Exploration of this area began in
1743 when Louis-Joseph and François Verendrye came
from France in search of a route to the Pacific.
The U.S. acquired the region as part of the
Louisiana Purchase in 1803, and it was explored by
Lewis and Clark in 1804–1806. Fort Pierre, the first
permanent settlement, was established in 1817.
Settlement of South Dakota did not begin in earnest
until the arrival of the railroad in 1873 and the
discovery of gold in the Black Hills in 1874.
Agriculture is a cultural and economic mainstay, but
it no longer leads the state in employment or share
of gross state product. Durable-goods manufacturing
and private services have evolved as the drivers of
the economy. Tourism is also a booming industry in
the state, generating over a billion dollars' worth
of economic activity each year.
South Dakota is the second-largest producer of
flaxseed and sunflower seed in the nation. It is the
third-largest producer of hay and rye.
The Black Hills are the highest mountains east of
the Rockies. Mt. Rushmore, in this group, is famous
for the likenesses of Washington, Jefferson,
Lincoln, and Theodore Roosevelt, which were carved
in granite by Gutzon Borglum. A memorial to Crazy
Horse is also being carved in granite near Custer.
Other tourist attractions include the Badlands; the
World's Only Corn Palace, in Mitchell; and the city
of Deadwood, where Wild Bill Hickok was killed in
1876 and where gambling was recently legalized. |
