Images of the Past

Did you know that in the late 1950s, the first modern hot air balloon was designed and built in Sioux Falls, South Dakota? SDPB dives into the history of modern ballooning and Raven Industries.

This video, from the SDPB archives, was made by the South Dakota Travel Division of the Department of Highways and features many popular tourist spots in the state.

The rise of railroad transportation in the Black Hills began in the 1880s. This video from the SDPB archives gives the early history of the railroads.

Box Elder, South Dakota is home to Ellsworth Airforce Base which was the base to the 44th Missile Wing until 1994.

Box Elder, South Dakota, is home to Ellsworth Air Force Base, which underwent many changes between 1942 and 1957.

Amateur film of a family vacation circa 1940s showing the Badlands, Black Hills, and Mount Rushmore in South Dakota.

Gary Enright of the 1881 Courthouse Museum shares with us the story of Sarah "Aunt Sally" Campbell who was born a slave but became a property owner and a successful entrepreneur during the Black Hills gold rush.

With Mount Rushmore as a backdrop, President Dwight Eisenhower addressed the South Dakota Young Republicans League on June 11, 1953.

From the late 1940s until the mid-1950s, WNAX radio in Yankton brought the experience of a South Dakota barn dance to listeners all over the upper Midwest.

The Big Bend dam on the Missouri River near Fort Thompson, South Dakota, was the last-built of the six great Missouri River dams. This film, likely shown on tours at the dam, describes the dam's construction and purpose.