You Are About to Enter South Dakota

Both faces were cast for travelers on US 83 at the North Dakota line in 1955. The twins are older than the bronze knows: on November 2, 1889, Secretary of State James Blaine covered the two statehood proclamations, Benjamin Harrison signed them shuffled, and nobody recorded which came first. North Dakota is usually listed thirty-ninth. The highest point the bronze names at 7,247 feet has carried the name Black Elk Peak since 2016, and a 2016 survey put its summit rock near 7,231 feet.

What the plaque says

You are about to enter South Dakota CREATED with its TWIN, North Dakota, 2 November 1889, its 77,047 square miles ranks 15th in size. Those square miles include: exceptional corn land in the SE, grass land in the W, wheat land in the N and PRODUCTIVE land all over. Its lowest point, BIG STONE, is 979 feet above sea level; its high- est, HARNEY PEAK, at 7,247 feet is the highest point in the U. S. A. east of the Rockies. The BLACK HILLS "THE AMERICAN ALPS" are scenically unsurpassed and are the richest "100 MILE SQUARE" minerally in the world. MT. RUSHMORE, "THE SHRINE OF DEMOCRACY" is visited by hundreds of thousands annually. Its BADLANDS are weirdly beautiful and undeniably bad. ANNUALLY it ranks in the first ten states in the production of wheat, corn, oats, barley, rye, grass, and cattle. Its HOMESTAKE MINE is the greatest gold producer in the western hemisphere. SOUTH DAKOTA is "ECONOMICALLY, PHYSICALLY, RECREATIONALLY" a State of "INFINITE VARIETY." Its economy is well balanced. FIRST visited by white men, VERENDRYE, in 1743, for a century it was a fur traders paradise with a most romantic history. ITS highways are well marked; roadside PARKS frequent; historic markers, such as this, are to be found therein and adjacent to historic sites. Our MOTTO "UNDER GOD THE PEOPLE RULE" is symbolic of life in South Dakota. Welcome to our State. Erected 1955 by State Highway Commission You are now leaving South Dakota and about to enter North Dakota our twin State at creation, a great State of the land. Famous for its Red River Valley, wheat and a progressive and self-reliant people. Erected 1955 by State Highway Commission

Where it stands

More markers nearby

• Flint Store and Post Office — 9.1 mi
• Old Pollock — 11 mi
• Honoring the People of the Eureka Area — 24 mi
• Charles N. Herreid — 24 mi