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South Dakota's Railroads

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South Dakota's Railroads South Dakota’s Railroads South Dakota State Historic Preservation Office South Dakota’s Railroads: An Historic Context Prepared for: South Dakota State Historic Preservation Office 900 Governors Drive Pierre, South Dakota 57501 Prepared by: Mark Hufstetler and Michael Bedeau Renewable Technologies, Inc. 511 Metals Bank Bldg. Butte, Montana 59701 July 1998 Revised, December 2007 TABLE OF CONTENTS 1. Introduction.................................................................................................................................2 A. Purpose of this Document..............................................................................................2 B. Methodology ..................................................................................................................3 2. The Importance of Railroads to South Dakota ...........................................................................4 3. The History of Railroading in South Dakota..............................................................................5 A. Geographical Background .............................................................................................5 B. Establishment and Expansion: South Dakota Railroads in the Nineteenth Century......6 1. Beginnings (1851-1868) .....................................................................................6 2. The Little Dakota Boom and the First Railroads (1868-1873)...........................8 3. Railway Expansion During the Great Dakota Boom (1878-1887).....................9 4. The Impact and Influence of the Railroad on Nineteenth-Century South Dakota..............................................................................................12 5. The Great Dakota Bust (1887-1900) ................................................................16 C. Peak and Decline: Twentieth-century South Dakota Railroading ...............................18 1. The West River Boom (1900-1920) .................................................................18 2. The Farm Crisis and the Great Depression (1920-1941)..................................21 3. World War II and the Post-War Decline (1941-date).......................................22 4. Railroad Resources as Historic Sites ........................................................................................26 A. The Geography and Landscape of the Railroad...........................................................26 B. Identifying and Categorizing Railroad Resources .......................................................27 C. Significance and Integrity Issues .................................................................................27 5. “Property Types” for Railroad Resources ................................................................................33 A. “Railway Service and Operations Buildings” Property Type......................................34 1. Description........................................................................................................34 A. Depots and Terminal Buildings ..........................................................34 A-1. Passenger Terminals .............................................................34 A-2. Combination Depots .............................................................37 B. Freight Houses .....................................................................................41 C. Roundhouses and Engine Houses ........................................................42 D. Railway-owned Housing......................................................................45 E. Other Associated Buildings..................................................................46 2. Significance ......................................................................................................50 3. Registration Requirements................................................................................50 4. Integrity.............................................................................................................51 South Dakota’s Railroads Page ii TABLE OF CONTENTS, continued B. “Railway Structural and Engineering Features” Property Type ..................................51 1. Description........................................................................................................51 A. Bridges .................................................................................................51 B. Tunnels.................................................................................................53 C. Railway Line Segments........................................................................53 D. Minor Associated Features ..................................................................55 2. Significance ......................................................................................................57 3. Registration Requirements................................................................................58 4. Integrity.............................................................................................................59 C. “Railway Yards and Operational Complexes” Property Type.....................................59 1. Description........................................................................................................60 A. Railway Yards and Operating Terminals.............................................61 B. Community Station Sites......................................................................61 2. Significance ......................................................................................................62 3. Registration Requirements................................................................................62 4. Integrity.............................................................................................................63 D. “Railway Rolling Stock” Property Type......................................................................63 1. Description........................................................................................................63 2. Significance ......................................................................................................64 3. Registration Requirements................................................................................64 4. Integrity.............................................................................................................66 Bibliography ..................................................................................................................................65 Appendix 1: List of South Dakota Railroads……………………………………........................71 Appendix 2: A South Dakota Railroad Timeline………………………………………………..79 Appendix 3: List of Extant South Dakota Railroad Depots……………………………………..92 Appendix 4: Period Maps of South Dakota Railroads…………………………………………..95 A. South Dakota Railroads, by Decade B. Major South Dakota Railroad Companies Appendix 5: Glossaries………………………………………………………………………………………104 A. Railroad-related terms B. Cultural Resource Management terms Endnotes………………………………………………………………………………………..121 South Dakota’s Railroads Page iii LIST OF FIGURES Cover photograph: a Milwaukee Road train heading across the prairies of Walworth County, South Dakota in 1942 (South Dakota State Archives photograph collection) Figure 1. The barely-discernable rails of a Milwaukee Road branch line pass a lonely grain elevator at Hillsview, South Dakota (State Historic Preservation Office photo). ...........................5 Figure 2. A Chicago & North Western passenger train prepares to begin its run from Deadwood to Rapid City (Chicago & North Western Historical Society Collection, Northern Illinois University Library). ...........................................................................................11 Figure 3. Map of South Dakota’s Railroad Network: 1889.........................................................12 Figure 4. This early advertisement, by the Chicago & North Western Railway, typifies the settlement campaigns of South Dakota railroads during the late nineteenth century (South Dakota State Archives photo collection)............................................................................13 Figure 5. This contemporary plat of the small townsite of Buffalo Gap, in Custer County, clearly illustrates the T-town configuration. Buffalo Gap was platted in 1885 by a townsite subsidiary of the Fremont, Elkhorn & Missouri Valley Railroad (Custer County Register of Deeds).............................................................................................................14 Figure 6. Tracklaying crews working to complete the Milwaukee Road branch line to Wessington Springs, 1903 (South Dakota State Archives photo). ................................................17 Figure 7. The first Chicago & North Western train into Fort Pierre symbolized that railroad’s 1907 entry into the booming West River region (South Dakota State Archives photo collection). ...........................................................................................................................19 Figure 8. The new townsite of Kadoka was one of many that quickly sprang up following the 1907 construction of the Milwaukee’s new Rapid City line (State Historic Preservation Office photo)..................................................................................................................................20 Figure 9. Map of South Dakota’s Railroad Network: 1920.........................................................21 Figure
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