Ghost Towns in SD (Custer, Oelrichs: live in, law, floor)

[Surfergirl60]

You might look at Provo. I have been trying to get info on this once thriving little town that sat just outside of the Black Hills Ordinance Disposal Facility, also known as Igloo, back in the 60s. I am still looking for any info on this place. It is SSW of Edgemont.

[sdgoldpanner]

Surfergirl,
What is it you want to know about Provo, or Igloo, as some call it.
Bob

[Surfergirl60]

I may have property in that area and I can't even find a street map to pinpoint where it may be. I am planning on leaving the sunny Emerald Coast of Florida to live in SD and am curious if Provo is even a feasable option to reside in. Thanks for your reply. I love this forum.

[sdgoldpanner]

Surfergirl,
Living quarters might be hard to come by, as there is nothing available. What buildings that are left are being used, and can be counted on one hand. Even the old school is now being used as a residence. If you own land in that area you could certainly build. There is less left in Igloo than Provo.
If you do decide to move, I wish you the best of luck. Summer times are great and quiet. Winter is cold and quiet.

Bob

[egg man]

Naomi is farther from Viborg than ten miles. Naomi was just a wide spot in the road with a grain elevator, NE of Chancellor. Hooker is still a few miles NE of Viborg. It supposedly got its name as the train didn't bother to stop, it just "hooked" the mailbag as it went by. A few houses there. Someone lives in the old store. Parson's corner is NOT Parsons, it's Pearson's Corner. Once a store and gas station, now a residence. It is straight west of Viborg. A few miles east of Pearson's corner is Center Point, it was a couple country stores and few houses. Just houses now. Spring Valley is a community Not a town. A few churches by that name spread out miles apart. Only Spr. Valley Lutheran is left. One that appears on internet in this area as a town and Never was one, is Flyger. It was just a phone line, Fred Flyger's wife Lilian ran the switchboard of the crank phone system from her living room. She answered saying "Flyger Central". That's how it got the name. Only phone line in SD that doesn't actually have a "place" to go with the name. Do a search on FLYGER CENTRAL and some guy has a page about the history of the Flyger phone company. Mayfield store is still a small store and house, I think you can get beer there, west of Irene or straight south of Pearson's Corner. Too there was Midway Stores a little north of the hwy 81 and 46 jnct.. It once had a store and filling station. Now it's just 3 occupied houses. Too there was Meridian store at jnc of 81 and 18. It stands empty. Also Archies' corner or Green's corner as some called it at corner of 46 and 81. That store/filling station/beerjoint is for sale. SD is full of these little in the middle of nowhere widespots in the road.
Turkey Ridge stands along hwy 18 sw of Hurley and east of US HWY 81 still. Changed little since the days when a young refrigerator salesman named Welk sold the store a cooler years and years ago. He went on to lead a famous band. I stopped there a few months back and was pleasantly surpirsed to see the store is nearly the same as it was 40 years ago when I was a kid. It's nice when some things don't change in this rapid changing world.

[Dakota Ann]

I stumbled across this forum while researching Booge, SD. I live nearby, and have seen the name on the maps. I've driven through the area, or what I thought was the area, and have yet to find anything remotely resembling a town, ghost or otherwise. With the precise driving directions left by ElkHunter, I may be able to locate the remnants of the town.

This is an interesting forum, and City-Data.com is an interesting site. The town I live in -- Sherman -- isn't even on the list of towns in South Dakota. I guess we don't qualify with a population of 87.

[Jammie]

Hi Dakota Ann and welcome to the forum.

Dell Rapids, South Dakota (SD) Detailed Profile - relocation, real estate, travel, jobs, hospitals, schools, crime, news, sex offenders

I checked and it is mentioned, but I see what you mean about no info about it.

I'll forward your message to the Administrator. It's very possible that your town was left out in error.

[Dakota Ann]

Jammie,

The list I was referring to is accessed from the main city-data.com page. Thank you for your concern about Sherman, but I don't think it was left out in error. I suspect that towns with a population under 200 aren't considered viable enough to include. I happen to have this list of very small South Dakota towns with their population, none of which are on the city-data list (there are many more, some with even less than 70 people, but this happens to be a list I compiled for a research project):

Olivet 70
Bushnell 75
Wasta 75
Vienna 78
Fairburn 80
Morristown 82
Mound City 84
Claire City 85
LaBolt 86
Raymond 86
Sherman 87
Draper 92
Stratford 96
Eden 97
Andover 99
Davis 104
Hazel 105
Herrick 105
Hitchcock 108
Corona 112

[Jammie]

OK, thank you. Actually, I recognize a lot of towns on that list.

[sdgoldpanner]

There are a few Ghost Towns you have missed on this list so far. They are:

Addie , Ajax, Allen, Alta, Bear Gulch, Beaver Creek
Big Bend, Bluevale, Brennan, Canadaville
Canyon City, Castleton, Denis, Elkhorn
Etta, Eureka, Floral, Florence, Fort Lookout Frenchtown, Glendale, Hayward, Tigerville, Moon, Mystic, Teddybear, Oreville and Redfern to name a few.
I have been to all of these old Ghost Towns, and
am finding more every spring.
All the above are found within the boundaries of the Black Hills. Like I said, I am finding more every spring. I am a metal detectorist and having a blast!

Bob