KELO-Land Centennial Gold Rush

KELO-Land Centennial Gold Rush (HM28FI)

Location: Iroquois, SD 57353 Kingsbury County
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Country: United States of America
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N 44° 22.103', W 97° 42.923'

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Inscription

1961

Dakota Territory was created in 1861 and got its first big impetus in 1874 when gold was confirmed in the Black Hills by General Custer. A hundred years later on August 27, 1961, a gold rush was created by Joe Floyd's KELO-LAND TV and Radio stations and the Dakota Territory Centennial Commission.
1439 capsules were planted in a 200'x 300' gold field. 1439 'prospectors' armed with gold shovels, won in a summer-long contest conducted by the KELO-LAND Stations, entered the gold field to dig for $35.000 in cash and merchandise prizes. In a separate field, governors of the 50 states or their substitutes dug on behalf of charity for $3500.
On a signal from bandleader Lawrence Welk, the diggers unearthed their capsules and rushed for the 'assay office' to claim their prizes. First prize of $10,000 was won by Mrs. Floyd Carlon of Sioux Falls. More than 150,000 people, the largest crowd in the state's history, witnessed the "Gold Rush of 1961".
Governor Archie Gubbrud, Senator Francis Case, Senator Karl Mundt, Representative Ben Reifel, former governor Joe Foss and other dignitaries attended. Climax of the Dakota Territorial Centennial year, the event also included a Square Dance Festival, Amateur Talent
Show, Boy Scout Camporee, Carnival, Fireworks Display, and appearances by TV stars Yogi Bear,



Huckleberry Hound, Paul Brinegar and Clint Eastwood.
Details
HM NumberHM28FI
Tags
Year Placed1964
Placed ByKELO Television Stations and State Highway Commission
Marker ConditionNo reports yet
Date Added Wednesday, June 13th, 2018 at 4:04pm PDT -07:00
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Locationbig map
UTM (WGS84 Datum)14T E 602353 N 4913592
Decimal Degrees44.36838333, -97.71538333
Degrees and Decimal MinutesN 44° 22.103', W 97° 42.923'
Degrees, Minutes and Seconds44° 22' 6.1800000000001" N, 97° 42' 55.38" W
Driving DirectionsGoogle Maps
Area Code(s)605
Which side of the road?Marker is on the right when traveling East
Closest Postal AddressAt or near 42462 US-14, Iroquois SD 57353, US
Alternative Maps Google Maps, MapQuest, Bing Maps, Yahoo Maps, MSR Maps, OpenCycleMap, MyTopo Maps, OpenStreetMap

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