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East Sioux Falls was a city located in southeastern
The quarried stone was cut into building stones and paving blocks and shipped to construction projects throughout the country. The pink quartzite was superior in quality to other stones and possessed a coloring which was extremely delicate and pleasing to the eye. The stone was used in the construction of several Sioux Falls buildings including the Old Courthouse Museum, old post office (now the Federal Courthouse), Carnegie public library, and Pettigrew Home & Museum. Historical records show that hundreds of miles of roads in the larger cities of the west were paved with quartzite blocks cut at the East Sioux Falls quarries.
The city felt the impact of a slowing economy in 1891 and economic problems mounted with the depression of 1893. The tough economic times of the 1890s pushed the Sioux Falls Granite Company into bankruptcy and the property was acquired by George H. Perry who operated the East Sioux Falls Quarry Company for a time. By the turn of the century, concrete had taken the place of stone as a building material. These events contributed to the out migration of residents from East Sioux Falls and forced the city to give up its charter in 1913. People continued to reside in the community until the last few structures were demolished in the late 1980s.
Minnehaha County
Minnehaha County is a county on the eastern border of the state of South Dakota. As of the 2020 census, the population was 197,214, making it the state's most populous county. It contains over 20% of the state's population. Its county seat is S ...
, South Dakota
South Dakota (; Sioux language, Sioux: , ) is a U.S. state in the West North Central states, North Central region of the United States. It is also part of the Great Plains. South Dakota is named after the Lakota people, Lakota and Dakota peo ...
located about 6 miles east of Sioux Falls
Sioux Falls () is the most populous city in the U.S. state of South Dakota and the 130th-most populous city in the United States. It is the county seat of Minnehaha County and also extends into Lincoln County to the south, which continues up t ...
along South Dakota Highway 42
South Dakota Highway 42 (SD 42) is a segmented state highway in southeastern South Dakota, United States. The first segment is a highway in Aurora County. The second and longest is long and connects Ethan and Sioux Falls. The final segm ...
on the Big Sioux River
The Big Sioux River is a tributary of the Missouri River in eastern South Dakota and northwestern Iowa in the United States. It flows generally southwardly for ,U.S. Geological Survey. National Hydrography Dataset high-resolution flowline dataTh ...
.
History
During the 1880s, the quarrying of a distinctive pink stone known as jasper or quartzite had developed into a successful business in Sioux Falls. In 1887, the Sioux Falls Granite Company opened four quarries six miles due east of downtown Sioux Falls in Split Rock Township. This area had an abundance of quartzite along the bluffs overlooking the Big Sioux River and exposure to the Earth's surface ensured that the stone could be easily mined. Hundreds of workers and their families settled in a nearby community known at the time as Ives. In 1888, Sioux Falls officials convinced theIllinois Central Railroad
The Illinois Central Railroad , sometimes called the Main Line of Mid-America, was a railroad in the Central United States, with its primary routes connecting Chicago, Illinois, with New Orleans, Louisiana, and Mobile, Alabama. A line also co ...
to extend the tracks west from Iowa and through the city.
Influenced by the mining, the rail line was routed past the Split Rock quarries, opening markets for the stone in metropolitan cities such as Chicago.
Railroad officials named the depot East Sioux Falls, replacing Ives in the historical records. By 1890, the community had grown to over 600 residents which led to the incorporation of East Sioux Falls as a municipality.
Numerous structures were built in East Sioux Falls including worker's cottages, post office, town hall, depot, school house, general store, hotel, grain elevator, stable, saloons and jail. The remains of several buildings are still visible within the nature area.
The quarried stone was cut into building stones and paving blocks and shipped to construction projects throughout the country. The pink quartzite was superior in quality to other stones and possessed a coloring which was extremely delicate and pleasing to the eye. The stone was used in the construction of several Sioux Falls buildings including the Old Courthouse Museum, old post office (now the Federal Courthouse), Carnegie public library, and Pettigrew Home & Museum. Historical records show that hundreds of miles of roads in the larger cities of the west were paved with quartzite blocks cut at the East Sioux Falls quarries.
The city felt the impact of a slowing economy in 1891 and economic problems mounted with the depression of 1893. The tough economic times of the 1890s pushed the Sioux Falls Granite Company into bankruptcy and the property was acquired by George H. Perry who operated the East Sioux Falls Quarry Company for a time. By the turn of the century, concrete had taken the place of stone as a building material. These events contributed to the out migration of residents from East Sioux Falls and forced the city to give up its charter in 1913. People continued to reside in the community until the last few structures were demolished in the late 1980s.
References
{{coord, 43, 31, 39, N, 96, 39, 07, W, type:city_region:US-SD_source:GNIS-enwiki, display=title Geography of Minnehaha County, South Dakota Ghost towns in South Dakota Company towns in the United States