The Great Dakota Land Boom took place from the late 1870s through the 1880s. This influx of settlers was driven largely by rapid railroad expansion. In 1878, the first rail service arrived in Sioux Falls and by 1888 it had five lines. The population of Sioux Falls swelled from 356 in 1870 to over 10,000 by 1890.
Completed in 1887, the Illinois Central was the fourth major railroad to come to Sioux Falls. The line went through the quarry town of East Sioux Falls and connected Sioux Falls to Chicago, Illinois, via Cherokee, Iowa. Richard F. Pettigrew, Edwin A. Sherman, and Russell G. Parmley worked together to secure land for the depot and right-of-way for the tracks.
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