Carl Gunderson: 11th Governor of South Dakota

The man who ended Gunderson's governorship came to the race as a substitute. In August 1924 the Democratic nominee, Andrew S. Anderson, was killed by a bull on his farm, and the party's central committee named William J. Bulow, a former mayor of Beresford, in his place. Gunderson beat him that November, 109,894 votes to 46,663. The 1926 rematch went the other way, 87,136 to 74,101, with Farmer-Labor and independent candidates splitting the rest, and Bulow became the first Democrat to serve as governor of South Dakota. He won again in 1928 and later served two Senate terms.

What the plaque says

Carl Gunderson: 11th Governor of South Dakota Carl Gunderson was born June 20, 1864 on his family's homestead near Vermillion. He graduated from the University of South Dakota in 1890. Gunderson farmed in Clay and Aurora counties and was a leader of the Wheat Growers Association. He was also a federal Indian allotting agent and located the town sites of Timber Lake, Eagle Butte, and Dupree, giving each its name. Gunderson served five terms in the State Senate between 1892 and 1918. He moved to Mitchell in 1918 and was elected Lieutenant Governor in 1920. In 1924, he was elected Governor, signaling the end of the state's Progressive Era. Taking office amidst a struggling agricultural economy, Gunderson cut spending and emphasized a conservative budget approach. Despite this, he increased spending on higher education and signed legislation allowing commodity marketing associations. Gunderson was defeated for reelection in 1926 and returned to Mitchell. After two unsuccessful campaigns to return to the Governor's office, he died on February 16, 1933 in Mitchell. He was interred at Bluff View Cemetery in Vermillion near his uncle, Governor Andrew E. Lee. Carl Gunderson was a South Dakota farmer who offered steady leadership during a difficult time.

Where it stands

Worth the stop nearby

• Corn Palace — steps away
  The last survivor of more than thirty corn palaces built across the Midwest, a basketball arena with domes by a Chicago theater firm, covered every year in new murals of corn.
• Mitchell Prehistoric Indian Village — 1.8 mi
  A fortified farming village of about seventy earth lodges above Firesteel Creek a thousand years ago, ancestral to the Mandan, still being excavated under a dome.

More markers nearby

• Old Mill Stone — 0.9 mi
• Indian Medicine Tree — 1.2 mi
• Firesteel — 2.5 mi
• Original Site of New Home Lutheran Church — 8.3 mi