The Trail of Governors is series of life-size bronze statues of former governors of South Dakota in

Pierre Pierre is a masculine given name. It is a French form of the name Peter. Pierre originally meant "rock" or "stone" in French (derived from the Greek word πέτρος (''petros'') meaning "stone, rock", via Latin "petra"). It is a translation ...

, the state capital. After installing its first statues in 2012, the project completed its goal of placing statues of every former governor ten years later with the 2022 unveiling. Future governors, beginning with incumbent Governor Kristi Noem, will be added after they leave office. Sculptors who have created statues for the project include

John Lopez John Lopez (born July 16, 1971) is an American sculptor known for his life-size hybrid metal sculptures made out of discarded farm equipment and bronze. He is equally known for his 12 life-size presidential monuments made for The City of p ...

, James Van Nuys, James Michael Maher, Lee Leuning and Sherry Treeby. Statues have been added to the trail since 2012: * 2012: The trail's first statues portrayed

Arthur C. Mellette Arthur Calvin Mellette (June 23, 1842 – May 25, 1896) was the last Governor of Dakota Territory, the first Governor of the State of South Dakota, and an American Civil War veteran. He is the namesake of Mellette, South Dakota, and Mellette ...

Harlan J. Bushfield Harlan John Bushfield (August 6, 1882September 27, 1948) was an American politician from South Dakota. He served as the 16th governor of South Dakota and as a United States senator. A native of Iowa, Bushfield was raised in Miller, South Dakot ...

and

Walter Dale Miller Walter Dale "Walt" Miller (October 5, 1925 – September 28, 2015) was an American politician and member of the Republican Party. He served as the 29th Governor of South Dakota from 1993 to 1995, having assumed the office upon the death of Geor ...

. * 2013: Statues were added of

Frank Farrar Frank Leroy Farrar (April 2, 1929 – October 31, 2021) was an American politician who was the 24th governor of South Dakota. A Republican from Britton, he served as the state's attorney general from 1963 to 1969, and as governor from 1969 to ...

Harvey Wollman Harvey Lowell Wollman (May 14, 1935 – October 18, 2022) was an American politician who served as the 26th Governor of South Dakota from 1978 to 1979. He was the first Lieutenant Governor in the history of South Dakota to succeed to the govern ...

and

William J. Janklow William John Janklow (September 13, 1939January 12, 2012) was an American lawyer and politician and member of the Republican Party who holds the record for the longest tenure as Governor of South Dakota: sixteen years in office. Janklow had the t ...

. * 2014: In conjunction with celebrations of the South Dakota's 125th anniversary of statehood, the trail added statues of Robert S. Vessey, Peter Norbeck and

George S. Mickelson George Speaker Mickelson (January 31, 1941April 19, 1993) was an American politician and Vietnam War veteran who served as the 28th governor of South Dakota from 1987 until his death in 1993 in a plane crash near Zwingle, Iowa. His father, Ge ...

. * 2015: New statues were added portraying

Charles N. Herreid Charles Nelson Herreid (October 20, 1857 – July 6, 1928) was the fourth Governor of South Dakota. Biography Charles Herreid was born in Dane County, Wisconsin. His parents, Nels Olson Herreid (1832–1902) and Thone Kittelson Herreid (1833� ...

George T. Mickelson George Theodore Mickelson (July 23, 1903 – February 28, 1965) was an American lawyer, 16th Attorney General of South Dakota and 18th Governor of South Dakota, and a United States district judge of the United States District Court for the Distri ...

and

Richard F. Kneip Richard Francis Kneip (January 7, 1933March 9, 1987) was an American diplomat and politician who served as the 25th governor of South Dakota from 1971 until 1978 and the 6th United States Ambassador to the Republic of Singapore. He was a member ...

. * 2016: The trail added statues of Warren E. Green,

Nils Boe Nils Andreas Boe (September 10, 1913 – July 30, 1992) was an American attorney who served as the 23rd Governor of South Dakota from 1965 to 1969. He served as a judge of the United States Customs Court, later the United States Court of Interna ...

and M. Michael Rounds. * 2017: Four statues were added to the trail, portraying Tom Berry,

Leslie Jensen Leslie Jensen (September 15, 1892 – December 14, 1964) was an American businessman and politician who served as the 15th Governor of South Dakota. Early life and military career Leslie Jensen was born in Hot Springs, South Dakota. In 1916 ...

Sigurd Anderson Sigurd Anderson (January 22, 1904December 21, 1990) was the 19th Governor of South Dakota. Anderson, a Republican from Webster, South Dakota, served in that office from 1951 to 1955. Early life and education Anderson was born at Frolands Ver ...

and Joe Foss. * 2018: Statues of

William H. McMaster William Henry McMaster (May 10, 1877September 14, 1968) was an American Republican politician who served as the tenth Governor of South Dakota, serving from 1921 until 1925. He also served as a member of the United States Senate from South Dako ...

Merrell Q. Sharpe Merrell Quentin Sharpe (January 11, 1888 – January 22, 1962) was an American politician from Kennebec, South Dakota. Affiliated with the Republican Party, Sharpe was the attorney general of South Dakota from 1929 through 1933, and governor of S ...

and

Ralph Herseth Ralph Edmund Herseth (July 2, 1909 – January 24, 1969) was the 21st Governor of South Dakota from January 6, 1959 to January 3, 1961. He was a Democrat and was the patriarch of the prominent Herseth family of South Dakota. Early life and edu ...

were added to the trail. * 2019: The trail added statues of

Samuel H. Elrod Samuel Harrison Elrod (May 1, 1856 – July 13, 1935) was an American attorney and the List of governors of South Dakota, fifth Governor of South Dakota. Elrod, a United States Republican Party, Republican from Clark, South Dakota, served from 1 ...

, Archie M. Gubbrud and

Dennis Daugaard Dennis Martin Daugaard (born June 11, 1953) is an American attorney and politician who served as the 32nd governor of South Dakota from 2011 to 2019. A member of the Republican Party, he was the first chief executive of a U.S. state to be the c ...

. * 2021: Statues of

Charles H. Sheldon Charles Henry Sheldon (September 12, 1840October 20, 1898) was the second Governor of South Dakota. Biography Charles Henry Sheldon was born in Johnson, Vermont, the third of four children of Gresham and Mary (Brown) Sheldon. After the death ...

Coe I. Crawford Coe Isaac Crawford (January 14, 1858 – April 25, 1944) was an American attorney and politician from South Dakota. He served as the sixth Governor and as a U.S. Senator. Biography A native of Volney, Iowa, Crawford graduated from the Universi ...

and

Carl Gunderson Carl Gunderson (June 20, 1864February 26, 1933)''Biographical Directory of the South Dakota Legislature, 1889–1989'' (1989), p. 400 was an American politician who served as the 11th Governor of South Dakota. Gunderson, a Republican from Mit ...

were unveiled, following a one-year delay due to the

COVID-19 pandemic The COVID-19 pandemic, also known as the coronavirus pandemic, is an ongoing global pandemic of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2). The novel virus was first identif ...

. * 2022: The trail completed its initial placement of statues, adding Andrew E. Lee,

Frank M. Byrne Frank Morris Byrne (October 23, 1858December 24, 1927) was an American businessman and politician who served as the eighth Governor of South Dakota. Biography Byrne was born near Volney, Iowa to Irish immigrants, Michael and Delia (Hart) Byrne ...

and William J. Bulow.

References

External links

Trail of Governors
{{coord missing, South Dakota Monuments and memorials in South Dakota Governor of South Dakota