Medary First Townsite Dakota Territory

Both the 1929 granite and the 2021 plaque put Medary in Dakota Territory in 1857, four years before there was one. Congress created Dakota Territory on March 2, 1861; in 1857 this ground lay in Minnesota Territory, which ran to the Missouri, and when Minnesota became a state on May 11, 1858 it was left unorganized. The panel's platters run in a family line: C. H. Stearns platted the town in 1857 and chaired the county's first nominating convention on this same corner in 1877, and H. I. Stearns, a delegate that year, laid the 1929 cornerstone.

What the plaque says

Medary first townsite Dakota Territory 1857 This town site was platted by H. N. Urmy John Bippus C. H. Stearns Erected by Dakota pioneers and their posterity 1929 Medary Monument Erected 1929 Rededicated July 18, 2021 The Medary Monument was built in 1929 to commemorate the location of the town of Medary, the first town site in the Dakota Territory 1857-1859 and 1871-1879. It was through the efforts of the early Tri-County Pioneers and the local Daughters of the American Revolution that this 17-foot shaft monument was originally erected, made of South Dakota stones and concrete. The contract was let to the Wold-Mark Construction Company. On July 18, 1929 the dedication program was held on the site during the 50th anniversary celebration for the City of Brookings. H.I. Stearns laid the cornerstone, and Governor William J. Bulow addressed the pioneers at the dedication ceremony. In 2015, the Medary Chapter NSDAR began working to restore the monument that had fallen into disrepair after finding out that the founders of their chapter were instrumental in its original construction. After years of fundraising and historical research, the reconstruction work was completed by the Niklason Construction Company on September 4, 2020. The monument and land officially became the property of Brookings County and the Commissioners oversaw the reconstruction project. The Medary Chapter NSDAR planted a garden of wildflowers indigenous to this area. There are still descendants of those first pioneers living in the area of "Old Medary."

Where it stands

More markers nearby

• First Convention in Brookings County — steps away
• Medary Townsite — steps away
• Brookings County / Moody County — 1.0 mi
• Hagensick's Resort — 3.9 mi