De Smet
Photo courtesy of South Dakota State Historical Society

 
     The town of De Smet was set up in 1880. This picture is a bird's-eye view of the town three years later. The Chicago & North Western Railway set the town up in the shape of a "T." The main street is the long part of the "T," and the railroad tracks form the top. Most railroad towns were set up this way. The trains stopped at the edge of town to unload their goods. Storeowners then took things downtown to the stores.

Back