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Sesquicentennial Celebration - 150 Years
August 6-9, 2009
A Brief History of the Early Days (1859-1881)
The name VERMILLION was a transfer from that of
the nearby Vermillion River, sometimes spelled with one
"l". In 1931, the spelling was officially changed by the
Geographic Board and the Post Office from Vermilion with
one "l" to Vermillion with two "l's". In turn it was a Sioux
name, WASE WAKPALA (wa sa wak pa' la) meaning "red stream"
and later translated by French traders to Vermillion. The
first white men to visit the site of Vermillion were the
fur traders who visited Clay County in the late 1700's.
Remains of trading stations were found by Lewis & Clark
when they traveled in the area in 1804. Lewis & Clark also
journeyed to SPIRIT MOUND, seven miles North of Vermillion
on August 25, 1804.
Vermillion was actually founded in 1859, although it was
laid out as a town site below the bluff in 1857. No permanent
settlement had been permitted until an Indian Treaty in
1858. The post office was established on April 17, 1860,
the same year in which Vermillion articles of incorporation
were prepared; but were not actually filed until 1862. Vermillion
was platted in 1869, ten years after the first settlers
arrived. The original plat consisted of 120 acres and extended
from Dakota Street west to a point one half block west of
the old Austin School, (the Senior Citizens Center is now
situated in this approximate location), and from the Missouri
River north to Vine, which is now Main Street.
The Great Flood of 1881 followed a hard winter. The gorge
formed on the night of Sunday March 27, 1881, and the alarm
was sounded by ringing the bell of the Baptist Church. So
rapidly did the river rise that, before all the residents
could escape to the bluffs, water was more than two feet
deep even in the highest part of town. The water continued
to rise for the next two days, reaching a depth of three
to four feet in the northern part of town. By Thursday the
ice in the river began to move, taking buildings with it.
There was a blizzard that day to hinder salvage efforts.
During the day some forty buildings broke loose from their
foundations, jostled and bumped by huge ice cakes, creaking
and splintering, finally to be dashed to pieces and strewn
over the ice gorge.
The water level remained much the same for the next six
days, during which much property was removed to the bluffs.
The high point of the flood was finally reached on Wednesday
April 6, when another foot of water carried off 56 more
buildings, including the St. Nicholas Hotel, the railroad
depot, and the Congregational Church. All but half a dozen
residences on the bottom were swept away or damaged badly.
Some 132 buildings were destroyed. When the water was at
its highest, at least 20 buildings could be seen floating
off at the same time. All bridges were out between Yankton
and Sioux City and it was two months before rail service
was restored.
After the flood of 1881, a prompt decision was made by
the businessmen to rebuild on top of the bluff. Here several
residences were already located in addition to the public
school building and the Methodist Church. At a public meeting
called on April 14, 1881, the people of Vermillion voted,
by virtually unanimous approval, to relocate the town of
Vermillion on the bluff. Many businesses relocated in new
buildings on Main or Market Street by the fall of 1881.
* Compiled by
Dan Christopherson from the following publications:
- Clay County Place Names (Clay
County Historical Society)
- History of Clay County (Herbert
S. Schell)
- Clay County: Chapters out of
the Past (Herbert S. Schell)
- Life in Vermillion Before the
Flood of 1881 and Shortly After (A.H. Lathrop)
- Vermillion Story (Everett W.
Sterling)
- History of Vermillion and Clay
County South Dakota (Elizabeth T. Smith)
- Oral History Interview with
Austin H. Lathrop (Margery Weeks)
- Personal Interviews with Cleo
Erickson & Tom Thaden of the Clay County Historical Society
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