mines and Technology established the state’s first radio station, WCAT. The station was licensed in Rapid City in 1922. The first television station, KELO, began operating in Sioux Falls in 1953. Today, more than 80 radio stations and 20 television stations serve the state. Cable and satellite television systems and Internet providers serve many communities.
Government
Constitution.
South Dakota is still governed under its original Constitution, adopted in 1889. But the document has been amended (changed) many times.
A proposed amendment to the Constitution must be placed on the ballot in a regular statewide election. It may be proposed and placed on the ballot in any of three ways: (1) The Legislature may propose it by a majority vote in each house. (2) A group of citizens may propose an amendment by initiative. In this method, the citizens submit a petition (formal request) signed by at least 10 percent of the number of people who voted in the last election for governor. (3) A constitutional convention, approved by a three-fourths majority vote in both the House of Representatives and the Senate of the South Dakota Legislature, may propose an amendment. To become part of the Constitution, an amendment must be approved by a majority of the citizens voting on the issue.
Executive.
The governor of South Dakota is elected to a four-year term and may not serve more than two terms in a row. Other elected officials include the lieutenant governor, secretary of state, attorney general, commissioner of school and public lands, treasurer, and auditor. They are also elected to four-year terms and may serve no more than two terms in succession.
Legislature
consists of a 35-member Senate and a 70-member House of Representatives. Voters in each of the state’s 35 legislative districts elect 1 senator and 2 representatives. Members of both houses serve two-year terms and may serve no more than four terms in the same house in succession. 
Legislative sessions begin on the second Tuesday in January. Sessions last 40 days. The Legislature or the governor may call special legislative sessions.
In 1898, South Dakota became the first state to adopt the initiative and the referendum, actions that give voters a certain amount of direct control over lawmaking. The state’s voters can pass laws directly through their power of initiative. If 5 percent of the number of people who voted in the last election for governor sign a petition for the adoption of a law, the measure is then put on a statewide ballot.
The referendum allows voters to accept or reject measures approved by the Legislature. Any law passed by the Legislature must be submitted to the people if 5 percent of the number voting in the last election for governor sign a petition asking that a vote on the law be taken. The petition asking for the vote must be completed within 90 days after the adjournment of the Legislature that passed the law. See Initiative and referendum.
Courts.
The state Supreme Court is the highest court in South Dakota. This court has five justices appointed by the governor. After a justice has served three years, the people vote to retain or dismiss the justice. Such a vote is then repeated after every eight years of service. Every four years, the justices select one of their number to be the chief justice of the Supreme Court.
South Dakota is divided into seven judicial districts. Voters in each of these judicial districts elect at least four circuit court judges. Circuit court judges serve eight-year terms.
Local government.
South Dakota has 66 counties. All of the counties are governed by county commissions. Each county commission consists of a board of three to five members elected to four-year terms. Other elected county officials include the state’s attorney, auditor, coroner, register of deeds, sheriff, and treasurer.
South Dakota has hundreds of cities and towns. The state Constitution allows them the power of home rule. That is, cities and towns may operate under their own charters and adopt their own form of government. Counties in South Dakota may also adopt home rule. Most cities in South Dakota have the mayor-council form of government. Nine Native American reservations are located entirely or partially in the state.
Revenue.
Taxes bring in about two-fifths of the state government’s general revenue (income). Most of the rest of the general revenue comes from federal grants and programs. A general sales tax accounts for about one-half of the tax revenue in South Dakota. Other major sources of tax revenue include taxes on legalized gambling, motor fuels, motor vehicle licenses, and tobacco products. The state does not tax property or personal incomes. Only banks and other financial institutions in South Dakota pay corporation taxes.
Politics.
South Dakota voters have strongly favored the Republican Party throughout most of the state’s history. Republicans have won most of the elections for governor, and also have won the state’s electoral votes in most presidential elections (see Electoral College). In the 1960’s, South Dakota began to show signs of being a two-party state. Since then, the Democratic Party has continued to draw voter support. But the Republicans remain the largest party.
History
Early days.
Four major Indigenous (native) American peoples lived in the South Dakota region before white explorers first arrived. The explorers used the term Indians to refer to Indigenous peoples. The Kiowa occupied the Black Hills region, and the Arikara lived along the Missouri River, near the mouth of the Cheyenne River. The Cheyenne came to the region from the northeast and moved to the White River and Black Hills area, displacing the Kiowa. The Sioux, or Lakota and Dakota, came to South Dakota from what is now Minnesota, beginning in the 1700’s. They were hunters who followed the buffalo herds. They eventually pushed most other groups out of South Dakota.
Exploration and fur trade.
In 1682, René-Robert Cavelier, Sieur de La Salle, claimed for France all the land drained by the Mississippi River system. This vast territory included what is now South Dakota, because the waters of the Missouri River flow into the Mississippi.
The French-Canadian explorers François and Louis-Joseph La Vérendrye were the first white people known to have visited the South Dakota area. In 1743, the two brothers buried a small lead plate near the site of present-day Fort Pierre to prove they had been there. Schoolchildren found the plate in 1913, and the South Dakota State Historical Museum now owns it.
In 1762, France gave its land west of the Mississippi River to Spain. Spain returned it to France in 1800. In 1803, the United States bought this territory, called Louisiana, from France (see Louisiana Purchase).
About 1785, Pierre Dorion, a French fur trader, arrived in the lower James River Valley, near what is now Yankton. He became the first white person to settle permanently in the South Dakota region.
In 1804, President Thomas Jefferson sent Meriwether Lewis and William Clark to explore the Louisiana Territory and to blaze a trail to the Pacific Ocean. In August, the explorers camped in the South Dakota region for the first time, near what is now Elk Point. They followed the Missouri River through the region. Lewis and Clark passed through again in 1806 on their return from the Pacific. Their reports of the abundant fur-bearing animals in the region attracted an increased number of fur traders. The explorers had also established friendly relations with many Indigenous groups.
The most important trading post was built in 1817 at the mouth of the Bad River, on the site of present-day Fort Pierre. This lonely post became the first permanent white settlement in the South Dakota region. It was established by Joseph La Framboise, a French trader.
The first large-scale military action against Indigenous groups in South Dakota took place in 1823. Arikara warriors attacked a fur-trading party led by General William Ashley, lieutenant governor of Missouri. The federal government sent troops under Colonel Henry Leavenworth to punish the Arikara. The Sioux, traditional enemies of the Arikara, joined in fighting them.
In 1831, the steamboat Yellowstone sailed up the Missouri River from St. Louis to Fort Tecumseh (now Fort Pierre). It proved steamboats could travel the upper Missouri. This development further spurred the fur trade in South Dakota. Large cargoes could be shipped in far less time than it took for flat-bottomed boats that were moved by the river currents. The fur trade thrived for several years but began to decline by 1850. The number of fur-bearing animals had started to decrease, and the demand for furs fell as silk became more fashionable.
Agricultural settlement.
The land that became North Dakota and South Dakota was part of the Missouri Territory between 1812 and 1834. The eastern section later belonged, in turn, to the Michigan, Wisconsin, Iowa, and Minnesota territories. The western section remained part of the Missouri Territory until 1854, when it became part of the Nebraska Territory.
Before the 1850’s, all white settlement in the South Dakota region had been along the Missouri River and had been related to the fur trade. Agricultural settlement began in the eastern section during the late 1850’s.
In 1857, the U.S. Congress passed the Minnesota statehood bill. This bill set the new state’s western border east of the Big Sioux River. But nothing was done about the rich farmland westward to the Missouri River. Some business people and politicians saw a chance to make money. They quickly formed land companies, gained control of choice locations, and laid out townsites. Settlements were established at Sioux Falls, Medary, Flandreau, and other points.
In 1858, a group of Sioux called the Yankton Sioux, or Nakota, signed a treaty with the government giving up their land in the southeastern corner between the Big Sioux and Missouri rivers. The opening of this land attracted more settlers to the South Dakota region. Yankton, Vermillion, and Bon Homme were founded in 1859.
Territorial days.
Congress created the Dakota Territory in 1861. It consisted of present-day North and South Dakota and much of Montana and Wyoming. William Jayne was the first governor of the Dakota Territory, and Yankton was the capital.
Native American resistance prevented rapid settlement of the territory during the 1860’s. One of the most important wars was Red Cloud’s War, named for the Oglala Lakota leader Red Cloud. The government planned to build a road across the Powder River country to newly discovered gold fields in Wyoming. Red Cloud believed the road would ruin Sioux hunting grounds. In 1866, the Sioux attacked troops sent to make a survey for the road. The Sioux continued their raids until 1868, when the government met their demands. In the Treaty of Fort Laramie signed that year, the government agreed to give up its military posts in the Powder River country. The government also promised not to build any roads through the area without making payment to the Sioux. The treaty created the Great Sioux Reservation, which covered all the land in present-day South Dakota west of the Missouri River.
In 1874, a military expedition led by Lieutenant Colonel George A. Custer entered the Black Hills in what the Sioux believed was a violation of the Treaty of Fort Laramie. The government had ordered the expedition to find a suitable site for a fort. The soldiers discovered gold near the present town of Custer. The news brought a rush of prospectors to the area. In 1876, prospectors discovered far richer deposits of gold between the present towns of Lead and Deadwood. Another stampede of gold seekers followed. The town of Deadwood sprang up as the center of mining operations. It became a brawling, wide-open town, with a reputation as the most lawless settlement on the frontier. Wild Bill Hickok, Calamity Jane, and other citizens of Deadwood became famous Wild West figures.
The invasion of the Black Hills by white settlers caused a series of uprisings led by Lakota leaders Crazy Horse and Sitting Bull. In 1877, the U.S. government took possession of the Black Hills from the Sioux. Most of the Sioux surrendered and settled on reservations west of the Missouri River. On the reservations, the Sioux had to give up their old lifestyle of following the buffalo. In 1889, a Paiute leader named Wovoka started a religious movement called the Ghost Dance. Many Sioux became involved in this movement, which promised to restore the old ways of life.
Government officials misinterpreted the Ghost Dance. They considered it a threat to white settlers and called in military forces. In 1890, police sent to arrest Sitting Bull wound up killing him after his followers resisted the arrest. Some of his followers then joined Chief Big Foot’s band of Sioux on the Cheyenne River. Federal troops caught up with them and took them to a cavalry camp on Wounded Knee Creek. There, they tried to disarm the Sioux. A gun went off, and the soldiers began firing. They killed more than 200 people, including Big Foot. Wounded Knee marked the end of large-scale resistance by Native Americans on the northern plains. See Indian wars (Wounded Knee).
Statehood.
A great land boom followed the discovery of gold in the Black Hills. Thousands came to seek gold. But many more came to farm in other sections of South Dakota. An enormous land rush began in 1878. Between 1878 and 1887, farmers and speculators poured into South Dakota in what became known as the Great Dakota Boom. They acquired more than 24 million acres (9.7 million hectares) of public lands offered by the government. 
In 1870, the region had a population of less than 12,000. By 1890, the population had soared to 348,600. Most of the settlers came from neighboring states, but many came from Germany, Norway, Russia, the United Kingdom, and other European countries.
Railroad building also boomed during this period. By 1880, two railroads had crossed eastern South Dakota to the Missouri River. In 1886, a railroad reached the Black Hills. Many towns sprang up along the rail lines. During the late 1870’s and the 1880’s, cattle ranchers entered the open rangeland west of the Missouri. The rush of miners and merchants to the Black Hills and the needs of the Indian agencies and military posts had created a heavy demand for meat.
During the 1870’s, a movement began to divide the Dakota Territory into two parts. The major population centers had grown up far apart—in the northeastern and southeastern corners of the territory. The two groups of settlers wanted to develop separate governments. In February 1889, Congress set the present boundary between South Dakota and North Dakota. It also passed an enabling act, which allowed the two regions to set up the machinery to become states (see Enabling act). On Nov. 2, 1889, North Dakota and South Dakota entered the Union as the 39th and 40th states. South Dakotans elected Arthur C. Mellette, a Republican, as their first governor. Pierre became the state capital in 1889, shortly after South Dakota gained statehood.
The early 1900’s.
The population of South Dakota had climbed to almost 350,000 by the time it became a state. But little growth occurred during the first 10 years of statehood. A severe drought began in 1889 and lasted until 1897. In 1890, part of the state’s Great Sioux Reservation was opened to settlement, but few settlers came.
Prosperity returned to South Dakota in the early 1900’s. The drought had ended, and prices for farm crops were good. The government opened more Native American lands in the west, and thousands of settlers poured into the state. Some of this land was offered through great land lotteries. People registered for land and received claims if they were lucky in the lottery drawings. Special trains brought people from all parts of the United States to take part in the lotteries.
By 1910, the population had soared to almost 584,000. Between 1900 and 1910, the railroads added more than 1,100 miles (1,770 kilometers) of track in the state. Most of it was laid west of the Missouri River to serve the state’s growing sheep and cattle ranches.
Boom-and-bust economy.
Throughout South Dakota’s history, the state’s boom-and-bust economy has affected its development. In a boom-and-bust economy, periods of great prosperity alternate with periods of economic decline and many business failures. The boom of the first 10 years of the 1900’s ended in 1911, when another drought began.
The state government soon began a program designed to protect the people from the hardships of economic slumps. In 1915, state lawmakers passed a law guaranteeing the safety of bank deposits. Later, the state lent millions of dollars to farmers. It also bought a coal mine, built a cement-making plant, and operated an insurance program against damage by hail. South Dakota abandoned most of these businesses by the 1930’s.
Another economic boom began during the late 1910’s. The prices of South Dakota’s farm products increased after the United States entered World War I (1914-1918). Crops grew well during the 1920’s.
After 1925, the state’s economy suffered because of lower farm prices and bank failures. Then, in 1930, the worst drought and grasshopper plague in South Dakota’s history began. Except for some relief in 1932 and 1935, the drought lasted for 10 years. It was accompanied by great dust storms called black blizzards. In addition, the entire nation was hit by the Great Depression. Prices for South Dakota’s farm products sank lower and lower. The population of the state also began to decline. In 1930, South Dakota’s population had reached a record 692,849. By 1940, it had fallen to 642,961.
The federal government provided money and jobs to help the distressed farmers. The Civilian Conservation Corps (CCC) gave thousands of young men jobs in the forests of the Black Hills. The Works Progress Administration (WPA), later called Work Projects Administration, provided money to build bridges, buildings, and other projects. The government also helped South Dakota farmers plant wheatlands with grasses whose roots reach deep for moisture and hold the soil in place.
In stark contrast to the hard times elsewhere in the state, Lead and Deadwood experienced prosperity in the 1930’s. An increase by the federal government in the price of gold set off a small boom at the Homestake mine. Many unemployed men found work there.
The mid-1900’s.
During World War II (1939-1945), South Dakota farmers broke production records in supplying food. The increased use of machinery enabled farmers to do more work but, at the same time, made many farmworkers jobless. Thousands of farmworkers moved to towns and cities in search of jobs, but many could not find employment. As a result, large numbers of people—mostly young people—left the state. To decrease its dependence on farming, South Dakota started a drive to broaden its economy. This effort included developing the Missouri River Basin, increasing tourism, and attracting new industry.
In 1944, Congress authorized the Missouri River Basin Project (now the Pick-Sloan Missouri Basin Program). This huge program was designed to provide electric power, flood control, and irrigation throughout the basin. Part of the project called for construction of four hydroelectric dams on the Missouri River in South Dakota. By 1966, all four dams—Big Bend, Fort Randall, Gavins Point, and Oahe—were producing hydroelectric power. The dams created Francis Case, Lewis and Clark, Oahe, and Sharpe lakes, which became known as the “Great Lakes of South Dakota.” These lakes, along with many new highways, attracted additional tourists to the state. Tourism became South Dakota’s second largest industry, after agriculture.
During the Cold War, the government built a number of defense projects in South Dakota. These projects included Ellsworth Air Force Base near Rapid City, which had bombers and missiles. However, the government removed all the missiles in the first half of the 1990’s.
In 1972, floodwaters swept across Rapid City and the surrounding area after heavy rains caused Rapid City’s Canyon Lake Dam to burst. The flood killed 238 people and caused an estimated $165 million in damage.
In 1973, the village of Wounded Knee was seized by about 200 armed protesters, including members of the American Indian Movement (AIM). The action was designed to protest federal policies concerning Indigenous Americans, and was also the result of a tribal dispute among the Oglala Sioux band of the Teton Sioux. During the occupation, several gunfights broke out between the occupiers and federal authorities. The occupation lasted 71 days and resulted in 2 deaths and more than 300 arrests. Government officials promised to study the protesters’ complaints. 
The late 1900’s.
The departure of young people from South Dakota slowed during the 1970’s, but it continued to remain a concern. The state broadened its economy, and new jobs were created in commerce and industry. In the mid-1980’s, agriculture suffered from low farm prices and high interest rates. Some farmers lost their land. By the early 1990’s, farmers’ incomes had begun to rise again.
In 1980, the Supreme Court of the United States ordered the U.S. government to pay about $105 million to eight Sioux tribes. The payment was for Sioux land in the Black Hills seized by the government in 1877. But the Sioux refused the money and are seeking return of the land.
In 1987, South Dakota began its state lottery. In 1989, the town of Deadwood legalized casino gambling. In the 1990’s, taxes on legalized gambling became an important source of the state’s revenue.
The early 2000’s.
In 2003, former governor William J. Janklow, the state’s only member of the U.S. House of Representatives, killed a motorcyclist in a traffic accident. He was convicted of manslaughter, reckless driving, running a stop sign, and speeding. In 2004, he was fined and sentenced to 100 days in prison. He resigned from the House, and the state held a special election to replace him.
