Images of the Past

If you happen to be in Watertown this summer you might want to visit the historic Mellette House on the city's near west side. The house is a restored architectural gem built by South Dakota's first governor in 1885.The rise and fall of Arthur C. Mellette's political career mirrors the fate of his grand mansion. Both were symbols of great success and both fell to ruin.

Early Deadwood's reputation as a raucous and unlawful place in the 1870s is well known and much deserved, but another of Dakota Territory's first towns was just as wild.

As one of the first towns in Dakota Territory, Vermillion had a prominent role in the early territorial settlement of the Missouri River basin. But it all came to an end in the Spring of 1881. On today's Images of the Past we'll have a look at how a natural disaster wiped out the town and forced residents to choose between abandoning what was left or rebuilding from scratch. Joining me now is Art Rusch, a retired judge, state senator, and author of "Vermillion Before the Flood," an article published a few years back in the South Dakota State Historical Society journal.

In today's Images of the Past, a look at the very early settlement days of Sioux Falls and the counties along the eastern edge of the South Dakota-Minnesota border.

South Dakota Magazine Managing Editor John Andrews remembers Bob Hanson's passion for history and looks for a "smoking gun" that could reveal a century old conspiracy.

Art installations in long-term care facilities reach into history to help residents reclaim memory and meaning. Kim Brakke with Edgewood Health joins us for this episode of "Images of the Past."

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