Rapid City Journal from Rapid City, South Dakota • 4

bach were named for early ted. the legislature caught up ized counties in the state Rapid City Journal Smitj. July 1. ik? pioneers. with the oversight and added Shannon.

Todd and Washa- Butte, rail tuver ana Lake the "no-man a land" to anotner oaugn. Moreover, rumDwigs in were named for the terrain of county before most of their the legislature continue to raise the counties, and Buffalo County constituents knew there was an the question of consolidation. How South Dakota Counties Were Named which once extended to the area outside the jurisdiction oi History coma yei repeat se Canadian border, was named Territorial law. with another consolidating leg- for the native buffalo. Robinson wrote amusingly in Mature appearing on the scene, Yankton and Minnehaha are the "Wi-Iyohi," monthly bulle- perhaps to be rewarded for his ment of the territory.

His rug Indian names, roughly irans- tin of the State Historical Soci-euoris uoiucy gedness surely exceeds that of lated as "end village" and ty, about the period when the lor mm. tlegislature seemed most entan- ho knows, if there is another fx any other person for whom waters." '1 county was camed- Among the 44 counties that gled in its self-made maze of go-arouno in county naming, it may even be possible that tra county manipulation. I SIX COUNTIES were given once were, and are no more, names which later appeared in are: Jayne, Mandan, Schnasse, dition could be shattered with By D. J. Clin It took 90 yean to name the 67 counties now constituting South Dakota.

It may take another 90 to unravel the complicated history of the naming process. County activity began In 1862 when Minnehaha, Bon Korame, Clay and Cole counties were or eanized. Two years later, Cole really "The 1873 legislature a county named for woman. Ml Jt r- t' 11 counties of Washington, Lincoln, The counties of Delano and he wrote. "They were in fact Clay, Custer, Douglas, end Scobey were gobbled up by (attempting the impossible to a Grant were named for national Meade to make that county the lav out counties on paper where Enrollment High heroes.

Washington County was largest in the state, equal in there were no actual surveys! CHADRON, Neb. Registra squeezed out of the picture in area to me states ot nnoae many cases. Those west of Hon at Chadron Mate college 1943, however, when it was.lsland and Vermont rivers were based on ex- for the first five weeks session eliminated by an enlarged Shannon County. I AT SEVEItL POINTS in the.tentions of standard parallels saw a record enrollment of S.a history of defining and re- and wholly fictitious guide Mer- students. Hpfininff hoimrtarip.

and splert- idians. Thev set uo a fictitious This reportedly is 84 more Both Lincoln and Grant were serving their first terms and changing county names, twelfth-guide meridian. A map than the previous record of 894 President at the time South the legislative maneuverine left could hardly convey the gar- that registered for the same Dakota counties were named areas of land which were not bled period last year. for them. Clay and In anv muntrv.

In at The cast 15 vears have been! eloquent spokesmen of the times lPast one such instance, the auiet. The fireworks have! From 1545 until 1795, the had established their reputa-jarea was equivalent to two or'iended. Or have they? The ques-'Potosi silver mine in Peru pro- ffm ir" tion is moot. duced about 4 million worth of tions in me young nation at me, three townships. time, There are still three unorgan- silver a year.

Each time an area was omit- The counties of Clark, Deuel, M- Gregory, Harding, Hanson, Hyde, Jackson, Jerauld, Law. County, reflecting influence of the Civil War, became Union County. This wa the first of what was to be an amazing number of changes. For the first 10 years, organi-fation of counties was confined almost entirely to the eastern part of Dakota Territory. The discovery of gold in the Black Hills encouraged the creation of counties in the West River country, and within another 10 yean most of the mountain counties were organized.

By 1870 the population of the state had reached almost 12,000 end the tempo of county organizing was picking up. The real scramble occurred in 1873. Additions and changes, both in boundary lines and names, were made so rapidly that partici- Eants in the procedure were ard pressed to keep abreast of their own actions. Almost every county was affected in aome way by boundary and name switching. As late as 1952 a change was still being made.

In that year voters decided to consolidate Armstrong County with Dewey Coun- rence, Perkins and Turner were named for legislators, according to Robinson. Moody was named "GATE OP COUNTIES" AT PIERRE Made from stones from each county in state 'JUL for a United States Senator, Spink for a delegate to Con completely dominate the county-1 white settlement began. A party I Sioux Faalla when the popula- making process in South Dako- of these Sioux were caught in tion consisted of 16 settlers, one gress. Bennett, Corson and Tripp were named for Judges. ta.

What but chance couia nave a prairie lire, ana uiose wno oi wnom was a young doctor named Aurora, Bone Homme, escaped were severely burned, from the east. and Brule counties? Their fellow tribesmen labeled While on a trip, Brookings CALL Edmunds, Faulk and Pennington Counties were named for Territorial Governors; and Aurora, as one could guess, them "Sicangu," meaningfell from his horse into Split Hand, Hutchinson and McCook for Territorial officers. was one county wmcn migni "oumea uugns. iaier me kock Kiver. The temperature have been named by women.

French translated this to was 30 below lero. The hour The story (undocumented) goes "brule'1 for "burned." was seven in the evening. His At times, origin of several only chance was to run for his life. county names was oDscure. nie JONES COUNTY was named for a county in Iowa, and Walworth for one in Wisconsin.

Custer, McPherson, Meade, Stanley and Sully counties were named for generals. Hamlin was named for Hanibal Hamlin, vice Brookings reached Sioux Falls the next morning, exhausted and badly frozen. Gangrene set story went that Charles Mix could have been named for Charles E. Mix, a Commissioner of Indian Affairs or for Charles H. Mix, a Civil War scout.

Miner could have been named for Captain Nelson Miner in, and, as a last resort, young THIS FINAL ACT In a 80-year drama was typical of most previous history. It involved a court struggle with another uiaiing oisiani numuor is easy, bbttcs bo mucn inra. JjJiL Just dial "1" to connect you with th long distance network. Next, dial the area coda (if different from vour own). Dr.

Phillips amputated both president of the United States that a handful ot women, meeting in a sod shanty for the ambitious purpose of organizing a literary club, chose the name as a symbol of what this free homestead land meant to thera the dawn of a new life. CHANCE NAMED the county of Bon Homme, but fate in the form of the legislature refused to allow the county to change its name to a more dignified "Jefferson." One early writer claimed the legs below the knees. The oper JZfJtfT' Then, dial tha telephone number. It the last, personal ation was performed without the or Ephraim Miner of Yankton, WO IV use of an anesthetic while the Mellette was named for the first Governor of the state. An early minister inspired the name for Codington.

Beadle was named for a Territorial sur both legislators. patient lay on a crude bunk in county Stanley, which also coveted Armstrong. Stanley lost to Dewey, but the real loser was Armstrong. The county, first organized in 1873 north of Northwestern Bell TWO THEORIES were ad veyor-general, Potter for a doc vanced for Marshall and Roberts counties. Marshall County could have been named for a Civil and Indian War veteran, a lloorless cabin.

The tools were a large butcher knife and a small saw. Brookings survived and took an active part in the develop- Hutchinson County, had expired tor, Sanborn for a railroad man, Kingsbury for a newspaperman and legislator. Davis and Zie- word "bon homme" had a dual meaning figuratively "good natured fellow," colloquially, a derisive term for a peasant In once in 1879. It came to life again in a new location in 1895, only to succumb once more in 1952. This time Armstrong William W.

Marshall, or for Marshall Vincent, a homestead slipped off the map perm a the writer's opinion, no one was sure which meaning was in nently, joining 43 counties that er in the county. One story credited a legislator, S. G. Roberts, for the county bearing the Roberts name; the other named "ONE OF THE TOP 20 TOURIST EVENTS IN JULY IN THE NATION" tended for the county. This explanation of the nam National Association of Travel Organisation tag of Bon Homme County is Soloman Robar, a French trader, sometimes called Roberts, i had met their demise earlier.

A clue to the most common procedure in naming counties lies in the fact that a list of counties reads somewhat like a legislative roll call. Since the Robinson sets tne record "1 straight on these theories. He questioned by the state Dest-known, living authority on the subject of county naming and organization, Will G. Robinson, secretary of the State Historical 0) legislature usually defined boundaries and selected a name, Society. says: Charles Mix county was named for the Indian Commissioner; Miner County for the Cavalry Captain; Marshall County for William W.

Marshall, who was governor of Minnesota; 1C Q) LI Robinson says that the name had been applied to an island in the river, probably by some early French voyager, and it was mentioned by Lewis and and Roberts County for the legislator. There is no controversy over the origin of the name for FORTY-EIGHTH ANNUAL Haakon County. The label, how ever, seems improbable for a county in South Dakota. To add Clark in their journal. He says that there is every indication that the figurative meaning, "good man," was intended.

Robinson's thorough research and study make him well qualified to speak on the subject of county names. Some of the writ what could have been more logical than names chosen from the membership of their own august group! In all, 25 legislators lent their names for this purpose. Many of them never so much as visited the county which bore their name. The only recognizable pattern was: "You scratch my back; I'll scratch yours." A TYPICAL CASE was Brown County, named for a Hutchinson County legislator, who, to the best of anyone's knowledge, never visited Brown County. He did do a great deal of work in consolidating and creating counties.

For this effort he was given the nickname "Consolida to the improbability, an Irish man Is responsible for the name. The Irishman, Hugh J. Me ers who have expounded theo Mahon, owned a ranch near Philip at the time of an election to decide whether old Stanley ries about county names are ob-viously not so well qualified. AN. EARLY WRITER stated cwmmomwip rodeo 100 of the Nation's Top-Ranked Cowboys Competing For (7r500.00 in Purses County should be divided to form two new counties AS A CLEVER RUSE to get in a South Dakota manual that Dewey County was named for Admiral Dewey, hero of the Battle of Manila Bay.

Later someone pointed out that it was the Scandinavian settlers to vote tion crown," ana in the way of a reward, a county was named for him. for the division of the county and the selection of Philip as Two legislators from Bon unlikely since the county was the county seat, McMahon proposed that the new county be named for Haakon VII, the new King of Norway. The stratagem worked, and the split formed named 15 years betore me battle occurred and 16 years before Dewey became an admiral. Robinson says the truth is that the county was named for William P. Dewey, an early day United States surveyor.

Haakon and Jackson counties, Homme County had their names bestowed upon Campbell and Day counties. Hughes County was named for a legislator who lived in Elk Point Lyman County was named for a legislator from Yankton County who ran the first ferry at Yankton and had a colorful history in that part of the state. While the legislature played Brookings County was named for a pioneer judge who sur- Brule, one of three counties vived one of the most harrow ing experiences in the annuals reflecting Indian Influence, was named for a band of Lakota Sioux Indians who were residents of the area at the time Six Events Bareback Riding Steer Wrestling Saddle Bronc Riding Calf Roping Brahma Bull Riding Wild Horse Race of Dakota Territory, Judge Brookings came to prominent part, it did not Fischer Furniture will be closed 1 1 ii Hi i ii-- BULL-FIGHTING CLOWNS Arena Acts Featuring The Sensational Joe Zoppe Family WESTERN STREET PARADES MARCHING BANDS JULY 4 5 ONLY BUETLER BROTHERS RODEO STOCK ANNOUNCER: CY TAILL0N U.S. Rodeo "Man of the Year" MISS RODEO SOUTH DAKOTA COMPETITION FINALS QUARTER HORSE and GIRLS' BARREL RACING Shop Monday till 9 p.m. Shop Wednesday till 9 p.m.

i Three Big 8,000 Grandstand Seats SHOP IN AIR CONDITIONED COMFORT AT Days JJ EASY TERMS 1802 W. St. Joe 3424)552 FREE DELIVERY No Payments 'til October i BELLE FOURGi NORTHERN GATEWAY TO YHE BLACK HILLS RESERVED SEATS ON SALE AT Duhamels In Rapid Ciiyj Deadwood Chamber of Commerce: Siurgls Drug In Slurgta Erickson's Drug la Spearfish) Belle Fourche Round-Up Office..