South Dakota Trivia & Tidbits - Page 15

Looking for South Dakota trivia? Try our list South Dakota little know facts, tidbits and trivia.

Actress Cheryl Ladd, best known for her role in the 1970s television show Charlie’s Angels, was born in Huron (pop. 11,893) on July 12, 1951.

first appeared: 10/21/2001

Deerfield, in the Black Hills, holds the state record for the earliest official snowfall (greater than 2 inches) when it received 4 inches Sept. 1, 1970.

first appeared: 10/14/2001

Among the many fossils found at Badlands National Park in the last century were the remains of a brontotherium, an animal with a forked horn on its nose that resembles a modern-day rhinoceros, except it was up to 8 feet tall and 15 feet long.

first appeared: 10/7/2001

In September 1892, the first gasoline-powered tractor, made by John Froelich in eastern Iowa, was shipped to Langford (pop. 290) where it was used to power a threshing machine for about two months.

first appeared: 9/30/2001

After Texas, South Dakota grows more hay than any other state in the nation, harvesting 4.1 million acres of the crop in 2000.

first appeared: 9/23/2001

The biggest turtle fossils ever discovered have been found buried in various parts of South Dakota, much of which was a sea 65 million years ago. These Cretaceous Period turtles measured more than 10 feet long.

first appeared: 9/16/2001

William B. Franklin named the Holy Terror Mine, which he discovered near Keystone (pop. 311) in 1894, after his wife, Jennie. It became one of the leading gold producing mines in the nation.

first appeared: 9/9/2001

In 1898, South Dakota became the first state to enact legislation allowing voters to pass laws by referendum.

first appeared: 9/2/2001

With about 3,500 bison, the Triple-U Ranch, near Fort Pierre (pop. 1,991), has the nation’s largest buffalo herd. Scenes from the movie Dances With Wolves were filmed at this 60,000-acre ranch.

first appeared: 8/26/2001

The honey bee was named the state insect in 1978 to honor its importance to the farm industry.

first appeared: 8/19/2001

According to legend, New York City lawyer Charles Rushmore was visiting the Black Hills when he asked what the name of a certain mountain was and was told it might as well be named after him. So, it became Mount Rushmore.

first appeared: 8/12/2001

In recognition of its importance to the state’s farm economy, the honey bee was adopted as the state insect in 1978.

first appeared: 8/5/2001

Completed in 1956, the Fort Randall dam, near Pickstown (pop. 168), is made of 50.2 million cubic yards of earth. Its power plant can generate 320,000 kilowatts of electricity an hour.

first appeared: 7/29/2001

With about 8,000 buffalo in various preserves, South Dakota has more buffalo than any other state.

first appeared: 7/22/2001

The state’s oldest weekly newspaper, the Springfield Times of Springfield (pop. 1,147), was first published July 27, 1871.

first appeared: 7/15/2001

Beginning in 1962, up to 150 Minuteman missiles were kept ready to launch at sites around Ellsworth Air Force Base near Rapid City. The last of these intercontinental ballistic missiles was retired in 1994.

first appeared: 7/8/2001

Born near Vermillion (pop. 10,066) on Aug. 27, 1870, Peter Norbeck was elected as the state’s ninth governor in 1916, the first to have been born in the Dakota Territory.

first appeared: 7/1/2001

Devil’s Gulch, a 50-foot deep gorge near Garretson (pop. 1,005), is said to be where outlaw Jesse James eluded a posse in 1876 by jumping the 20-foot-wide gulch on his horse.

first appeared: 6/24/2001

A $1 million memorial honoring the 68,000 men and women of South Dakota who served in the armed services during World War II will be dedicated Sept. 15 on the Capitol grounds in Pierre (pop. 13,357).

first appeared: 6/17/2001

The most abrupt temperature change in the United States occurred in Spearfish (pop. 8,332) on Jan. 22, 1943. In two minutes, the mercury climbed from minus 4 degrees to 45 degrees, shattering windows across town.

first appeared: 6/10/2001

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