The Sioux Falls EarthCache
Hidden : 2/18/2009
Difficulty:
2 out of 5
Terrain:
1 out of 5

Size: Size: not chosen (not chosen)

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Geocache Description:

This EarthCache is located in Falls Park and is handicap accessible and winter friendly.

The history of Sioux Falls revolves around the cascades of the Big Sioux River. Fueled by water from melting ice, the river exposed the underlying Sioux quartzite bedrock, the hard pinkish stone of the falls. The quartzite itself is as old as the Earth.

The lure of the falls has been a powerful influence. A prehistoric people who inhabited the region before 500 B.C. left numerous burial mounds on the high bluffs near the river. Tribes of the Lakota and Dakota, widely ranging nomadic bison hunters, arrived sometime around the 18th century. Early maps indicate they used the falls as a place to rendezvous with French fur trappers, considered the first European visitors at the falls.

The falls also drew the attention of early explorers. An August 1804 journal entry of the Lewis and Clark expedition describes the falls of the "Soues River." Famous pathfinder John C. Fremont and French scientist Joseph Nicollet explored the region in 1838 and also write a description of the falls. Both are considered second hand accounts rather than evidence of an actual visit.

The first documented visit was by Philander Prescott, an explorer, trader, and trapper who camped overnight at the falls in December 1832.

Two separate groups, the Dakota Land Company of St. Paul and the Western Town Company of Dubuque, Iowa organized in 1856 to claim the land around the falls, considering a promising townsite for its beauty and water power. The Western Town Company arrived first, and was soon followed by the St. Paul-based company in 1857. Each laid out 320-acre claims, but worked together for mutual protection. They built a temporary barricade of turf which they dubbed "Fort Sod," in response to hostilities threatened by native tribes. Seventeen men then spent "the first winter" in Sioux Falls. The following year the population grew to near 40.

Although conflicts in Minnehaha County between American Indians and white settlers were few, the Dakota War of 1862 engulfed nearby southwestern Minnesota. The town was evacuated in August of that year when two local settlers were killed as a result of the conflict. The settlers and soldiers stationed here traveled to Yankton in late August 1862. The abandoned townsite was pillaged and burned.

Fort Dakota, a military reservation established in present day downtown, was established in May of 1865. Many former settlers gradually returned and a new wave of settlers arrived in the following years. The population grew to 593 by 1873, and a building boom was underway in that year.

Quartzite is the stone you see revealed through out Falls Park. Sioux Quartzite provided both the physical and financial base for the city of Sioux Falls.

The falls were at the heart of the young city of Sioux Falls, nicknamed the Queen City. The Queen Bee mill stood at the most powerful point of the falls and was the center of activity in the 1880s. The queen bee mill was constructed of the very same materials as the falls themselves. It was unusually large and possessed some of the most advanced equipment available at the time. It took full advantage of the power of the falls.

Both the Queen Bee Mill and the Sioux Falls Light & Power Plant used the rivers flow to power their turbines. To satisfy the needs of both of these companies the river channel and the rock formations themselves were altered dramatically. A dam was built above the falls to create a mill pond which raised the level of the water. This was necessary to increase the pressure of the flow and deliver more power to the turbines.

In the early days the falls attracted both industry and pleasure seekers. During their leisure time both visitors and settlers enjoyed the falls and a nearby island. “The Island” as it was called by the early settlers was an oasis for citizens and tourists because of the shady woods. They could wade or ride a carriage across the shallow channel in the big Sioux River to the island and enjoy picnicking, swimming, fishing, canoeing and even courting.

The beauty was quickly ruined by the industries attraction to the area’s resources. Water pollution and the fumes and noise from locomotives and nearby industries were offensive. Rock quarry companies and the hydroelectric plant were removing stone from the area and a larger hydroelectric plant was built.

These changes ended river recreation, eliminated “The Island” and dramatically change the falls forever.

The loss of the island began in 1907 with the building of the hydroelectric power plant. The flow of the river was diverted to focus the power of the river into the plant. A few years later the Milwaukee Railroad purchased “The Island”, cut down trees and closed the channel completely by filling it in. This was the end of “The Island”. Soon after rail yards and other industries were built on the former oasis.

After the queen bee mill burned to the ground in 1956, the Sioux Quartzite was removed from the top five floors leaving the last two as a reminder of the ambitious vision of the early Sioux Falls leaders.

The high cost of cutting the stone and the development of less expensive building materials lead to the decline of the Sioux Quartzite as a building and paving material. The stone is still quarried today but it is mainly as a crushed stone in concrete and road pavement.

The falls were in a sad state for years, trash and homeless people could be found to frequent the park. The city decided to make Falls Park into to something that the city could be proud of. They began an extensive clean up and created a beautiful place where both visitors and the citizens of the town can enjoy the beauty of the Sioux Falls.

As you travel through the park locate the seven information signs. To log this find you must answer the following questions from those signs:

1. What is the name of “The Island”?
2. What type of “Special” photograph is located on “The Lure of the Falls” sign?
3. How many barrels of flour a day could the mill produce?
4. What is the diameter of the flume that brought water to the turbines?
5. On what date did Captain James Allen write about the Sioux Falls in his Journal?

Please send the answers to me in an email and do not post them in your log. In addition to answering the questions please take a picture of yourself or your GPS from either the bridge or the tower with the falls in the background and post it here.

The Falls of the Big Sioux River have been a focus of life in the region throughout history. Native American peoples were the first to visit the falls and bring stories of them to European explorers. They have been the focus of recreation and industry since the founding of the city of Sioux Falls in 1856. Today the park covers 42 acres. Each second, an average of 7,400 gallons of water drop 100 feet over the course of the falls.
Falls Park is home to the free, historic Wells Fargo Falls Park Sound and Light Show. The Sound and Light Show features information about the history of Sioux Falls and is shown at dusk, weather-permitting, from Memorial Day through Labor Day.

Falls Park Visitor Information Center
April 15-Sept. 30 Open Daily 9 a.m.-9 p.m.
Oct. 1-April 14 open weekends 9 a.m.-5 p.m.
605-367-7430

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