# 2416 - 1989 25c South Dakota Statehood

U.S. #2416
1989 25¢ South Dakota Statehood

• Commemorates South Dakota’s 100^th anniversary of statehood
• Pictures a sod house, which early settlers built, and the state flower (pasqueflower)
• Fourth and final centennial statehood stamp of 1989

Stamp Category:  Commemorative
Value:  25¢, first-class rate
First Day of Issue:  May 3, 1989
First Day City:  Pierre, South Dakota
Quantity Issued:  164,680,000
Printed by:  American Bank Note Company
Printing Method:  Photogravure
Format:  Panes of 50 in sheets of 100
Perforations:  11

Why the stamp was issued:  To commemorate the 100^th anniversary of South Dakota statehood.

About the stamp design:  South Dakota’s Centennial Commission staged a stamp design contest in 1986 and sent their top six choices to the USPS.  While the USPS didn’t think any of the designs were usable, they did note that several of them pictured sod houses and decided the stamp should picture one.  They asked two artists to submit concept sketches and selected the work of Marian Henjum, whose colored pencil design showed a pitched-roof soddie with a blonde-haired woman standing in front surrounded by windblown grass.  The USPS then suggested she add a pasqueflower (the state flower) for extra color. 

First Day City:  The First Day ceremony for this stamp was held on the steps of the state capitol in Pierre, South Dakota. 

History the stamp represents:  Two American Indian tribes lived in North and South Dakota before the arrival of Europeans – the Arikara and the Cheyenne. North Dakota was also home to the Hidatsa and Mandan. In the beginning of the 1700s, the Sioux moved to South Dakota from Minnesota.

Réne-Robert Cavelier, Sieur de La Salle, claimed all the land drained by the Mississippi River system for France in 1682. This included portions of both North and South Dakota. French-Canadian brothers François and Louis-Joseph La Vérendrye were the first whites to reach North and South Dakota.

In 1803, France sold Louisiana to the United States. In 1804, President Thomas Jefferson sent Meriwether Lewis and William Clark on an expedition to explore the Louisiana Territory. They passed through both regions on their way home and established friendly relations with the Indian tribes of the area.

Canadians of Scotch and Irish descent were the first Europeans to attempt a permanent settlement in North Dakota. They settled in Pembina in 1812. In 1818, the U.S. gained control of the northeastern portion of the state through a treaty with Great Britain. This treaty made all of today’s North Dakota U.S. territory. Most of the settlers at Pembina left soon after the treaty was signed, as they wished to remain in British territory.

The first permanent settlement in South Dakota was built in 1817 on the site of Fort Pierre on the Bad River. A French trader, Joseph La Framboise, established the fort. The increased number of Europeans in South Dakota created tensions with the American Indian populations. The Arikara tribe attacked a fur-trading party led by the lieutenant governor of Missouri, General William Ashley. Federal troops were dispatched to punish the tribe.

Congress created the Dakota Territory in 1861. It included the modern states of North and South Dakota, as well as large parts of Montana and Wyoming. In 1863, the Dakota Territory was opened for homesteading. Settlers received free land to live on and improve. Even with the incentive of free land, the territory developed slowly. This was due to poor transportation and fear of Indian attacks.

In the 1860s, conflicts with American Indians prevented rapid settlement of the Dakota Territory. The most significant fighting was during Red Cloud’s War. Red Cloud was a Sioux chief. He opposed the construction of a bridge that was being built to facilitate the mining of gold located in prime Sioux hunting lands. From 1866-68, the Sioux attacked troops and settlers. Finally, the government met their demands and created the Great Sioux Reservation, which included all the land in South Dakota west of the Missouri River.

In 1875, large-scale farming became a profitable business in the Dakota Territory. Eastern corporations and wealthy families established huge wheat farms ranging in size from 3,000 to 65,000 acres. Most of these farms were located in the Red River Valley. These wheat farms earned so much money, they became known as bonanza farms. Improved machinery and orderly methods of planting, harvesting, and marketing were the keys to success of the bonanza farms.

Also in the mid 1870s, a military expedition into the Black Hills, led by Lieutenant Colonel George A. Custer, discovered gold near the present-day town of Custer. In 1876, even larger deposits were found near today’s towns of Lead and Deadwood. These discoveries created a rush of gold prospectors to the area. Lawless mining towns grew in these areas. Deadwood was of particular notoriety. Wild Bill Hickok, Calamity Jane, and other Deadwood citizens grew to become American legends.

The discovery of gold and the availability of excellent farmland attracted many thousands of settlers. Railroads were built. Cattle ranchers were attracted to the area, as there was a huge demand for meat.

During the 1870s, the people of the Dakota Territory began asking Congress to divide their territory into two parts. The main population centers in the territory were in the northeast and southeast and had little contact. Travel between the two was difficult, as the railroads had been laid out in an east-to-west direction. Each group had separate interests and therefore wanted separate government. The border between North and South Dakota was established in February 1889. On November 2, 1889, North and South Dakota were admitted to the union as their own states.

South Dakota’s growth for its first 10 years as a state was stunted by a severe drought. New Indian lands were made available for settlement and awarded by means of special lotteries. By 1910, the state’s population had grown to 584,000. South Dakota’s economy cycled through highs and lows, due to droughts, for many years. During World War II, South Dakota’s farmers eventually recovered and broke food production records.

Since World War II, South Dakota’s government has worked hard to broaden its economy and attract new industries. These efforts were especially successful during the 1970s. But, during the 1980s, a large number of the state’s farmers were forced to sell their land due to low prices and high debts. To encourage growth, the state does not tax personal or corporate income. South Dakota has very little pollution, with extremely clean air and water.