This photo shows a firemen’s parade circa late 1800s to early 1900s. The exact date and town are unknown, but the group wearing dark uniforms is made up of Mitchell firemen carrying the banner which was recently placed on display at the Carnegie Resource Center in Mitchell.
Carnegie Resource Center Photo.
Published in the May 7th, 2019 Daily Republic.
H. Noble and Son Funeral Directors started their business at 314 N. Main St. in Mitchell around 1908. By 1929, there were three generations of the Noble family actively involved in the business, H. Noble, D.J. Noble and Darwin and Harvard Noble. They were in three locations during the life of the business with the last being on 15th Street and Main. The Noble Funeral Home was a prime business for many years in Mitchell (1900s to the 1950s and 60s) and handled a vast majority of the funeral business during those years.
The Broadbent family was also connected to the funeral business in Mitchell and owned a furniture store along with the funeral business in the early days of Mitchell. They left the area for a while but became competition with the Noble and Son Funeral Home again in 1929 when Walter H. Broadbent established the Broadbent Funeral Home with his son Harry at 112 E. Third Ave. Broadbent’s business continued until 1958 when he died, and the business was sold to Ray Milliken, who built a new facility at 805 W. Havens Ave. Milliken sold his business to George and Michele Bittner in 1979 along with the purchased records of the Noble and Son Funeral Home. Much of the history of the funeral business in Mitchell resides at the Bittner Funeral Chapel today.
Photo courtesy of Mitchell Area Historical Society.
Published in the July 2nd, 2019 Daily Republic.
May 20, 1938, National Airmail Week. Local pilot M.B. Ronald collected mail from Mitchell, Mount Vernon (landing and taking off in alfalfa field), and Ethan (landing and taking off in pasture). He flew the 34-pound pouch of mail to Huron in a trip from 3:35 p.m. to 4:02 p.m. Then postmaster Harry Shepard hoped this flight would help people become “air mail minded.”
Photo courtesy of Jim Blades.
Published in the June 25th, 2019 Daily Republic.
A successful duck hunt on October 18, 1933, for, from left to right: Lee Willson, Roy Giese, Dorr W. Cline, Ed Mallory and Red Ashmann. They bagged 76 ducks on this hunt.
Photo by High Studio. Courtesy of Mitchell Area Historical Society.
Published in the October 1st, 2019 Daily Republic.
Mitchell’s first fire fighting apparatus, circa 1884. The Mitchell Fire Department, known as the Hook and Ladder Company No. 1, was organized in 1882. The meeting book states that the first meeting took place on Sept. 12, 1882. This meeting had two purposes, the election of officers and the appointment of a committee of three to “make arrangement with the town board for the purchase of fire apparatus.” Election outcomes were J.M. Adams, foreman; A.W. Odell, assistant foreman; R.M. Church, treasurer; and L.C. Odell, secretary. This is the piece of equipment that they received.
Photo courtesy from Mitchell Area Historical Society
Published in the May 21st, 2019 Daily Republic.
Bayside Beach and Subdivision, circa 1930. This beach is in the area of the current Kibbee Park and may have extended farther west than the current public park. At that time no homes had been built, and only two lots out of every six could be sold.
Photo courtesy of Mitchell Area Historical Society.
Published in the July 9th, 2019 Daily Republic.
Mitchell firefighters circa early 1950s. This was taken on the east side of Mitchell Fire Department. Left to right, front row: Richard Tracy, Gene Rehling, Howard Nelson, Charles Summers, Darwin Summers, James D. Arens, Ray Franks; Middle Row: Jim Christopher?, Edward E. Schlimgen, Tom Lichter, John Courier, Jim Miller, Steve V. Morro, John M. Spry, John E. Tracy, Darrell D. Ramsey. Back Row: Clarence P. Fox, unidentified, Douglas J. Splitt, Urban “Red” Hohn, Don L. Dand, Lloyd N. Peacock, unidentified, Don Davis. Standing in doorway, Bruce H. Allen. Any information on the unidentified firefighters or other details contact the Mitchell Area Historical Society located at the Carnegie Resource Center.
Published in the June 11th, 2019 Daily Republic.
The 1906 Grand Army of the Republic (GAR) parade in front of the Corn Palace in Mitchell. The GAR was comprised of Union Army veterans of the Civil War. Loren R. Bingham is holding the flag.
Photo from The Archives of the Carnegie Resource Center.
Published in the November 12th, 2019 Daily Republic.
East Side of Main Street looking North from Second Street. Circa early 1900's.
Published in the January 22nd, 2019 Daily Republic.
West Side of Main Street looking North from Second Street. Circa early 1900's.
Published in the January 15th, 2019 Daily Republic.
Back in Time 2019
The man on the left is L. Gale Evans, a nephew of Lawrence O. Gale who was a co-founder of the Corn Palace. The railroad was established in Mitchell in 1880. The Chicago Milwaukee, St. Paul and Pacific Railway Station built in 1909 sits at the south end of Main Street. Construction cost at the time was $40,000 with some additional cost for landscaping etc. Passenger service was discontinued in 1954 and freight service in 1981. Freight trains still use the tracks, but do not use the depot for business. The building now houses The Depot Pub & Grille, which serves food and displays a rich history of the original occupants.
Photo courtesy of Mitchell Area Historical Society
Published in the July 16th, 2019 Daily Republic.
Circus Day, June 22, 1909, with a parade heading south on Main Street, which has dirt streets. The view is between Third and Fourth avenues. The Champney building on the northwest corner of Third and Main street with the prominent arch in the center of the building. The arch would soon be the Maynard Theater. Across the street on the southwest corner is the newly built Western Building. Continuing on south is the Mitchell National Bank, Dahle Jewelry, now the VFW.
Photo by Ole Leeland, courtesy of the Mitchell Area Historical Society
Published in the October 29th, 2019 Daily Republic.
A 1936 photo of the west side of Main Street between Third and Fourth avenues. From left to right: Feinstein Brothers (317), Heimstra Meats (319), Johnston Sales (321) and Blynn Shoes (321½).
Photo from the Carnegie Resource Center.
Published in the August 13th, 2019 Daily Republic.
Ad from the 1948 Daily Republic.
Palace City Cycle was owned by Austin W. Irwin and was located at 1115 N. Lawler. The business was run out of a garage (approximately 20 x 16) that sat on the alley from 1940 into the 1950s. It featured Indian motor cycles as well as Harley-Davidson.
Published in the August 6th, 2019 Daily Republic.
In this 1935 photo looking east, Home Furniture is located at 207 E. Third Ave., where First National Bank is now. Holy Family Church and Notre Dame School can be seen in the background.
Photo from The Archives of the Carnegie Resource Center.
Published in the November 5th, 2019 Daily Republic.
Courtesy of Archives of Dakotas Conference of United Methodist Church, DWU
A 1922 photo of the Methodist Episcopal Church in Pukwana, which was disbanded during the 1930s. In 1940, this church and a church from Viola Township were moved to Alpena to replace the Alpena Methodist Church that was destroyed by fire. Both churches were renovated into one new church. As of April, the church is in use as the United Parish of Alpena.
Published in the April 23rd, 2019 Daily Republic.
Photo courtesy of Archives of the Dakotas Conference of the United Methodist Church, DWU
The Iona Methodist Church, pictured here in 1922, was built in 1909 by George Kenzy, Jack Hyde and Mike McHaley on land donated by Frank Walker in Lyman County. The Rev. Tommy Black had been conducting Methodist services in Bijou Hills since 1908, when he began serving the Iona community as well, traveling back and forth by ferryboat. His enthusiasm contributed to the building of the church, and he continued serving at Iona into 1911. In 1922, at the time of this photo, the Baptist pastor from Dixon was ministering to the Iona congregation. On Dec. 24, 1949, the Iona Methodist Church was destroyed by fire. A new church was built in 1951 and dedicated in 1957. When the Iona United Methodist Church closed in 2014, they had been yoked with the Gregory United Methodist Church for 87 years.
Published in the April 2nd, 2019 Daily Republic.
One of the many home owned neighborhood grocery stores in the Mitchell area. The store was usually located in the front of the building and the residence either in the back or on the second floor. This was very handy for mom and the kids. The selection was usually very small and many families had charge accounts. Elsie Meyer and her son, Claude, operated a store at 120 W. First Ave., now an empty lot. It was a small, compact store with the meat counter located at the rear of the store.
Photo from the Carnegie Resource Center.
Published in the December 10th, 2019 Daily Republic.
Presidential candidate George McGovern with an unidentified man on Mitchell’s Main Street, 1972. Note Tradehome Shoes and the Corn Palace in the background.
Photo credit Dakota Wesleyan University Archives.
Published in the March 19th, 2019 Daily Republic.
1919 Corn Palace -- 100 years ago. A carnival atmosphere pervaded the Palace with vaudeville acts taking center stage. Crowds were happy as WWI had just ended. Theodore Roosevelt made an appearance. Nearly 50,000 people attended.
On the corner of 5th and Main. Notice that the main entrance is on 5th street, not Main. On the right is the former Elks building.
Photo courtesy of the Carnegie Resource Center.
Published in the August 27th, 2019 Daily Republic.
Dakota Wesleyan University Archives
Phillips Hall, formerly located at 1020 Court Merrill, was given to Dakota Wesleyan University by Mrs. O. A. Phillips in 1918, after the death of her husband, the Rev. O. A. Phillips, and in memoriam to her son John who died in 1908 at age 14. DWU used it for dorms, classrooms, music studios and practice rooms. It was dismantled in 1961.
Published in the April 16th, 2019 Daily Republic.
This banner was the prize in 1895 for the Mitchell Volunteer Fire Fighters. A team had to take first place three consecutive years in the annual state completion with other fire fighter teams before they could take permanent possession of the banner. Mitchell took first place in 1893 in Mitchell, in 1894 in Canton and 1895 in Madison. In honor of National Fire Fighter Appreciation Day, the banner will be unveiled for display at 1 p.m. Saturday, May 4, the Carnegie Resource Center.
Carnegie Resource Center Photo.
Published in the April 30th, 2019 Daily Republic.
Photo taken on March 11, 1897, at 11th and Main in Mitchell. Note that the gentleman is standing on the peak of a roof.
Published in the February 5th, 2019 Daily Republic.
Photo is circa 1888: Mitchell Main Street looking north at the corner of Second Avenue and Main. Store at the left is L.O. Gale Pharmacy, Jewelry and Book Store. In 1992, Worthing Clothing (Western Wear) was in this location.
Published in the January 29th, 2019 Daily Republic.
Street paving on Main Street, circa 1950. Jim Blades took this photo in front of the Firestone store at 204 and 206 North Main.
Photo courtesy of Mitchell Area Historical Society.
Published in the September 10th, 2019 Daily Republic.
A view looking northeast from the Milwaukee Railroad Roundhouse. Date of this photo is uncertain. The “new” depot (currently The Depot restaurant), is located just north of the roundhouse. Other familiar landmarks can be discerned in the photo.
Published in the February 26, 2019 Daily Republic.
Harvest time for Carl Scheetz (Schurtz), of rural Mount Vernon, with an Avery Tractor manufactured in Peoria, Illinois. Bernard, Giles and Moses Implement at 117 E. Railroad Ave. in Mitchell sold this brand along with other farm equipment. Photo is circa 1909-1911.
Photo courtesy of the Mitchell Area Historical Society.
Published in the October 8th, 2019 Daily Republic.
Milwaukee Railroad yard viewed from the viaduct. The coaling structure (tall tower in the background on the right), the Depot Roundhouse (last building on the left), and the elevator that later burned all sat along the tracks.
Jim Blades photograph, circa 1950-56
Published in the September 17th, 2019 Daily Republic.
Postcard of Dakota Wesleyan University in 1912
The three College Row buildings, from left to right, are: Graham Hall (built 1901-03), College Hall (completed 1889), and Science Hall (built 1911-12). As of 2019, Science Hall is called Hughes Hall and is still in use.
Published in the March 26th, 2019 Daily Republic.
Mitchell City Band and Fire Department, circa 1900. (The fire department was organized in 1882.) The reason for the gathering is unknown. Some firefighters serve as both band member and fireman. Note the drum with “Mitchell” on it.
Photo from the Carnegie Resource Center
Published in the May 28th, 2019 Daily Republic.
The Lakota, a confectionery and café, served 35-cent meals, according to the Polk Directory of 1913. They carried home baking items such as, “Fine Pies, Doughnuts, Layer Cakes, Etc. ... Special Orders Filled,” and were located at 204 N. Main St., currently part of the Ed’s Pet World building. The Lakota was owned by George B. Dabney.
Carnegie Resource Center Photo.
Published in the November 26th, 2019 Daily Republic.
Rabbit hunt circa 1900. For early settlers, rabbits were a blessing and a curse. Rabbits provided meat and pelts, but reproduce every 32 days, with 15 rabbits eating as much forage in a day as one cow. Hunts were organized community events to control the rabbit population to minimize crop damage.
Carnegie Resource Center Photo.
Published in the September 24th, 2019 Daily Republic.
View from Railroad Street looking north on Lawler. Date of the photo is uncertain. Front building is the original wood depot, center building is the Milwaukee Freight House and the tall building with all the windows is the current Daily Republic building. Other Mitchell landmarks can be identified as well.
Published in the February 19th, 2019 Daily Republic.
This is the south side of Main Street in Ethan. Many of the businesses got started in the 1800's. The first designated school building housed grades 1-8 in 1883. The depot/water tower was established in 1880 before the train tracks came to town.
Photo courtesy of Carnegie Resource Center
Published in the January 8th, 2019 Daily Republic.
Harvey Clark, owner of Harvey’s Fix It Shop, 723 S. Sanborn Blvd., Mitchell. Harvey operated the new and used bike sale and repair business in the 1950s. In 1959 it became Ron’s Bike Shop, and locksmithing services were added.
Carnegie Resource Center Photo.
Published in the June 18th, 2019 Daily Republic.
Photo courtesy of Mitchell Area Historical Society
Plankinton High School was built in 1925. The cost of the building was $42,793.85 and was designed by architects Kings & Dixon out of Mitchell. We are looking for more information about the school, both historical and current, for our files. If you have information that you are willing to share, please contact Mitchell Area Historical Society at info@mitchellcarnegie.com, or mail to 119 W. Third Ave., Mitchell, S.D., or give us a call at 605-996-3209.
Published in the December 24th, 2019 Daily Republic.
Pictured is the City Hall in Mitchell with members of the Wesleyan Methodist Church coming from the church service held in the Municipal Court Room in 1924. Wesleyan held services here until it purchased and moved a church from northeast of Mitchell to the corner of Fifth and Sanborn Street in 1925. The City Hall sat on the corner of West Second Avenue and North Rowley Street behind the Carnegie Library located on West Third Avenue and North Rowley Street.
Published in the December 31st, 2019 Daily Republic.
College Hall on the DWU campus was completed in 1889 and burned on Feb. 12, 1955. This was DWU’s main administrative building and also held the offices and partial collections of Friends of the Middle Border Museum. Much of the museum’s collections had been moved to a new building; valiant efforts by firemen saved parts of the collections that hadn’t been moved.
Carnegie Resource Center Photo.
Published in the May 14th, 2019 Daily Republic.
This photo, circa 1918, shows a section crew working on the track just east of Fulton. Also shown are two elevators, and the town of Fulton.
Photo from the Archives of the Carnegie Resource Center.
Published in the November 19th, 2019 Daily Republic.
This photo from March 1943 shows the Dakota Wesleyan University men’s basketball champs as they leave for the national tournament in Kansas City. The players, left to right, are Clifford, Fritzemeier, Stone, Krueger, White, Hull and Turnwall. The yearbook describes the 1942-43 team as one of DWU’s greatest, with a record of 19 consecutive wins, for one of the longest undefeated strings in the country. Coached by Lester Belding, the season record was 21-2, including a 50-30 loss to Cape Girardeau at the national tournament. Photo from the Dakota Wesleyan University Archives.
Published in the March 5th, 2019 Daily Republic.
Photo credit Archives of the Dakotas Conference of the United Methodist Church, DWU
Undated aerial photo of the Methodist Hospital in Mitchell, which was on South Miller Avenue, just north of the present-day Davison County Public Safety Center. It opened on Feb. 14, 1918. After the 1991 merger of Mitchell’s two hospitals, the Methodist Hospital was purchased by Davison County. It was demolished in August 2010.
Published in the April 9th, 2019 Daily Republic.
These trumpets were won by the Mitchell Fire Department at state firemen’s tournaments. They are metal with shaped mouthpiece, conical shaft and flared openings. Each has a set of rings on the side (one in the shape of a fireman’s hat) for a rope strap. Large trumpet is 9 inches across at the base and is 23 inches tall; trumpet on the left measures 7 3/8 inches across by 17 1/2 inches tall; and the trumpet at the right is 8 inches at the base and 17 1/4 inches tall. The large trumpet is engraved with these words: “To the Best Appearing Company on Parade; Mitchell Firemen’s Tournament, June 15, 1887. Presented by Weil Bros.” Decorations engraved were often elaborate and placed on parade trumpets; plain trumpets like the one on the right were used at fires to shout orders and encouragement. These are now on display at the Carnegie Resource Center.
Photo courtesy of Mitchell Area Historical Society.
Published in the June 4th, 2019 Daily Republic.
The Beulah Methodist Episcopal Church, nine miles south of Alexandria in 1922. Photo by Erwin C. Paustian, director of the Department of Rural Leadership at DWU. It was an open country church that was built under the leadership of Rev. J.H. Dimmit, 1905-06. When the Beulah Church disbanded, its members joined the Alexandria Methodist Church.
Archives of the Dakotas Conference of the United Methodist Church, DWU
Published in the March 12th, 2019 Daily Republic.
This picture is labeled, “The last Indian camp in Mitchell on the south side. Photo by L.E. Stair about 1888.” The writing on the picture says, “Black Elk Tepe.” It is believed that this was located near Enemy Hill to the south of Mitchell.
Photo from The Carnegie Archives.
Published in the July 23rd, 2019 Daily Republic.
Fifty years ago, the Corn Palace featured murals by Oscar Howe with the theme “Space Age.” Lawrence Welk was the headline act for the Corn Palace Festival and there was such a demand for tickets that the box office hours had to be extended.
Photo courtesy of Mitchell Area Historical Society
Published in the August 20th, 2019 Daily Republic.
The intersection of South Sanborn Blvd. and First Avenue is shown here pre-viaduct. Sanborn was a very busy street, potentially dangerous for motorists and pedestrians, with major railroad tracks that had to be crossed. The discussion about a viaduct in the area started as early as 1914. Construction on the first viaduct started in 1949 and was completed in 1950 at a cost of $460,000. This structure was replaced in 2001 at a cost of $3.1 million.
Photo by Jim Blades, Courtesy of Mitchell Area Historical Society.
Published in the September 3rd, 2019 Daily Republic.
The Mitchell Daily Republic on March 2, 1914, ran a story about the opening of the Blynn Shoe Store by owners William A. and Ray Blynn, father and son, in part of the old KORN building (321½ N. Main St.) Blynn’s remained at this location for the next 27 years until its move to the current location of Brown’s Shoe Fit Co. in 1928. The new location had been built by J.N. Crow to house his law offices and furnish apartments to Mitchell in 1912 at a cost of $57,495. Ray Blynn sold to Sam W. Brown from Iowa in 1966. At that time Bert Beittel, a longtime employee, remained with the store as an assistant manager and later part-owner. Beittel’s daughter, Roberta Davidson and current part-owner of Brown’s, still operates the shoe store serving Mitchell’s Main Street with quality, name-brand footwear.
Photo courtesy of Mitchell Area Historical Society.
Published in the December 17th, 2019 Daily Republic.
First National Bank in Alexandria, circa 1902. This closed in 1931. It housed the Masonic Lodge, Bleeker Law Office, and Northern States Power Company. The Security State Bank organized in 1940.
Published in the February 12th, 2019 Daily Republic.
The second Wesleyan Methodist Church is pictured here in 1930, at 601 N. Sanborn in Mitchell. The Wesleyan Methodist Church was organized March 23, 1924, with 31 members who held church services in the courtroom at City Hall until they were able to purchase the Bethel Congregational Church eight miles northeast of Mitchell. This building was moved to Mitchell, set on its new basement at the corner of Sanborn and West Sixth Avenue, and dedicated on April 26, 1925. An addition in 1930 was just the start to the growth of the church. This original building was moved in 1956 to the alley facing south and still held services until a new church was built to hold its first services in 1959. The original building became the fellowship hall. Several developments have been completed since 1959, and the church now goes by the name Mitchell Wesleyan Church.
Mitchell Area Historical Society photo.
Published in the October 22nd, 2019 Daily Republic.
Pope Motor Cycles, photo circa 1913. The sign behind the motorcycle reads, “Pope Motor Cycles, Pope Mfg. Co., Westfield, Mass.” The L.E. Stair business in the background was a bicycle and tire shop, with Mr. Stair being a local photographer.
Photo from the Carnegie Archives.
Published in the July 30th, 2019 Daily Republic.
Dr. W. Delaney, Sr. (third man from the left) and hunting party ready for the hunt in 1919.
Photo courtesy of Mitchell Area Historical Society.
Published in the October 15th, 2019 Daily Republic.