Although there are written accounts of the historic period, archeology has much to offer in bringing the historic past to life. What is Historical Archeology? In many cities there are layers upon layers of history beneath the existing streets and buildings. While much is destroyed, often foundations and features such as cellars, wells and privy pits survive. A wealth of information has been recovered beneath the streets of Deadwood, South Dakota and Des Moines, Iowa for instance. What lies beneath the City of Sioux Falls?
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From Brevet's (1974) South Dakota Historical Markers |
We know from historic records and old photographs that Fort Dakota was located in downtown Sioux Falls, but whether anything remains is unknown.
Link to Discover Historic Sioux Falls - the Web Page of the Sioux Falls Board of Preservation
Another local historic site that has seen recent archeological investigation has been the purported site of the graves of Judge Amidon and his son William.
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In 1989 archeological excavations were undertaken to determine if this actually was the grave site.
Excavations revealed only a mound of recent trash with no evidence for any burials. Later that year a backhoe trench was excavated across the mound and this was closely monitored, but only confirmed that the site was not that of any unmarked graves. Where is Judge Amidon and his son buried? Some people believe in Mount Pleasant cemetery.
Some other local historic sites are shown below:
East of Springdale Church, on the bluffs above the Big Sioux River
is a site identified as the birthplace of the first white child born in
Lincoln County. Enok Lommen, an earlier landowner, constructed the memorial.
Remains of the Frank Raymond Homestead of 1871, consisting of a rock
foundation, a cellar and several rock walls. The cellar is the rebuilt dugout
used by the Frank Raymond family during the winter of 1871. The building
associated with the foundation was burned down in 1984 (information from
Carol Mashek's Historical Survey of the Skunk Creek and Silver Creek Valleys
of Wayne Township).
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