The Sisseton weekly standard. (Sisseton, Roberts County, S.D.) 1892-1929, 1906-12-07
PROGRESS Of SOUTH DAKOTA IN 19O6'
Year OF Real Prosperity Abundant Crops and General Happiness
Extensive Railroad gvidina

AN interesting and comprehensive
review of the progress of South Da-
Rota during the year 1906 has been
prepared by Doane Robinson, secretary
Of the department of history. The
following is summary of his report:
For the sixth consecutive year the
Department of History presents a re-
view Of South Dakotas progress, and
again finds it a pleasure to congratu-
late our people upon a year of real
prosperity, abundant crops and general
happiness.
Railroad Building.
The feature of the year has been the
general resumption of railroad build
Ing In the state as forecast in the re-
view of one year ago. Three lines, the
Milwaukee, the Northwestern and
the st. Louis have each made exten.
sive additions to their mileage.
The Milwaukee has practically COM
pleted its grade from Presho to Rapid
City, and at this writing has to fill
gap Of about 100 miles of rails to COM
plete the division. The North Western
has Its grade about completed from
Pierre to Rapid City, and the rails laid
for about half the distance. 1t has
been the purpose of both companies to
complete these divisions by the begin
ming of the coming year, but from
present prospects the finish will be
delayed some weeks longer. The Mil
waukee has also graded it's Pacific eS-
| tension from Glenham, Walworth coun.
ty, across the Standing Rock Indian
reservation into North Dakota, dis
lance Of about eighty miles in this
state. The rails on this extension arc
laid to the Missouri river, where a
! substantial steel bridge is under con-
struction at about the mouth of Grand
| river. This company. too, has COM
pleted it's line from Sioux Falls by way
of Renner to Madison. The North
Western also has under construction a
steel bridge at Pierre, also an extern
sion of it's Bonesteel line for distance
of thirty miles.
| The Minneapolis & st. Louis has
graded a line from Watertown to Leola
| in Mcpherson county, and a branch
| from this line from Condo in Sphinx
| county to the Missouri. river at Lee
| A)Cdu, VIII nave l10 CHILL . SAeGA
sion In operation by Jan. l. The line
| from Rapid City to Mystic, uniting
| the Northwestern and Burlington
| systems in the Black Hills, was COM
| pleted early last spring and is in op-
Grafton, as 1.-The Crouch Line
The work upon all Of these lines
| and extensions has been seriously de
layed by the impossibility of securing
| sufficient labor. The competition for
help by the farmers has drawn away
/ laborers from the railroads constantly
and rendered progress In construction
! slow and unsatisfactory.
| New Towns.
The new railroads have naturally
given birth to many new towns, scat
tered at intervals along the extern
sions. The more important of these
| Black Hills extension Of the Milwau-
| kee; Midland, on the Northwestern
! in Stanley county, and Mobridge, at
| the crossing of the Missouri river on
| the Milwaukee's Pacific extension
Florence in Codington county and
| Cresbard in Faulk county are important
| points upon the Minneapolis & st.
| Louis.
Belle Fourche Irrigation Project.
| Second in Importance only to the
railroad extensions is the grea, Belle
Fourche irrigation project under the
| direction OF the reclamation service of
| the general government. This project
| involves the construction of the larg-
| est earth dam in the world and head
| works Of vast proportions, c;eating q
reservoir of tremendous capacity and
placing 10000 acres Of land under irri-
| CATION. Excellent progress has been
made In construction. Water will be
turned upon 10000 acres next spring,
and the entire project be under the
ditch by the spring of 1909.
New Settlers.
The construction of railroads into
the hitherto inaccessible regions
west Of the Missouri river has caused
tremendous influx of new settlers
into that portion of The state. Practi-
cally all of the available land along
the new lines has been homesteaded,
and fourishing villages have sprung
cp lliC ICSioI HGl Z Is ilV
data from which to approximate the
growth of actual residents. The new
settlement Is not yet reflected in the
school census, and indeed the changes
made in the school census law by the
last legislature which excludes from
the enumeration many hitherto coun-
ted, makes that enumeration of little
value for comparative study and for
approximations of total population
population. Manifestly there has been
large growth.
Congressional Legislation.
The. congress passed special acts af-
fecting South Dakota, in addition to
the general legislation affecting the
state, as follows:
Extending time in which Yankton,
Norfolk & Southern may build bridge
| across Missouri at Yankton until
March 9, 1909.
Extending time in which Winnipeg,
Yankton & Gulf railway may build
bridge across Missouri at Yankton