THE BEGINNING - pbsdll.k12.sd.uspbsdll.k12.sd.us/Downloads/7/11072/TemplesofJusticescript.pdf ·...

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INSTRUCTION / TIME CODE

VOICE OVER INTERVIEW

Tease

Judge Rusch Interview 1 (all interview covered) 1:05:25

A lot of towns died in SD and if you could get a railroad or county seat that approved the town. There were towns where you had a county seat and the railroad didn’t come and it died and the county seat died.

Mary Buccholz- Historical Society Tri-State Museum (all interview covered) Dakota Life or original video Butte County 2:28:30

In 1894 Seth Bullock had a big celebration and all the cowboys in town and horse races and the next day all those cowboys voted and that is how they lost the election that is really true.

Lester Lunden – Former Employee Deuel County Deuel County Lester Lunden interview 5:50

Someone from Clear Lake put a post in the ground, this is the center of the county, and this is where it should be. Later that night, people from Gary pulled that post out, that got it going and bickering has happened ever since.

FADE TO BLACK

SHOW OPEN / PRODUCTION OPEN – created by Matti Smith

SHOW OPEN / PRODUCTION OPEN

New Chapter Graphic:

THE BEGINNING

INTRODUCTION TODAY SOUTH DAKOTA HAS 66

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VOICE OVER

COUNTIES AND 64 COURTHOUSES. COURTHOUSES THAT ARE BEAUTIFUL AND MAJESTIC BUT THEIR HISTORY IS DEEPER THAN ARCHITECTURE. THESE BUILDINGS HOLD STORIES OF MAJOR LIFE EVENTS FOR FAMILIES AND COMMUNITIES. THESE EVENTS AND RECORDS ARE PRESERVED WITHIN THE SANDSTONE, CONCRETE AND WOODEN WALLS. TODAY’S SOUTH DAKOTA MAP WOULD START TO TAKE SHAPE AS EARLY AS 1862 WHEN THE DAKOTA TERRITORIAL LEGISLATURE WOULD BEGIN ESTABLISHING MANY COUNTIES. IT WAS THE ARRIVAL OF THE RAILRAOD THAT WOULD JUMP START THE DEVELOPMENT AND ORGANIZATION OF COUNTIES ACROSS THE STATE.

New Chapter graphic:

THE RAILROAD

AS SETTLERS MOVED WEST AND SOUGHT HOMESTHEADS S IN THE DAKOTA TERRITORY THE MISSOURI RIVER BECAME AN IMPORTANT ARTERY FOR COMMERCE AND TRAVEL. THE FIRST STEAMBOAT NAVIGATED THE RIVER IN 1816 AND EVENTUALLY HUNDREDS MORE WOULD FOLLOW. THE EXPANSION OF THE RAILRAOD WOULD SOON REPLACE STEAMBOAT TRAFFIC ON THE RIVER.

Judge Rusch Interview 2 3:20:10

The first railroad came to Vermillion in 1873 and that was the beginning of the Railroad movement; the river traffic had died out. Everyone was dependent on the railroad and if it did not come to town it was doomed. Many moved from town if the railroad didn’t go there.

JUDGE ARTHUR RUSCH OF

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VERMILLION IS A 4TH GENERATION SOUTH DAKOTAN. HE SERVED AS A CIRCUIT COURT JUDGE FOR 18 YEARS WHICH HAS BEEN HELPFUL WITH ONE OF HIS PASSIONS: COURTHOUSE HISTORY. THROUGHOUT HIS CAREER JUDGE RUSCH HAS VISITED EVERY COURTHOUSE IN SOUTH DAKOTA, NOT NECESSARLY AS A JUDGE – BUT AS A HISTORICAL FACT FINDER. HIS EFFORTS HAVE RESULTED IN A BOOK (pause) COUNTY CAPITOLS THE COURTHOUSES OF SOUTH DAKOTA.


I have always been interested in courthouses, my father’s office was in Aurora county courthouse and if that had anything to do with my decision to become lawyers I don’t know. After I was done practicing law I went to the courthouses and decided I would take pictures and then got into a project to visit every courthouse and my wife has stories of detours so I could get some courthouse I had not visited before. I wanted to know about the history, the art deco classical or rival courthouse and few old framed courthouses.

Judge Rusch Continued Interview 1 1:42:50

One thing that surprised me, most county histories were very good and had several pages when the courthouse was constructed and the details but some county history they don’t even mention the courthouse.

2:15:35 Continued

History can be very dry if you just present it with dates, but it can also be very interesting.

County Graphic:

BUTTE COUNTY

DAKOTA LIFE SEGMENT OR Judge Rusch interview # 1 1:26:12

Seth Bullock was one of our famous South Dakotans and lawmen in the Black Hills. The County seat was in a small town near Belle Fourche that town hired Seth to lobby with the railroad to make sure the railroad

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would come to their own to ensure that the town would keep the county seat, he had laid out the t own sit of Belle Course and owned most of the lots which was lucrative, Seth Bullock actually lobbied the railroad to go to Belle Fourche which h id di and the other town disappeared and there is not much left of it today.

Mary Buccholz 2:28:00

In 1882 Seth Bullock had a big celebration and all the cowboys in town and horse races and the next day all those cowboys voted and that is how they lost the election, it’s really true.

Mary Continued 2:24:39

Actually Minnesela is a ghost town now, but then it was an established town and had a governor appointed county seat before 1889 that is when this was formed from Lawrence county.

Mary continued 2:29:00 2:35:00 2:37:33

One thing that Seth Bullock did help with, he was a friend with Teddy Roosevelt he got a big irrigation system and a dam and helped with vitality of Belle that is when they were rich enough to do this courthouse. The way the final figures are in it was $50,412.51 which was a lot of money for 1912. They had done some fundraising, the merchants and those in Belle Fourche they kept calling our building a shack and it was a big two story building and wanted a new one. They raised $13 or $14 thousand dollars privately before soliciting money from tax payers It’s gorgeous, we are proud of the Belle Fourche and that they were rich enough to do it and my love for history.

COST GRAPHIC:

Constructed 1911 -1912 Cost: $50,424.51 (including furnishing)

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BUTTE COUNTY MONTAGE – END OF WIDE SHOT OF COURTHOUSE;

COUNTY SEAT BATTLES

ESTABLISHING A COUNTY SEAT DIDN’T NECESSARLY MEAN THAT A COMMUNITY COULD KEEP IT. MANY COUNTY SEAT BATTLES WOULD DEVELOP WITH ACCUSATIONS OF VOTING FRAUD, CORRUPT POLITICAL MANUVERING, AND THEFT OF COUNTY RECORDS. EVEN TREATS OF VIOLENCE THAT REQUIRED BACK UP HELP FROM LAW ENFORCEMENT AND THE MILITARY.

COUNTY SEAT BATTLES

JUDGE RUSCH INTERVIEW 1 1:05:50 1:08:50

There were tremendous battles over courthouse county seat locations and one reason they built them the way they did, if they had a fancy courthouse it was less likely the voters would move the location away, even Generally what happened the Governor appointed the first county commissioners and that is why bribery allegations against Gov. Ordway, he pocked large sums of money and he’d appoint county commissioners and they’d chose and it could move by the vote of the people, it was difficult to get it moved many counties have stores competitors have the vote but not the 2/3 majority.

County Graphic:

MINER COUNTY

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Voice over (GRAPHIC 1873)

AS THE STORY GOES – THE TOWNS OF HOWARD, FORESTBURG AND LETCHER AND LATER WOONSOCKET HAD THEIR SHARE OF ELECTION FIGHTS. MINER COUNTY FORMED BY THE DAKOTA TERRITORY LEGISLATURE NAMED FORESTBURG THE TEMPORARY COUNTY SEAT WITH A SMALL STRUCTURE BUILT TO HOUSE OFFICES. WITH IN A YEAR A FLOOD WASHED AWAY THE STRUCTURE, IT WAS REPAIRED AND MOVED TO A NEW LOCATION ON A HILL BUT WOULD LATER BE DAMAGED BY A TORNADO. DURING THE 1882 GENERAL ELECTION HOWARD COMPETED AGAINST FORESTBURG TO BECOME THE COUNTY SEAT OF MINER COUNTY.


Then things got messy, the governor set up an election and right at that time some railroad crews working in Howard in the east end of the county and some liquor and the railroad men voted in favor of Howard and designated it the county seat.

Cost / Date graphic

THE MINOR COUNTY COURTHOUSE THAT STANDS TODAY IN HOWARD WAS DEDICATED IN 1935 AT THE COST OF $100,000. IT’S A FLAT ROOFED BUILDING WITH AN ART DECO STYLE.

Constructed 1934-1935 Cost: Approximately $100,000.00

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Miner County montage end on Wide shot of courthouse

Judge Rusch continued Interview 1 1:11:36

Forestburg and others lobbied the legislature, so they cut the county in two so there would be a new western county which became Sanborn county.

County graphic:

SANBORN COUNTY

THE COMMUNITY OF FORESTBURG WOULD ENJOY THE TITLE OF COUNTY SEAT FOR SANBORN COUNTY, BUT ONLY FOR A SHORT TIME.

JUDGE RUSCH INTERVIEW 1 1:11:50

Governor Ordway was from New Hampshire and he didn’t like summers here and he assigned appointments in blank so July 1st – the new county seat went into effect and people from Lecture and the secretary who had possession filled in the names of representatives and blank forms and it supposedly costs him his job, but the bribe was enough to make that worthwhile.

VOICE OVER WHEN THE GOVERNOR RETURNED HE DENOUNCED THE CLERKS APPOINTMENTS INDICATING THEY WERE FRAUDULENT AND CHOSE ANOTHER SET OF COMMISSIONERS. FORESTBURG WAS ONCE AGAIN DESIGNATED AS THE COUNTY SEAT FOR SANBORN COUNTY – RESULTING IN TWO COMPETING SETS OF OFFICIALS BOTH COLLECTING TAXES FROM CITIZENS

JUDGE RUSCH INTERVIE 1 1:12:00

At this time it left everyone disgruntle and so thy filed petitions on where the seat would be Lecture and Forestburg split votes from east Sanborn and so the t own on the west side on the edge of the county won and that is why the county seat in Sanborn is Woonsocket.

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VOICE OVER Cost/ building graphic: Sanborn Video montage end on wide shot of courthouse

CONSTRUCTION OF THE PRESENT COURTHOUSE BEGAN IN 1907 AND WAS DEDICATED IN MAY OF 1908. THE BUILDING IS CONTRUCTED OF BRICK AND SANDSTONE IN A RENAISASANCE REVIVAL STYLE WITH CLASSICAL REVIVAL INFLUENCES.

Constructed: 1907 – 1908 Cost: $45,000.00

County graphic:

DEUEL COUNTY

JUDGE RUSCH INTERVIEW 2 2:54:53

Gary was a MN borer and when county was settled it was a big town and they established the courthouse and built a big one but as population moved west to Deuel county and people were not very happy so Clear Lake became interested in getting the county seat and several election battles

Deuel County Lester Lunden – Former Deuel County Employee 5:20

The first courthouse was in Gary SD because the railroad came from east and when they crossed the state line, Gary was first established village. Right away when they did organize as a county they had a courthouse set up in Gary. A building was donated as firs courthouse and that went on for several years but people in the North west part of the county did not like to go to Gary that was a long way. Clear Lake was the center of county and the logical place but Gary did not want to give up for economic value, there was a lot of bickering and especially between newspapers, articles would be written back and forth. One thing that happened someone from Clear Lake put a post in the ground, this is the center of the county, and this is where it should be. That night people from Gary pulled that post out, that got it going and bickering ever since then.

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CLEARLAKE WOULD WIN OVER GARY FOR THE COUNTY SEAT IN 1890. CLEAR LAKE RESIDENTS WOULD THEN TRAVEL TO GARY AT AN EARLY MORNING HOUR TO TAKE THE COUNTY RECORDS – BUT THE OPERATION DID NOT GO AS PLANNED.

Judge Art Rusch interview 2 2:55:00

Clear Lake seized the records after they felt they owned them but the wagon wheel broke in the middle of the night and they had to leave the safe with the records and money on the prairie until he people could return the next day and repair the wagon wheel.

Deuel County 15:50

A judge had brought the attorneys on trial into a consultation room and the judge sat with his back to the window and someone on a previous trial that had been disappointed with the judge, so they drove by the street on the Northside of the courthouse and shot where the judges were sitting. The bullet didn’t go through, even though it is still there today. There are three holes, one is fixed and the other two are still there and on a cold day you can put your hand up and fill the air coming in.

Cost / build graphic: Video montage end on wide shot of courthouse

THE COURTHOUSE TODAY IS THE SECOND COURTHOUSE BUILT IN DEUEL COUNTY, DEDICATED IN 1917. THE FINAL COST TO TAXPAYERS, JUST OVER $82-THOUSAND DOLLARS AND WAS CRAFTED OUT OF BEDFORD LIMESTONE

Constructed 1916-1917 Cost: $82,426.00

County graphic:

TURNER COUNTY

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Luverne Langerock – former, Turner County Commissioner

First of all Swan Lake there were 3 families that settled and that turned into the county seat. There were 3 or 4 elections between Hurley, Marion and Parker and the results had to have 2/3 majority and none of the towns could acquire that majority so three elections for sure they had then Hurley came in around 1884 Marion and Parker were the main contenders at that point and they decided to raise $10,000 to influence the vote of the people and they were using towns that railroads had built close too or settle in. Then in 1885 the legislature from the Dakota Territory said that Parker would be the best place but they didn’t have the money. Hurley had offered it but I don’t know what happened it ended up in Parker and it’s been here ever since.

VOICE OVER Cost / build graphic Video montage end on wide shot of courthouse

THE TURNER COUNTY COURTHOUSE WAS OPEN FOR BUSINESS IN OCTOBER OF 1903. LIKE MANY COURTHOUSES – SPACE WOULD SOON BECOME LIMITED AND BY 1922 A NEW JAIL, SHERIFF’S OFFICE AND SHIERIFF’S LIVING QUARTERS WERE ADDED.

Constructed: 1902-1903 Cost: approximately $30,000.00

County graphic:

GRANT COUNTY


Grant county stand out significantly because of the long term battles between county seats and Milbank and Big Stone City and a number of elections and law suits and litigation that ran over $100,000 to decide who would get a courthouse worth $4,000.00 Judge Kidder finally ruled on a lawsuit not long before he died and Milbank won.

Arlo Levisen- President Gran County Historical

One evening they were going to go over and take the records, people came with guns and pitchforks, cooler heads peeled

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Society. 1:26:00 Cost / build graphic: Video montage end with wide shot of courthouse

Constructed 1915 – 1917 Cost: $ 82,611.00

and Big Stone City gave up and in 1881 it was moved to Milbank, but it was a big fight, much like fights elsewhere, no blood. Then they said we have to build a building, the one they built was burnt to the ground by a loan officer. In 1895 to 1915 a temporary building was constructed at the cost of $75,000 but the company went bankrupt and that delayed the process until 1917. The building you see today is what was created. Most of the interior is the same.


They named it after President Grant and a civil war hero, a lot of people who settled were civil war veterans, union Gettysburg, mead county all people were civil war heroes.

KING 7 OF NORWAY

NAMING A COUNTY AFTER A PRETIGIOUS WAR HERO WAS A COMMON OCCURANCE BUT EVEN A KING WAS HONORED WHEN COUNTIES WERE BEING NAMED.

County graphic:

HAKKON COUNTY

JUDGE Rusch Interview 2 3:07:00 Cost / build graphic Video montage end on wide shot

Constructed 1930 – 1931 Cost: $101,345.00

There was a big appeal to the Norwegian settlers that were coming into that area, so they named the county after King Haakon in Norway and that would appeal to Norwegian settlers and vote for the county seat which they wanted there.

County graphic:

SPINK COUNTY

WHILE SOME COUNTY SEAT BATTLES HAD THEIR SHARE OF DRAMA, OTHERS ARE BETTER DEFINED AS COUNTY SEAT WARS.

JUDGE RUSCH They had a war; it’s amazing there was not

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INTERVIEW 2 3:25:40 Cost / build graphic Video montage end on wide shot of courthouse

Constructed 1926 – 1927 Cost: $347,342.71 (includes fixtures and furniture)

violence. Spink county war was the biggest controversy for county seat location and it came close to violence. /the county seat had been in Ashton and they thought they should have won it and thought there was voter fraud, large men from Redfield went to Ashton and stole the records and took them back to Redfield. It depends on what records you read, one book said 300 armed men and another said 1500 armed men gathered at Ashton and went to Redfield and said they would destroy the town, Redfield would defend themselves when the Governor called out the National guard, some came from Fargo to put down the war also mad Redfield give back the records to Ashton but bit the next year Redfield won a significant majority so the county seat did get moved to Redfield.

County graphic:

ONE COMMUNITY RESOLVED its COUNTY SEAT WAR WITH HELP FROM THE MILITARY ANOTHER COMMUNITY MUCH FURTHER SOUTH WAS FIGHTING IT’S OWN BATTLE INVOLVING COMMUNITY AND POLITICAL CORRUPTION. WHEN ATTEMPTS TO GET HELP FROM STATE LEADERS FAILED, CITIZENS DECIDED TO TAKE THE LAW INTO THEIR OWN HANDS.

DOUGLAS COUNTY

Judge Art Rusch Interview 1 1:31:17

The Governor appointed first county commissioners and would do that when he received a petition and residences would say the county needed to be organized, a petition was given to the governor and all the signatures were forged and it was a small group of people called the Brownsdale gang and Charles Brown was the leader of the gang. When they presented the petition to them as county commissioner and make the county seat of Douglas county. The bonus obeying a commissioner you could create bonds and

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they issued many bonds bough by a bank at face value and paid themselves large sums of money and a Scotland man named Scott Dollar was convince something crooked was going on and he approached the governor about revoking the appointment and he would not do it. Dollard and the town’s people went after the Brownsdale Gang. Eventually they fled never to be seen again and taking the money, But Dollar and his group took and burn those records and threw thing into turmoil and then established the county seat at Grandview, north of Armor. There is a historical market there with no buildings and eventually

Cost / build graphic

FOUR YEARS AFTER THE COUNTY SEAT HAD BEEN ESTABLISHED AT GRANDVIEW IN DOUGHLAS COUNTY, THE CHICAGO, MILWAUKEE AND ST.PAUL RAILRAOD SET UP SHOP IN A NEW TOWN THEY WOULD CALL ARMOUR. IT WOULD EVENTURALLY, BECOME THE COUNTY SEAT. TWO BUILDINGS WERE ERECTED PRIOR TO THE ONE THAT STANDS TODAY THAT WAS DEDICTED IN 1928 AT THE COST OF ALMOST $124,000 THOUSAND DOLLARS, WHICH INCLUDED PLUMBING, FURNITURE AND FIXTURES.

Constructed 1927 Cost: $123,700.00 (including plumbing, furniture, and fixtures)

County graphic:

FAULK COUNTY

GOVERNOR ORDWAY WAS IN THE PROCESS OF DETERMING IF

FAULKTON OR LAFOON WOULD

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Cost / build graphic Video montage end on wide shot of courthouse

BECOME THE COUNTY SEAT FOR FAULK COUNTY. THE GOVERNOR

SUPPOSIDELY SENT A REPRESENTATIVE TO BOTH TOWNS

WITH THE MESSAGE THAT THE RIGHT PRICE COULD WIN THEM THE

COUNTY SEAT. LAFOON PROVIDED THE GOVENROR WITH A BETTER

BRIBE – MAKING IT THE WINNER BUT WHEN THE RAILROAD BYPASSED

LAFOON, FAULKTON BECAME THE PERMANENT COUNTY SEAT. THE

BUILDING IN USE TODAY WAS CONSTUCTED IN 1904 FOR FIFTY

THOUSAND DOLLARS.


CLAY COUNTY

Judge Rusch interview 1

Video montage end on wide shot of courthouse


Most towns rented space before they built something. Clay county had a courthouse but I don’t think the county owned the courthouse, they rented a hall and had trials in that hall and other offices were spread around in other buildings. After the flood in 1881 the effort was made to build a courthouse on court street where post offices sit now. That was first county owned courthouse and was built in 1881. Right after the flood and lasted until 1912. That is unique because that is when the University. USD started plans for Old Main but it was not done when classes started, so they made arrangments for the University of Dakota to begin classes in the Clay County Courthouse and for the first year there is a famous picture with the first students who paid $5.00 to go to school there.

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County Graphic

MEADE COUNTY


MEADE COUNTY WAS ONE OF THE LAST COUNTIES CREATED BY THE

LEGISLTUARE OF DAKOTA TERRITORY BEFORE DIVIDING THE TERRITORY

INTO TWO STATES OF NORTH DAKOTA AND SOUTH DAKOTA. THE COUNTY WAS NAMED AFTER MAJOR

GENERAL GEORGE G. MEADE THE UNION COMMANDER AT THE BATTLE OF GETTYSBURNG. A MILITRY POST

JUST OUTSIDE OF STURGIS, FT. MEADE IS ALSO NAMED AFTER THE GENERAL. THE ORIGINAL BUILDING WAS APPROVED BY THE COUNTY IN 1896 AND SERVED THE PEOPLE FOR ALMOST 65 YEARS. THE BUILDING THAT STANDS TODAY OPENED its

DOORS IN 1965 – BUT HAS ALREADY OUT GROWN IT’S SPACE. MANY

COUNTY OFFICES ARE NOW LOCATED IN THE HISTORICAL ERSKINE

BUILDING WHICH IS A FORMER SCHOOL IN STURGIS THAT WAS RENOVATED FOR THE COUNTY.

Constructed: 1964-1965 Cost: Approximately $583,535.00

LOST COMMUNITIES

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AS COMMUNITIES WOULD WIN THEIR BATTLES AND COURTHOUSE WOULD RISE OVER THE BLUFFS, RIVERS AND PRAIRIES OF SOUTH DAKOTA – THE LOSING COMMUNITY WOULD SOMETIMES DISAPPEAR. THIS WOULD HAPPEN BECAUSE SETTLERS WOULD MOVE AWAY; A FEW OF THOSE TOWNS ARE COVERED BY THE MISSOURI RIVER. THESE WERE TOWNS THAT AT ONE TIME HAD BUSINESSES AND POTENTIAL GROWTH, TODAY ALL THAT REMAINS ARE HISTORCAL MARKERS, PASSAGES IN HISTORY BOOKS OR ORAL STORIES PASSED DOWN FROM GENERATION TO GENERATION.

County graphics:

CHARLES MIX COUNTY


CHARLES MIX COUNTY THEY DON’T KNOW WHERE THE NAME CAME FROM, THRE IS TWO STORIES IT WAS A Calvary offices stationed in Fort Randall and it was commissioner of India Affairs. There is a disputed where it was named. It was a river country – huge distance along the Missouri River so there was people in that area, when Charles mix county was formed, it was a trading post and the county seat was there for a while and then it went to Platte Creek, then Presho. Grant Moved it for settlement and everyone was supposed to leave, then it reopened and the county seat was then placed in Wheeler, and river town ad a wood framed courthouse was built. It was a remote area of Charles Mix co and it didn’t flow. Other towns were envious and they wanted the county seat and there were a number of elections and Lake Andes pre-vailed

Voice over

A PRAIRE SCHOOL STYLE BUILDING WAS CONSTRUCTED AND COMPLETED BY 1918, AT A COST OF JUST OVER $119,000.00. THE TOWN OF WHEELER WAS ABANDONED WHEN FORT RANDAL DAM WAS CONSTRUCTED. THE TOWN IS NOW

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UNDER THE WATERS OF LAKE FRANCIS CASE. Constructed: 1917 – 1918 Cost: Approximately $119,131.00

County graphic:

POTTER COUNTY

VOICE OVER Cost / build graphic Video montage end on wide shot of courthouse

FOREST CITY ONCE THE COUNTY SEAT OF POTTER COUNTY IS SUBMERGED UNDER THE MISSOURI RIVER, BY LAKE OAHE. THE TOWN SAT ON THE MISSOURI RIVER ABOUT 17 MILES WEST OF GETTYSBURG AND WAS DESIGNATED THE COUNTY SEAT IN 1883 BY COUNTY COMMISSIONERS. AN ELECTION BETWEEN THE TWO TOWNS WAS SCHEDULED WITH GETTYSBURG WINNING. THE COURTHOUSE THAT STANDS TODAY WAS CONSTRUCTED IN 1911 BY THE SAME ARCHITECHT THAT DESIGNED THE COURTHOUSES FOR SANBORN AND WALWORTH COUNTIES.


WPA BUILDINGS

BY THE MID 1930’S MANY OF THE COURTHOUSES IN SOUTH DAKOTA

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WERE SHOWING THEIR AGE AND IN NEED OF MAJOR REPAIRS OR REPLACMENT. A FEDERAL PROGRAM, THE PUBLIC WORKS ADMINISTRATION PROVIDED FINANCIAL ASSISTANCE FOR THE CONSTRUCTION OF MANY PUBLIC BUILDINGS ACROSS THE COUNTRY, WHICH INCLUDED 12 COURTHOUSES IN SOUTH DAKOTA.


Many of the courthouses were 60 to 70 years old by that time and showing their age and particularly when the federal government would pay a portion of the cost to create employment counties were willing to let them because it would create employment. Aurora county is an example, the county acted as a contractor to hire all local people so they would’ bring in workers from far away.

Judge Rusch interview 2 3:31:45

PWA buildings were mostly designed by the same architect James and Dixon on Mitchell and they kind of surround Mitchell east and west and that is where those were and that is an era where they settled 50 to 60 years earlier so they needed a courthouse and south east 20 years earlier they had already built new ones so they didn’t need pwa

BUILT TO LAST

County graphic:

Marshall County

WHILE SOME COURTHOUSES, ESPECIALLY THE WPA BUILDINGS WERE CONSTRUCTED MORE FOR FUNCTION THAN BEAUTY - EACH BUILDING HAD its OWN UNIQUE FEATURES THAT SET IT APART FROM OTHERS. ONE FEATURE THAT HAS SET SOME OF OUR MORE HISTORICAL BUILDINGS APART FROM THE REST –

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IS THE STURDINESS OF THEIR CONSTRUCTION.

Marshall County Leonard Eikamp, Marshall Resident Clip interview _ Eikamp1.mov 8:30

In 1906 they decided to build this courthouse, they hired an architect to draw up some plans in 1906 they approved to build it and hired an architect and his charge was $970.00 and hired a contractor out of Brookings and got some estimates on how much the building would cost, at that time the price to build it was just $52,000.00. If you take a good look at that build there is a lot of concrete work in the basement and even well drilled at that time and we don’t know how much they've used that. The building had to be built out of stone and specific the stone is old kettle river stone out of MN. If you look at the building you can tell the kettle river sandstone is there. The contractor also wanted to use Bedford Sandstone. The dome is copper you’ll appreciate what I hold that up, look at the basement and see how much concrete and all that was done by hand and horses.

THE MARSHALL COUNTY COURTHOUSE IS ONE OF MANY COURTHOUSES THAT HAVE A DUMBWAITER ALSO KNOWN AS A LAZY WAITER. THESE SMALL MOVABLE CARTS WERE CONTROLLED MANUALLY BY ROPES ON PULLEYS ARE WERE USED TO HELP TRANSPORT FILES AND OTHER SMALL OBJECTS FROM ONE FLOOR TO ANOTHER. TODAY – MOST OF THE DUMBWAITERS FOUND IN COURTHOUSES ARE NO LONGER USED TO TRANSPORT ITEMS…. BUT SOME HAVE FOUND OTHER USES.

2:02:00 Julie Hagen – Former Marshall County Auditor

This is a dumb waiter from the original times, they stopped using them. It’s used for storage for old documents. When we updated the building we found the original blueprints and we laminated them. They are different than the way the courthouse is built. It was a surprise, as we knew the Sheriff’s office was upstairs – they must

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Cost / build graphic: Video montage end of wide of courthouse


have used it to send food up stairs to him.

AS BUILDINGS WOULD BE CONSTRUCTED TO STAND THE TEST OF TIME – OTHERS HAD DECORATIVE DETAILS THAT DIDN’T LAST LONG AT ALL. IN FACT SOME COUNTY COMMISSIONERS FORCED THE ARTISTS TO GO BACK TO THE DRAWING BOARD.

County graphic:

DAVISON COUNTY

Swenson interview.mov Lyle Swenson – Former Davison County Sheriff 29:30

When the courthouse was constructed the architect in the front of the building a grasshopper on each side of the doorway and it was eating a bundle of hay grain. We had just come out of the grasshopper phrase in early 30’s. Grasshoppers would eat anything including pitchfork handles, people had a hatred for grasshoppers, in 1940 the county commissioners had enough and headline says county uses chisel to fight grasshopper and they took chisel to it and hammered doff the grasshopper on the front step. We’ve never found a picture proving that.

EARLY ON, COUNTY COMMISSIONERS ALSO HAS ISSUES WITH THE ORIGINAL MURALS FOUND IN THE ENTRACE OF THE DAVISION COUNTY COURTHOUSE.

Lyle Swenson continued

The artist the county commissioners hired did not meet any kind of standards they had, they named the painting the kiss of

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31:40 death. The cartoon that is shown, a guy has a farmer milking a cow form the wrong size. Farmer created a stink about it and took the murals down.

Cost /build graphic:

THE MURALS WOULD LATER BE REPLACED AND ACCEPTED BY COUNTY COMMISSIONERS AND THE COMMUNITY. (include video montage of Davison county here)

Constructed: 1933-1937 Cost $ 235,949.82 (including furniture and fixtures) LYLE SWENSON PRESIDENT OF THE MITCHELL AREA HISTORICAL SOCIETY, ALSO SERVED AS DAVIDSON COUNTY SHERIFF FOR 32 YEARS. HIS STORIES OF THE COURTHOUSE GO BEYOND CONSTRUCTION AND DECOR – HE ONCE CALLED THE BUILDING HOME. IT USE TO BE A COMMON REQUIRMENT THAT THE COUNTY SHERIFF LIVE IN THE COURTHOUSE.

Continued 22:10

Many times across the state small jails were lived in or next to jail or house next door to jail. The wife and I wanted to go to the move, we might go down and the lock the jail down and no one would be there with the prisoners. Today you would not think of doing that, but then it was an excepted thing.


It was a common thing; they needed a guard for the jail at night. If the sheriff was in the courthouse he took place of the

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guardsmen, most lived inside and wives cooked for the prisoners.

TODAY, THERE ARE STILL SOME PUBLIC SAFEY CENTERS OR JAILS LOCATED IN OR NEAR THE COURTHOUSE BUT MANY ARE IN NEED OF STATE OF THE ART TECHNOLOGY AND HAVE OUTGROWN MOST COUNTY COURTHOUSES. TODAY THE TRIPP COUNTY COURTHOUSE USES THE OLD SHERIFF APARTMENT LOCATED ON 4TH FLOOR FOR STORAGE. RIGHT ACROSS THE HALL FROM THE APARMENT IS THE JAIL. IT STILL SHOWCASES THE OLD JAIL CELL BARS, BEDDING AND EVEN A MURAL AN INMATE DREW MANY YEARS AGO

Unorganized counties – Indian Country

County Graphic:

TRIPP COUNTY

THE TRIPP COUNTY COURTHOUSE WAS CONSTRUCTED BETWEEN 1920 AND 1922, BUT IT WAS NOT THE FIRST COURTHOUSE AND WINNER WASN’T THE FIRST COUNTY SEAT, THE TOWN OF LAMRO HELD THAT TITLE UNTIL THE VOTERS CHOSE THE TOWN OF WINNER IN THE GENERAL ELECTION OF 1910. ONCE WINNER WAS DELCARED THE NEW COUNTY SEAT THE RESIDENTS PHYSICALLY MOVED THE OLD BUILDING FROM LAMRO TO WINNER, IT LATER BURNT DOWN, WHICH REQUIRED THE CONSTRUCTION OF THE BUILDING

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Cost /build graphic: Video montage end on wide of courthouse

THAT STANDS TODAY. TRIPP COUNTY IS ONE OF TWO COUNTIES THAT ALSO SERVES AS COUNTY ADMINISTRATOR FOR IT’S NEIGHBORING COUNTY, AS IT HAS NO COURTHOUSE.

Constructed: 1920 – 1922 Cost: $ 213,519.00


There are 66 counties in SD and two of them are unorganized, most are in Indian county so they can’t collect taxes on land so they do not have money to run a county. So Shannon and Todd county are unorganized. Shannon contracts with Fall River to handle what little work they do have there are Todd contracts with Tripp to handle their work.

Oldest Courthouses

County graphic:

FALL RIVER COUNTY

. FALL RIVER IS ONE OF THE COUNTIES TAKING ON THE ROLE AS COUNTY ADMINISTRATOR FOR its NEIGHBOR, SHANNON COUNTY. THE COURTHOUSE IN HOT SPRINGS IS ALSO ONE OF THE OLDEST COURTHOUSES STILL IN USE TODAY.


That is one of the 4 oldest courthouses still in use, Fall River Co, in Hot Springs. It is made of Sandstone like all the other buildings in that area. Fred Evans who built Fred Evan plunge was one of the

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Cost / build graphic Video montage end of wide shot

Constructed: 1891 Cost: $23,750.00

contractors who built it and was probably built many other building which keeps the tradition of that architecture in Hot Spring alive.

Judge Rusch Continued Interview 1 1:46:43 Check on Hutchinson County Picture: Olivet old photo

The oldest courthouse still in use is Olivet in Hutchinson county and the southern block was built in 1881. They didn’t have an architect; a county commissioner went to Yankton and bought the general plans then drew up the second floor. It is the most added on too. They added vaults to make sure they have a fire proof place to keep record.

County Graphic:

Kingsbury county

THE LINCOLN COUNTY COURTHOUSE IN CANTON AND THE KINSBURY COURTHOUSE IN DESMET ARE ALSO AMONG THE OLDEST STILL IN USE TODAY.

JUDGE RUSCH INTERVIEW 2 2:56:15 Cost / build graphic Video montage end on wide shot of courthouse

Constructed: in two stages 1889 east section; 1898 west section Cost: East side $4,000.00 West side $14,800.00.

That is two courthouses that were put together, Wallace Dow designed those one of 4 in the 1880 S still in use in the Dakota Territory but the east part was built 10 years later; they built the west part so people could walk from one section to the other it’s quite a different in design.

COURTHOUSES WERE OFTEN TIMES MORE THAN JUST A BUILDING WHERE CITIZENS WOULD GO TO TAKE CARE OF THEIR COUNTY BUSINESS OR WHERE IMPORTANT DOCUMENTS WERE FILED. MANY COURTHOUSES – WERE ALSO CONSIDERED A PLACE OF ENTERTAINMNET.

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Before we had TV’s courthouses were the place for entertainment. If a trial was going on the entire town would go and watch a trial.

WIDE OPEN SPACES

ONE OF THE SMALLEST OPERATING COURTHOUSES SITS IN BUFFALO COUNTY BUT MANY HAVE QUESTIONED WHETHER IT MERITS REMAINING OPEN.

County Graphics;

BUFFALO AND BRULE COUNTY

Judge Art Rusch Interview 2 3:04:10 Cost build graphic

Constructed : 1978 – 1979 Cost: $250,000.00

Buffalo county for many years was the biggest county and it bordered with Canada. There just isn’t much court work there, no café to even feed the jurors, the numbers were such, and the court system could maintain a court there. The court in Chamberlain has been appointed and if need be they can travel to Gann Valley, no lawyers from Gann Valley even in Gann Valley business they’d rather have it all done in Chamberlain. It’s indicative of our smaller counties and whether they can afford to keep a courthouse open for those kinds of things. There as an attempt not long ago to move the county seat from Gann Valley to Ft. Thompson but night ever became of it.

REGARDLESS IF A COURTHOUSE IS NEW OR has A SIGNIFICANT History, MOST ARE CONSIDIERED THE FOCAL POINT IN A COUNTY AND PRESERVATION IS KEY.

Codington I think the aw and the grandeur it

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County Elmer Brinkman – Codington county Commissioner 56:55

represents when you step inside and the heavy doors when you go inside. I don’t see this building ever changing in the near future as an administrative home of county government. It may not be home of the court system in a future date, but it will be the place where people pay their taxes and get questions answered about county government.

Deuel County Lester Lunden – Former Deuel County Employee 19:30

The community and county is proud of this building through the years this historical groups have realized the value of this building and kept to the original form and so there was a lot of discussion about putting an elevator in and voted down and instead an inside chairlift which did not change the exterior of the building, without a doubt it’s the best building in Deuel county.


Even with our bigger communities like Watertown had pride to build the courthouse, they are the center of the community and district courthouse town and kept that courthouse looking good and they don’t lose the courthouse.

Continued I think the majority of them are kept pretty good, but it depends on the architect, some built by top rate and some by 2nd rate, one designed 4 courthouses in SD and two of them are falling down already.

Continued 3:27:40

It depends on the county and how much money they have. County Commissioners are proud of their courthouses and if they have money they will preserve the paintings and are hanging in new courthouses now. Not many will destroy painting; in Elk Point they did preserve artwork from the old courthouse.

County graphic:

Union County

ELK POINT IS THE COUNTY SEAT IN UNION COUNTY TODAY BUT AS THE TERRITORIAL LEGISLATURE WAS MAKING COUNY SEAT DECISIONS THEY DESIGNATED RICHLAND AS THE COUNTY SEAT. IN 1865 THE

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Cost /build graphic Video montage End on wide shot

TERRITORIAL LEGISLTURE CALLED A SPECIAL ELECTION AND MADE ELK POINT THE PERMANENT COUNTY SEAT. THREE BUILDINGS HAVE SERVED AS COURTHOUSE IN ELK POINT WITH THE CURRENT BUILDING CONSTRUCTED IN 1978. SEVERAL DECORATIVE ITEMS AND MURALS WERE SALVAGED FROM THE 1898 COURTHOUSE, WHICH ARE DISPLAYED IN VARIOUS LOCATIONS IN THE BUILDING THAT STANDS TODAY.

Constructed: 1977-1978 Cost: $975,000.00

County Graphic:

Custer County


Custer county had a w wonderful 1883 red brick Italian courthouse which is across the street from the present courthouse. That courthouse was damaged during the 1973 AIM trouble that they had in Custer. AT that time Custer built a new courthouse and it was a cement block house, no windows, flat room and apparently people got tired of that over the years so they put an addition to the courthouse and built on top of that cement building and it’s very decorative.

THE ORIGINAL COURTHOUSE WAS BUILT IN 1881 FOR TWELVE THOUSAND DOLLARS. IT WAS DAMAGED IN 1973 WHEN VIOLENCE ERUPTED DURING A MEETING BETWEEN LAW ENFORCEMENT AND MEMBERS OF THE AMERICAN INDIAN MOVEMENT. A NEW COURTHOSUE HAD TO BE BUILT AND MANY BELIEVE THE DAMANGE TO THE ORIGINAL

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Cost / build graphic Video montage End on wide shot of building

BUILDING IS WHAT INFLUENCED THE WINDOWLESS DESIGN OF THE 1973 COURTHOUSE. THE BUIDING TODAY HAS A CONTEMPORARY CLASSIC LOOK, THE RESULT FROM ADDITIONS AND RENOVATION WORK DONE TO THE 1973 DESIGN. THE ADDITIONAL WORK WAS COMPLETED IN 2011 AT THE COST OF $5.7 MILLION DOLLARS.

Constructed: 1973 – renovated and expanded 2010-2011 Cost: 1973 - $300,000.00 2010 – 2011 - $5.7 million

County Graphic:

Pennington County

Cost / build graphic

PENNINGTON COUNTY HAS ALSO INVESTED MILLIONS IN INCREASING THE SIZE OF its COURTHOUSE. THE TOWN OF SHERIDAN WHERE SHERIDAN LAKE RESERVIOR IS NOW, WAS THE ORIGINAL COUNTY SEAT LOCATION, BUT A SPECIAL ELECTION IN 1877 RESULTED IN RAPID CITY WINNING THE TITLE. AFTER FIRES DESTROYED TWO OF THE ORIGINAL COURTHOUSE BUILDINGS, A PORTION OF THE BUILDING WE KNOW TODAY WAS CONTRUCTED IN 1922. BY 1988 AN ADDITIONAL COURTROOM AND OFFICE SPACE WAS BUILT ON THE EAST SIDE. CURRENTLY COUNTY OFFICIALS HAVE APPROVED A $27 MILLION DOLLAR PROJECT FOR A NEW ADMINSTRATION BUILDING AND RENOVATING THE HISTORIC COURTHOUSE.

Constructed: 1921-1923 Annex: 1988-1990

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Video montage End on wide shot of courthouse

Cost: 1921 -1923 $636,403.35 1988 Annex - $5.25 million

County Graphic:

BROOKINGS COUNTY

Cost / build graphic Video montage Wide shot of courthouse

THE ORIGINAL BROOKINGS COURTHOUSE, BUILT IN 1885 WAS TORN DOWN IN 1910. THE BUILDING WE SEE TODAY WAS DESIGNED BY THE SAME ARHTITECH WHO BUILT THE SOUTH DAKOTA STATE CAPITOL BUILDING AT A COST OF $890,000. INSIDE VISITORS CAN TAKE IN FRONTIER THEMED MURALS PAINTED BY VOLGA ARTIST OSCAR LEE. FOR THOSE WHO HAVE TROUBLE GETTING TO THE COURTROOM LOCATED ON THE 3RD FLOOR, THE COUNTY MADE THE BUILDING HANDICAP ACCESSIBLE IN 1996 WITH AN ELEVATOR EXTENSION. MEETING AMERICANS DISABILITY ACT GUIDELINES HAS BEEN A CHALLENGE FOR SOME OLDER COURTHOUSES.

Constructed: 1911-1912 Cost: $101,471.00

Codington County 49:19

The Big courtroom is not handicap accessible, so it’s difficult to handle some juries and other matters that accommodate that. Steps to get into restrooms and other things. It’s very difficult to meet ADA requirements and plus scheduling of court related matters becomes an issues when you have so few courtrooms to work with.

Butte County Mary Buccholz 2:35:33

There is add on’s on both sides, that happened around 1970. It was restored during Belle Fourche centennial celebration

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in 1989, we restored and took down the justice lady and had her restored, we had quite a bit of work done to it.

Marshall County 2:19:40 Clip Eikamp2.mov

It’s too bad that we have modern technology and modern communication because that had to change the inside of the building and wires went everywhere. The old steam boiler gave out and put in new equipment and now electric heat and propane. Don’t know if they will patch the holes in the dome, when I was up there, there were some bullet holes. They came from the west I suppose the prairie dogs were out there. (smiles)

Deuel County 20:27 Lester Lunden Former Employee of Deuel County

I was very proud to work here for the years I did and work with the people that live here and work here and also really intrigued with the antiqueness and well-kept and all the solid parts of this building, without a doubt it’s the best building in Deuel county

AS FOLKS LIKE JUDGE RUSCH AND OTHERS WORK TO ENSURE THE HISTORY BEHIND SOME OF OUR COURTHOUSES IS NEVER FORGOTTEN, COMMUNITIES ARE DOING THEIR PART TO PHYISALLY PRESERVE THESE HISTORICAL LANDMARKS. JUDGE RUSCH’S RESEARCH HAS OPENED HIS EYES TO NEW STORIES AND UNSEEN MURALS – BUT HIS FAVORITE COURTHOUSES ARE LIKE OLD FRIENDS.


I have a few favorites of my own personal involvement, here in Vermillion. Clay county is one of my favorites. I had an office here for 30 years. The courthouse in Onida is one of my favorites. It looks like a miniature capitol building, it’s in the middle of nowhere on the edge or town yet it looms out there with that big wonderful dome and my great grandparents

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homesteaded in that county and filed their records there.


The buildings are beautiful, the detailing and its amazing. I enjoyed going in and talking to people in the courthouses and see the details and fine pints and reading the stories and what led to the building of these courthouses was so interesting.

Judge Rusch added sound bites Interview one 2:17:20

It’s been interesting and I talk to lawyers all over the state and they love courthouses one of the jokes once you get out of law school you don’t know your way and you’ll have the address now.

Additional Rusch interview Interview 2 3:36:00

They will know a little bit more about the history of their courthouse there, secondly they have pride and realize there are some background and stories that go with each of those.

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