William H. McMaster

The bridge McMaster dedicated carried cars for eighty-four years. It opened as a double-deck toll bridge with a vertical lift span that rose to let river traffic pass beneath. The tolls came off in 1953, when each deck was made one-way, and the lift machinery and counterweights were taken out in the 1980s. The Meridian went on the National Register on June 17, 1993. The Discovery Bridge replaced it for traffic on October 11, 2008, and in November 2011 the old bridge reopened to people on foot and on bicycles only.

What the plaque says

William H. McMaster: U.S. Senator and 10th Governor of South Dakota William McMaster (1877-1968) was a progressive Republican banker and politician who fought for farmers facing hard times. He was also involved in building this Meridian Bridge. Orphaned at 17 in Iowa, he graduated from Beloit College and came to Yankton in 1901 to work as a bank cashier in nearby Gayville. McMaster soon established several area banks. He represented Yankton in the state legislature and as lieutenant governor. Elected Governor in 1920, McMaster led South Dakota through the post-World War I agricultural crisis and suspended foreclosures on state farm loans. He battled monopolistic oil companies by selling fairly-priced fuel at state highway shops. He encouraged construction of bridges over the Missouri River, including Yankton's spirited decision to privately fund and build the Meridian Bridge. Before a crowd of 20,000 on Oct. 16, 1924, he dedicated the Meridian, "in the name of progress, of the great sacrifice of the citizens of Yankton and all their friends who helped..." Elected to the U.S. Senate in 1924, he further aided farmers as the Great Depression arrived. He lost a bid for re-election in 1930 and later moved to Dixon, Ill., where he continued his banking career. He is buried there. Erected by the grateful citizens of Yankton County in the year 2017.

Where it stands

Worth the stop nearby

• Spirit Mound Historic Prairie — 22 mi
  A lone hill north of Vermillion that Lewis and Clark walked to on a scorching day in 1804, now one of the few places left where you can stand exactly where they stood.

More markers nearby

• First Dakota National Bank of Yankton — 0.2 mi
• Yankton Stockade — 0.3 mi
• East Wall Yankton Stockade — 0.3 mi
• Trial of Jack McCall For Murder of Wild Bill — 0.3 mi