Images of the Past

In this rare 1962 film from South Dakota Public Broadcasting's archives, we listen as writer, poet and ethnographer John G. Neihardt reads from his book, "Black Elk Speaks".

Excerpts from the 1992 documentary "The Men Who Made Rushmore" combine film shot during the carving of Mount Rushmore with interviews of workers fifty years after the project came to an end.

Although a number of events and issues influenced and altered Borglum's original vision, the main determiner of what would finally be cut into the granite was the mountain itself. Cracks and other "flaws" in the rock forced certain decisions about what could be done and what could not be.

In this 1962 clip of The American Sportsman Host Curt Gowdy is in Howard, South Dakota, hunting with actor Robert Stack and WWII heroes Joe Foss and General James Dolittle.

World War II hero and former South Dakota governor Joe Foss offers some pheasant hunting safety tips in this clip from a 1962 episode of "The American Sportsman" filmed near Howard, South Dakota.

Film produced by the Chicago and Northwestern Railroad as a tourism promotion shows people on horseback rounding-up the Custer State Park Buffalo herd in 1938.

This archival video shows the 1991 Custer State Park Buffalo Roundup, attended by then Governor George S. Mickelson.

Warm springs in and around the town of Hot Springs, South Dakota, have been drawing tourists to the region since the 1880s.

In downtown Rapid City, South Dakota, you can see giant creatures on a ridge of sandstone at the top of a hill. It’s one of the area’s original tourist attractions – Dinosaur Park. So how did those dinos get there?

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.