# A Brief History of South Dakota/Chapter 31

CHAPTER XXXI
THE UNEASY CAPITAL
The first settlement, except for the fur trade, made within what is now South Dakota, at Sioux Falls in 1857, was established with the express purpose of making it the capital of Dakota territory. For four years, in fact, Sioux Falls was nominally the capital, though of course it was only by common consent and without any law in support of it.
When the territory was finally organized, in 1861, Governor Jayne established the temporary capital at Yankton and made his office there, and his choice was ratified by the first legislature, as we have learned in the story of the attempt to unseat Speaker Pinney. This location was very unsatisfactory to many of the people, particularly to those residing west of Yankton on the Missouri River; and in 1867 General Todd, who represented Dakota in Congress for two terms, led in a hard fight in the legislature for the removal of the capital to Bon Homme. He succeeded in getting this bill through the house of representatives, but it was defeated in the council. In the session of 1880 an unavailing fight was made to remove the capital to Huron.
By this time a large population had come into central ​and northern Dakota, and capital removal was much discussed. The legislature of 1882 provided that the governor should appoint a capital commission, to consist of nine persons, who were to go out and locate the territorial capital at a point in the territory where they could do so upon the best terms. They were to secure not less than one hundred and sixty acres of land and a sufficient amount of money to build a creditable capitol. Many towns in both northern and southern Dakota competed in this contest, but northern Dakota won the prize and the capital was located at Bismarck. Yankton, of course, gave up the capital reluctantly and made a hard fight for its retention. Southern Dakota was much more populous than northern Dakota, and had the larger delegation in the legislature; and the leaders were determined to remove the territorial capital back into southern Dakota at the next session. Pierre, Huron, and Mitchell were leading candidates for the honor, and in each session of the legislature of the territory, except the last one, the matter was vigorously fought, but without success, because the southern Dakota men could not all agree upon one town.
The question of the location of a temporary capital for the state of South Dakota was submitted to the people with the constitution of 1885; Huron and Pierre, Alexandria and Chamberlain, were competing candidates. Huron was successful, and the session of the provisional legislature, which elected Colonel Moody and Judge Edgerton United States senators, was convened there in December of 1885.
​The enabling act required that among other things the question of the location of the temporary seat of government should be again submitted to the people. This brought on a hard-fought contest in the summer of 1889, in which Pierre, Huron, Watertown, Sioux Falls, Mitchell, and Chamberlain were contestants. This time Pierre was successful, winning the temporary capital by a large plurality.
The permanent seat of government was, under the constitution, to be determined at the election of 1890. At this election only Pierre and Huron were candidates. A campaign of intense interest was fought, in which Pierre succeeded by a very large majority.
Nevertheless, there continued a feeling that the capital should be located elsewhere, and ambitious towns clamored for a resubmission of the question. In legislature after legislature the question came up on a proposition to amend the constitution so as to make Huron the capital, but the promoters were unable to get the proposition submitted. Finally, in the legislature of 1901, a combination of all of the ambitious candidates and their friends was made, and it was agreed that a caucus should determine which town should be the candidate. Mitchell won in this caucus, and the attempt to secure the submission of the constitutional amendment brought about a remarkable legislative filibuster, but again the proposition failed. At the session of 1903 the caucus plan was again tried, Mitchell again securing the caucus nomination; and the resolutions submitting the constitutional amendment prevailed by a very large majority in both houses.
​During the next two years a very picturesque campaign was fought. In the campaigns of 1889 and 1890 large sums of money had been expended, more or less corruptly, in influencing votes, and the effect upon the morals of the state was very bad. Both Pierre and Mitchell, in the campaign of 1904, undertook to avoid the corrupt
Carnegie Library, Mitchell
use of money. The Northwestern Railroad Company was interested in the retention of the capital at Pierre; the Chicago, Milwaukee, and St. Paul Railway Company was equally interested in the removal of the capital to Mitchell. The campaign, therefore, became a fight between the two railway systems.
Early in the season each railway began to carry to the city in which it was interested persons selected from the ​several communities, who were presumed to have influence with the voters, giving them free rides for the purpose of getting them interested in that city as the capital. These influential persons let it be known in their home communities that they had been thus favored, and their neighbors promptly applied for like favors, which could scarcely be refused. So it came about that long before the close of the campaign the railroad companies felt compelled to carry to these two cities every person who applied for the privilege. At least one hundred thousand persons were carried into each town. In the last weeks of the campaign many special trains daily, loaded with good-natured men, women, and children, were carried into Mitchell and Pierre. It was a great, continuous picnic, in which all of the people participated, and probably has not had an equal in American history.
The election resulted in the retention of the capital at Pierre, by about eighteen thousand majority. The legislature of 1905 made provision for an appropriate capitol building at Pierre, and it is probable that the people of South Dakota are through with campaigns for the removal of the capital.