Fisher Grove

The bronze gives Drifting Goose one clause. Magabobdu, born about 1821, led the Hunkpati Yanktonai for some 45 years, and from 1840 about 300 of his people lived in old earth lodges on Armadale Island, a few miles north of this grove. A presidential order of June 1879 set aside a reservation along the river; President Hayes rescinded it a year later, and the band went to Crow Creek on the Missouri. He died about 1909 and lies at Stephan. Since 2011 the SD 20 bridge over the James has carried his name.

What the plaque says

Fisher Grove 1/2 Mi. North Before white settlers came, this vicinity was inhabited by the Yankton tribe of the Sioux nation and numerous reminders of these people can still be seen in the burial mounds, storage cellars and artifacts that have been found. Fisher Grove was established in 1878. Frank I. Fisher, a lawyer from Indiana, stopped here while traveling down the James River. On the bank of the James, vestiges of an old wagon trail denotes the point as Fisher's Ford, later known as Belcher's Ford. Here the rocky bottom in the river afforded a crossing spot for Indians and settlers wagons. Here, too, was built a large sod barn for the stage- coach line operated by Fred Rodgers which was on the direct route from Pierre to Watertown. Rodgers also operated the first post office here from 1879 until 1883 when it was later moved to nearby Frankfort (named after Frank's Ford). A sequence of events, including the move of Drifting Goose and his band to a reservation, brought the white man in greater numbers to the area. Fisher Grove became a state park in 1946. One of the first rural schools in Spink County, built in 1884, was moved to the park in 1961. Erected 1969 by Spink County Parks Ass'n & State Historical Society

Where it stands

More markers nearby

• In Recognition of World War I Veterans — 7.8 mi
• Abbie Gardner — 8.1 mi
• Council Rock — 8.1 mi
• Pheasant History — 8.1 mi