South Dakota Trivia & Tidbits - Page 8

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

Adopted in 1966, the state gemstone is the Fairburn agate, discovered near Fairburn (pop. 80) and used in jewelry.

first appeared: 6/20/2004

L. Frank Baum, author of the Wizard of Oz books, published the Aberdeen Saturday Pioneer newspaper in 1890 in Aberdeen (pop. 24,658).

first appeared: 6/13/2004

Geothermal springs in Midland (pop. 179) were tapped in the 1960s to heat the school and provide city water.

first appeared: 6/6/2004

The Dakota State Fair Speedway Wall of Fame in Huron, S.D., (pop. 11, 893) includes names of drivers who have won special race events dating back to the speedway’s beginnings in 1914.

first appeared: 6/6/2004

The state mineral is rose quartz, discovered in the 1880s near Custer (pop. 1,860).

first appeared: 5/30/2004

The state is among seven that does not collect personal income tax. The others are Alaska, Florida, Nevada, Texas, Washington and Wyoming. Two others, New Hampshire and Tennessee, tax only dividend and interest income.

first appeared: 5/23/2004

Established in 1896, D.C. Booth Historic National Fish Hatchery in Spearfish (pop. 8,606) is among the nation’s oldest hatcheries.

first appeared: 5/16/2004

Locally quarried reddish quartzite dazzles in the dam wall, beach house and bridges at Split Rock City Park in Garretson (pop. 1,165).

first appeared: 5/9/2004

In 1929, Potato Creek Johnny, whose real name was John Perrett, found one of the largest gold nuggets, 8.5 ounces, in the Black Hills. The prospector was a beloved character in Deadwood (pop. 1,380).

first appeared: 5/2/2004

The first election west of the Mississippi River took place Aug. 22, 1804, at Elk Point (pop. 1,714) on the Lewis and Clark expedition. The party elected Patrick Gass to the post left by the death of Sgt. Charles Floyd.

first appeared: 4/25/2004

Horseback riders and bicyclists share the 114-mile George S. Mickelson Trail, which follows an abandoned railway track from Deadwood (pop. 1,380) to Edgemont (pop. 867).

first appeared: 4/18/2004

Virginia Driving Hawk Sneve, author of 20 books about American Indians, became the state’s first National Humanities Medalist in 2000. The retired teacher was born and raised on the Rosebud Reservation.

first appeared: 4/11/2004

Bob Barker, host of The Price is Right, grew up on the Rosebud Indian Reservation in Mission (pop. 904) where his mother taught school.

first appeared: 4/4/2004

The buffalo herd in the 1990 movie Dancing with Wolves was filmed at the Triple U Standing Butte Ranch near Pierre (pop. 13,876).

first appeared: 3/28/2004

The state’s Department of Game, Fish & Parks advises that fish caught and released are more likely to survive if caught with barbless hooks and played for only a short time.

first appeared: 3/21/2004

The Black Hills are the highest mountains east of the Rockies.

first appeared: 3/14/2004

The Lakota Indians named the Black Hills because their ponderosa pine-covered slopes look almost black from a distance.

first appeared: 3/7/2004

The black-footed ferret, considered the most endangered land mammal in North America, was reintroduced in South Dakota beginning in 1994. More than 300 animals now inhabit the state.

first appeared: 2/29/2004

Both North and South Dakota became states on the same day of Nov. 2, 1889.

first appeared: 2/22/2004

The largest underground gold mine in the Western Hemisphere is the Homestake Mine in Lead (pop. 3,027).

first appeared: 2/15/2004

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