Tom Berry 1879-1951

The bronze says Berry called for a less expensive government, and he campaigned in 1932 with an axe in his hand to make the point. In office he became the only governor in the country to direct the New Deal relief programs in his own state, sending federal money into hundreds of stock dams under the slogan No work, no eat. The new sources of revenue the bronze mentions were a gross income tax in place of the state property tax, itself replaced by a sales tax.

What the plaque says

Tom Berry 1879-1951 The 14th Governor of South Dakota serving two terms, 1933-1937. Tom Berry was the first of three Governors elected from West of the Missouri River since statehood in 1889. Berry with his wife, Lorena McLain, (1879-1963), are buried in the family plot in the Belvidere Cemetery 1/2 mile north of this marker. The Tom Berry Family settled on a homestead ranch along Black Pipe Creek, 15 miles south of Belvidere, near the former Washabaugh-Mellette county line. Their immediate family were Baxter and Lyndall Berry; Nell and Burrell Phipps; Faye and Ralph Jones and Paul and Elaine Berry. Berry assumed office as Governor in the grip of drought and grasshoppers in the 1930's. He called for a less expensive government and by 1935 new sources of revenue had been enacted to ease the strain of the Depression. He was one of the state's most colorful cattlemen and was known for his western humor. Berry was one of the leaders of the South Dakota Stockgrowers Association and of the Cowboys of 1902. He continually pushed for conservation of grass in the West River and improvement of cattle breeds in the area. Tom Berry had implicit faith in the West River as a cattle country and was a strong advocate of law enforcement. This marker made possible in 1986 by the Tom Berry family; the South Dakota State Historical Society; and the South Dakota Department of Transportation. Text (c) by Esther Serr.

Where it stands

More markers nearby

• Town of Midland — 17 mi