Medary Townsite

Medary Townsite (HM2A46)

Location: Brookings, SD 57006 Brookings County
Buy South Dakota State flags at Flagstore.com!
Country: United States of America
Buy United States of America flags at Flagstore.com!

N 44° 12.625', W 96° 47.237'

  • 0 likes
  • 0 check ins
  • 0 favorites
  • 512 views
Inscription

1857-58 1871-79

The Dakota Land Company of St. Paul, hoping to make this site the capital of a proposed
Dakota Territory, started a town here, naming it for Samuel Medary, Governor of Minnesota
Territory. Towns were also begun at Flandreau and Sioux Falls, the same year, 1857.


The site was settled when the Fort Ridgely and South Pass Wagon Road was built through here
to the Missouri in 1857. Samuel A. Medary, son of the Governor, was the Engineer and Col.
Wm. H. Nobles was its promoter and builder. A rock ford was made over the Big Sioux. The
area of South Dakota east of the Big Sioux was ceded by the Yankton Sioux in 1859.


The Sioux under a Yankton chief, Smutty Bear, regarding the white settlers as trespassers,
determined to drive them away. A warning was sent to the settlers by Dr. Thos. S. Williamson.
Their leader, Franklin J. DeWitt, prepared the settlers to resist but finally agreed to leave
peaceably in June 1858. The Sioux burned their buildings and destroyed their crops. Flandreau
was evacuated and only Sioux Falls remained until the Sioux Uprising in 1862.


In 1869 permanent white settlement began in this vicinity, again known as Medary, with the
Trygstads, Jermstads, and Chris Baltrud. Settlers were of Norwegian and American stock.
Brookings County was created in 1862. Medary was



named as the county seat on Jan. 21, 1871
and so remained until 1879, when most of the stores and houses were moved north 7 miles to
Brookings, as the railroad reached that point.
Details
HM NumberHM2A46
Tags
,
Year Placed1957
Placed ByBrookings County Commissioners and State Highway Commission
Marker ConditionNo reports yet
Date Added Wednesday, August 8th, 2018 at 1:05pm PDT -07:00
Pictures
Sorry, but we don't have a picture of this historical marker yet. If you have a picture, please share it with us. It's simple to do. 1) Become a member. 2) Adopt this historical marker listing. 3) Upload the picture.
Locationbig map
UTM (WGS84 Datum)14T E 676775 N 4897624
Decimal Degrees44.21041667, -96.78728333
Degrees and Decimal MinutesN 44° 12.625', W 96° 47.237'
Degrees, Minutes and Seconds44° 12' 37.5" N, 96° 47' 14.22" W
Driving DirectionsGoogle Maps
Area Code(s)605
Which side of the road?Marker is on the right when traveling South
Closest Postal AddressAt or near 21899 471st Ave, Brookings SD 57006, US
Alternative Maps Google Maps, MapQuest, Bing Maps, Yahoo Maps, MSR Maps, OpenCycleMap, MyTopo Maps, OpenStreetMap

Is this marker missing? Are the coordinates wrong? Do you have additional information that you would like to share with us? If so, check in.

Nearby Markersshow on map
Check Ins  check in   |    all

Have you seen this marker? If so, check in and tell us about it.

Comments 0 comments

Maintenance Issues
  1. Is this marker part of a series?
  2. What historical period does the marker represent?
  3. What historical place does the marker represent?
  4. What type of marker is it?
  5. What class is the marker?
  6. What style is the marker?
  7. Does the marker have a number?
  8. This marker needs at least one picture.
  9. Can this marker be seen from the road?
  10. Is the marker in the median?
© 2024  Historical Marker Project.  All Rights Reserved.
All registered trademarks are the property of their respective owners.
HMP is owned and operated by 3RiverDev (Fort Wayne, Indiana).
Terms and Conditions   |   Privacy Policy   |   Disclaimers   |   About   |   Contact Us