Local Lou

The Cataract hotel starts as the Cataract House in 1871 and it holds 14 rooms and is two stories. Its a big deal it is the nicest place to stay in the area clean beds with no bugs, at least according to advertisements.  Come along as we explore the history of The Cataract in Downtown Sioux Falls, South Dakota.

Looking Back: Cataract Hotel gone too soon 

Have you ever wondered: What is the oldest building in Sioux Falls? 

William Henry “Harry” Corson (1836-1910) - Find a Grave Memorial 

The story of how Thomas and Jennie McMartin’s dream home, designed by Wallace Dow, would become The Pettigrew Home and Museum. 131 N Duluth Ave was donated to the City of Sioux Falls as a museum almost 100 years ago by R.F. Pettigrew. The Pettigrew Home and Museum continues to have tours and events showing off the restored and preserved home along with artifacts.  

⁠⁠Pettigrew Home & Museum⁠⁠ 

⁠History of South Dakota - Google Books⁠ 

⁠Minnehaha County - South Dakota Genealogy⁠ 

⁠Thomas Bell McMartin (1857-1919) - Find a Grave Memorial⁠ 

⁠Woodlawn Cemetery⁠ 

⁠Photos of Richard Franklin Pettigrew - Find a Grave Memorial⁠ 

Director Brad Dumke was kind enough to stop by Lou-Land to chat about his documentary Badger Clark: Poet Among the Pines. I had such a great time talking with Brad during a Q&A with him after a showing of his documentary at the Vortex Film Festival this summer in Vermillion, South Dakota that I just knew you guys would love to hear all the fun tidbits too!

Don't worry if you haven't seen the documentary, links are below.

The details of the moving of this cemetery just might keep me up at night. Come along as we head to an historic church and cemetery in Dell Rapids and get to know a little of the history while reading the Willow Creek Lutheran Church historical marker.

https://www.localloupodcast.com

⁠Willow Creek Lutheran Church Historical Marker (hmdb.org)⁠ 

⁠Samuel K. Ducken (1846-1921) - Find a Grave Memorial⁠ 

Siouxland renowned former morning radio talk show host Tasha and I get to chat history while going over the gruesome details of a possible haunting at the Goss Opera House in Watertown South Dakota. Check out Talkin with Tasha for a longer version of our chat with much more pop culture references, side quests, and accidental musings on grief.

On May 13, 1912, amidst a flood of the Big Sioux River, four young men from Sioux Falls dared to take a canoe and rowboat over the Cascade Mill Dam. While two of the men, Guy Beck and Mat Yost managed to succeed, John Meehan and Will Dahl capsized. After being rescued by Beck and Yost, their rowboat was overturned by the powerful current, resulting in a terrifying cycle of the men being swept both upstream and downstream by the dam's hydraulic forces. Over 2,500 onlookers witnessed the preventable drownings.

History of Southeastern Dakota - Google Books 

Sioux Falls - Google Books 

History of Minnehaha County, South Dakota - Google Books 

Big Sioux crests at record level as flooding persists in southeast SD | sodakpb (sdpb.org) 

History of Southeastern Dakota - Google Books 

Sioux Falls - Google Books 

History of Minnehaha County, South Dakota - Google Books 

Big Sioux crests at record level as flooding persists in southeast SD | sodakpb (sdpb.org) 

Valley Springs, South Dakota isn't too far from Sioux Falls, just about 20 miles East. The town also has some unique history like how long time resident Adeline M Jenney would be named South Dakota’s second Poet Laureate. You can imagine my surprise when I read that along with an excerpt from a poem of hers on the historical marker itself. I guess I am just in my South Dakota Poet Laureate phase with historical markers.

Valley Springs also was ravaged by a tornado, twice! Check out the episode for more.

An Anthology of South Dakota Poetry - Google Books 

vol-36-no-4-dakota-images-adeline-m-jenney.pdf (sdhspress.com) 

Valley Springs Historical Marker (hmdb.org) 

The Town of Valley Springs Historical Marker (hmdb.org) 

History of Minnehaha County, South Dakota - Google Books 

Valley Springs, South Dakota - Wikipedia 

History of Valley Springs - Valley Springs, SD (cityofvalleysprings.com) 

A South Dakota Guide - Google Books 

History of Minnehaha County, South Dakota - Google Books 

We are going to get to know South Dakota's first poet Laureate Badger Clark through historical markers located in Custer and Faith, South Dakota. Its a tale of tuberculosis and poetry...

Leaving Prints on the Pages of History Historical Marker (hmdb.org) 

Everyone has a Beginning Historical Marker (hmdb.org) 

Charles Badger Clark Jr. (1883-1957) - Find a Grave Memorial 

Frequently Asked Questions - U.S. State Poets Laureate: A Resource Guide - Research Guides at Library of Congress (loc.gov) 

Poet laureate | Literary Title, History & Role | Britannica 

Authors: Clark Badger (sorted by popularity) - Project Gutenberg 

Small Town / Badger Clark Historical Marker (hmdb.org) 

“The Badger Hole” Historical Marker (hmdb.org) 

Charles Badger Clark - Wikipedia 

Saddle Up With Badger Clark, America's Forgotten Cowboy Poet | Smithsonian (smithsonianmag.com) 

Badger Clark Biography : Badger Clark : South Dakota Historical Society Foundation (sdhsf.org) 

Cowboy Poetry, Classic Rhymes & Prose by Badger Clark - Google Books 

Personal Reminiscence (archive.org) 

South Dakota State Historical Society (sd.gov) 

Illinois Arrow - Google Books 

Tuberculosis (who.int) 

Wallner Gardens, was a family farming business founded by F. X. Wallner in 1912 in South Sioux Falls. The farm would close in 1979 after providing vegetables for the community for 67 years. Join Local Lou as she sits down with Robert Wallner Jr. the grandson of F. X. Wallner and learns more about the family business and history of Wallner Gardens.

Check out the Dakota News Now Throwback Thursday segment

This historical marker is located at Yankton Trail Park in Sioux Falls.