Minnesela (

Lakota Lakota may refer to: *Lakota people, a confederation of seven related Native American tribes *Lakota language Lakota ( ), also referred to as Lakhota, Teton or Teton Sioux, is a Siouan languages, Siouan language spoken by the Lakota people of ...

: ''mni šeyéla''; "red water") is a

ghost town A ghost town, deserted city, extinct town, or abandoned city is an abandoned settlement, usually one that contains substantial visible remaining buildings and infrastructure such as roads. A town often becomes a ghost town because the economi ...

and was the first settlement in and

county seat A county seat is an administrative center, seat of government, or capital city of a county or parish (administrative division), civil parish. The term is in use in five countries: Canada, China, Hungary, Romania, and the United States. An equiva ...

Butte County, South Dakota Butte County is a county in the U.S. state of South Dakota. As of the 2020 census, the population was 10,243. Its county seat is Belle Fourche. The county was established in the Dakota Territory on March 2, 1883, and given the descriptive nam ...

, United States. Minnesela was founded in 1882 and was located three miles southeast of present-day Belle Fourche. The railroad's decision to bypass Minnesela and to continue on to Belle Fourche in 1890 caused the town to be abandoned by 1901.

History

Settlement and founding

In 1876,

American pioneer American pioneers, also known as American settlers, were European American,Asian American, and African American settlers who migrated westward from the British Thirteen Colonies and later the United States of America to settle and develop areas ...

John T. "Buckskin Johnny" Spaulding and his brother-in-law Thomas J. Davis built the first home, a two-story

log cabin A log cabin is a small log house, especially a minimally finished or less architecturally sophisticated structure. Log cabins have an ancient history in Europe, and in America are often associated with first-generation home building by settl ...

, two and a half miles southeast of present-day Belle Fourche. It was constructed from logs felled in the

Black Hills The Black Hills is an isolated mountain range rising from the Great Plains of North America in western South Dakota and extending into Wyoming, United States. Black Elk Peak, which rises to , is the range's highest summit. The name of the range ...

between Crook City and

Deadwood Deadwood may refer to: Places Canada * Deadwood, Alberta * Deadwood, British Columbia * Deadwood River, a tributary of the Dease River in northern British Columbia United States * Deadwood, California (disambiguation), several communit ...

; the logs were then hauled to the site. The house was made up of a living room, parlor, kitchen, children's room, and a main bedroom. This cabin housed Spaulding; Davis; Davis's wife, Lucinda; and the Davis' children. During the next five years,

homesteaders The Homestead Acts were several laws in the United States by which an applicant could acquire ownership of government land or the public domain, typically called a homestead. In all, more than of public land, or nearly 10 percent of t ...

gradually settled the area. After Spaulding left, his cabin was used by many settlers in the area until the late 1930s. Minnesela was plotted in 1881 by D. T. Harrison and Azby Chouteau. In early 1882, after the population of the area reached 100, the community decided to build the town on the east bank of

Redwater River The Redwater River is a tributary of the Missouri River, approximately 110 mi (177 km), in eastern Montana in the United States. It rises in on the northern slope of the Big Sheep Mountains, in northwestern Prairie County, and flows ...

, at a location one-half mile south of Spaulding's cabin. Founders of Minnesela on the Minnesela Hotel in 1889

Growth

In 1882, Minnesela became the county seat of Butte County. The town flourished, and by 1883, its residents had built a post office, two saloons, about six stores, Commercial Club, school,

Methodist Methodism, also called the Methodist movement, is a Protestant Christianity, Christian Christian tradition, tradition whose origins, doctrine and practice derive from the life and teachings of John Wesley. George Whitefield and John's brother ...

church, bank, hotel, and flour mill. The school was built from the Minnesela jail. Minnesela had two newspapers, one of which was known as the ''Butte County Star''. The cemetery, which has 102 interments, was created in 1887 to the north of the town. Because it was then the only town on the prairies just north of the

, Minnesela was an ideal place for a trade center. Minneselans called their town "the future

metropolis A metropolis () is a large city or conurbation which is a significant economic, political, and cultural area for a country or region, and an important hub for regional or international connections, commerce, and communications. A big city b ...

of the Black Hills and the midland city of the United States" and the "coming

Chicago Chicago is the List of municipalities in Illinois, most populous city in the U.S. state of Illinois and in the Midwestern United States. With a population of 2,746,388, as of the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, it is the List of Unite ...

of the Midwest."

Decline and disband

Seth Bullock Seth Bullock (July 23, 1849 – September 23, 1919) was a Canadian-American frontiersman, business proprietor, politician, sheriff, and U.S. Marshal. He was a prominent citizen in Deadwood, South Dakota, where he lived from 1876 until his death, ...

and his business partner,

Sol Star Solomon Star (December 20, 1840 – October 10, 1917) was a Jewish American businessman and politician notable as an early resident of the town of Deadwood, South Dakota. Life and career Star was born in Bavaria, Germany, to Jewish parents ...

, moved into the area and built the SB Ranch at the confluence of the

and the

Belle Fourche River The Belle Fourche River (pronounced ''bel FOOSH''; ) is a tributary of the Cheyenne River, approximately long, in the U.S. states of Wyoming and South Dakota. It is part of the Mississippi River watershed via the Cheyenne and Missouri rivers ...

in 1879. This ranch grew to become famous throughout the West for its

thoroughbred The Thoroughbred is a list of horse breeds, horse breed developed for Thoroughbred racing, horse racing. Although the word ''thoroughbred'' is sometimes used to refer to any breed of purebred horse, it technically refers only to the Thorough ...

trotting horse Harness racing is a form of horse racing in which the horses race at a specific gait (a trot or a pace). They usually pull a two-wheeled cart called a sulky, spider, or chariot occupied by a driver. In Europe, and less frequently in Australia an ...

breeding Breeding is sexual reproduction that produces offspring, usually animals or plants. It can only occur between a male and a female animal or plant. Breeding may refer to: * Animal husbandry, through selected specimens such as dogs, horses, and rab ...

, and in the spring of 1881, Bullock planted the first crop of

alfalfa Alfalfa () (''Medicago sativa''), also called lucerne, is a perennial plant, perennial flowering plant in the legume family Fabaceae. It is cultivated as an important forage crop in many countries around the world. It is used for grazing, hay, ...

in the Western United States. In 1884, the

Marquis de Mores A marquess (; ) is a nobleman of high hereditary rank in various European peerages and in those of some of their former colonies. The German-language equivalent is Markgraf (margrave). A woman with the rank of a marquess or the wife (or widow) ...

created a

stage line A stagecoach (also: stage coach, stage, road coach, ) is a four-wheeled public transport coach used to carry paying passengers and light packages on journeys long enough to need a change of horses. It is strongly sprung and generally drawn by f ...

in order to connect

Deadwood, South Dakota Deadwood (Lakota: ''Owáyasuta''; "To approve or confirm things") is a city that serves as the county seat of Lawrence County, South Dakota, United States. It was named by early settlers after the dead trees found in its gulch. The city had its ...

to the

Northern Pacific Railroad The Northern Pacific Railway was an important American transcontinental railroad that operated across the northern tier of the Western United States, from Minnesota to the Pacific Northwest between 1864 and 1970. It was approved and chartered b ...

, which passed through

Medora, North Dakota Medora (, ) is a city in Billings County, North Dakota, United States. The only incorporated place in Billings County, it is also the county seat. Much of the surrounding area is part of either Little Missouri National Grassland or Theodore Roo ...

. A few shacks, a stage barn, and a saloon were set up on the SB Ranch. The stage line failed after only a few trips, and the line shut down; however, the saloon remained open, to the disapproval of many Minneselan women. The last building on the De Mores station site burned down in 1888. Minnesela experienced severe winter weather; the snow sometimes covered windows 2-stories high. In 1886, a hot, dry summer and a powerful winter

blizzard A blizzard is a severe Winter storm, snowstorm characterized by strong sustained winds and low visibility, lasting for a prolonged period of time—typically at least three or four hours. A ground blizzard is a weather condition where snow th ...

destroyed farmers' crops and ranchers' livestock. By 1887, the Minneselans had turned to the

Fremont, Elkhorn, and Missouri Valley Railroad The Fremont, Elkhorn and Missouri Valley Railroad (FE&MV), sometimes called "the Elkhorn," was a railroad established in 1869 in the state of Nebraska in the Midwestern United States. About The company constructed several lines in Nebraska, incl ...

for expansion. In 1890, the railroad began laying track north of

Whitewood, South Dakota Whitewood is a city in Lawrence County, South Dakota, United States. The population was 879 at the 2020 census. History Whitewood was platted in 1888 when the Chicago and North Western Railway was extended to that point. It took its name from ...

. Minnesela expanded its town site in preparation for the arrival of the railroad, with new land ready for purchase. The new board of trade (established before the

Chamber of Commerce A chamber of commerce, or board of trade, is a form of business network. For example, a local organization of businesses whose goal is to further the interests of businesses. Business owners in towns and cities form these local societies to a ...

) asked Bullock to negotiate with the railroad company on their behalf, to which he agreed. At the meeting, railroad owners said that they wanted donated land and preferred an 80-acre spot south of Minnesela that was open for filing. Resident Douglas Sayre left the meeting and went to

Rapid City Rapid City is the county seat of Pennington County, South Dakota, United States. It is located on the eastern slope of the Black Hills in western South Dakota and was named after Rapid Creek, where the settlement developed. It is the second-mo ...

's land office on his fastest horse. After the meeting, railway right-of-way man T. G. Carter took a

locomotive A locomotive is a rail transport, rail vehicle that provides the motive power for a train. Traditionally, locomotives pulled trains from the front. However, Push–pull train, push–pull operation has become common, and in the pursuit for ...

from Whitewood to Rapid City. Carter met Sayre in the land office and offered Sayre $500 for the land; instead, Sayre laughed and said that his price for the "Golden 80" was climbing over $5,000. By the time Sayre raised it to $10,000, there were no takers.

donated a large amount of land on his ranch to allow the train depot to be built on the former site of the De Mores Station. On August 14, 1890, the last rail between Whitewood and the Middle Creek stockyards was laid, and the railroad began shipping

livestock Livestock are the Domestication, domesticated animals that are raised in an Agriculture, agricultural setting to provide labour and produce diversified products for consumption such as meat, Egg as food, eggs, milk, fur, leather, and wool. The t ...

. Belle Fourche was founded on May 1, 1891. Bullock offered free land to Minneselans and their businesses. Despite the hostility between the two towns' residents, most people accepted, and Belle Fourche grew rapidly. One of the first buildings to move was the Butte County Bank. In 1894, the two towns competed for the county seat. Belle Fourche offered to build a courthouse for free and collected over 100 outside voters. They kept some voters in the town by giving them work; others were kept in town by the saloons. Through this strategy, Belle Fourche won the election for the

. In celebration, a group of

cowboy A cowboy is an animal herder who tends cattle on ranches in North America, traditionally on horseback, and often performs a multitude of other ranch-related tasks. The historic American cowboy of the late 19th century arose from the ''vaquero'' ...

s rode to Minnesela and stole the county books. The Belle Fourche

sheriff A sheriff is a government official, with varying duties, existing in some countries with historical ties to England where the office originated. There is an analogous, although independently developed, office in Iceland, the , which is common ...

returned the books until an official transfer could be made. By 1901, Minnesela was a

Minnesela Butte County Historical Society Monument

Later history and today

In 1957, the town's flour mill was torn down. In 1960, Spaulding's cabin was donated to the

Tri-State Museum Tri-state may refer to: *Tri-State Airport, a public airport located in West Virginia, United States *Tri-state area, an area where three states of the U.S. meet at one point or share a metropolitan area *Tri-State (basketball), the 3-on-3 basketba ...

in Belle Fourche. The house was then remodeled by the

Lions Club Lions Clubs International, is an international service organization, currently headquartered in Oak Brook, Illinois. , it had over 46,000 local clubs and more than 1.4 million members (including the youth wing Leo clubs, Leo) in more than 200 ge ...

, and in 2006, the house was moved to the Tri-State Museum. The house was again remodeled in the spring of 2007, and the cabin opened to the public on June 14, 2007. The Minnesela Hotel is the only building still standing. The townsite is now a small farming community just outside Belle Fourche. In 1999, a sign was placed by the Butte County Historical Society on the former spot of the Minneselan post office and store.

Geography

Minnesela is located on the

Great Plains The Great Plains is a broad expanse of plain, flatland in North America. The region stretches east of the Rocky Mountains, much of it covered in prairie, steppe, and grassland. They are the western part of the Interior Plains, which include th ...

, approximately three miles southeast of Belle Fourche, Butte County,

South Dakota South Dakota (; Sioux language, Sioux: , ) is a U.S. state, 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 Dakota people, Dakota Sioux ...

. It is about 10 miles north of the

. The town was located on the banks of the Lower Redwater River, over which the

Minnesela Bridge The Minnesela Bridge is a historic bridge located in Butte County, South Dakota. Formally known as South Dakota Department of Transportation Bridge No. 10-114-395, it passes over Redwater Creek about southeast of Belle Fourche. It was built in ...

crosses.

Demographics

In 1882, about 100 people were living in Minnesela. The town began its steady population decline in 1891, and by 1901, the town was abandoned.

References

{{Butte County, South Dakota Geography of Butte County, South Dakota Ghost towns in South Dakota Populated places established in 1882 1882 establishments in Dakota Territory Populated places disestablished in 1901 1901 disestablishments in South Dakota