Ghost Towns in SD

[atilla5]

Dakota Ann,

I actually happen to live in Booge. The Argus Leader did a article of Booge back in 2002 (link at the bottom). You shouldn't have any trouble finding it now. Since our town sign "dissapeared" a while ago and wasn't returned, I managed to contact the county highway dept. and managed them to get two signs for both directions for our community.


Here's a link to the article America's Newspapers - Document Display

[MJ1986]

thanks for the link... very interesting to read

[Dakota Ann]

Originally Posted by atilla5

The Argus Leader did a article of Booge back in 2002 (link at the bottom).

Thanks for the info on Booge. Unfortunately, the like didn't work for me -- I was asked for a user name and password for the site.

I recently found that the map on my GPS unit has Booge located so finding it should be easy next time I drive down that way.

[D L Johnson]

Originally Posted by 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.

I lived in Pearson's Corner, SD (kindergarten through 3rd Grade) back in the 50's. Carl Pearson was my grandfather. Center Point is six miles east. One of Carl's daughters was Irene, my mother.

[rjl78]

This looks like a cool thread. Kinda neat it popped up.

[Chris19]

Even though Lincoln County has been growing at a fast clip for the past 15-20 years, it has a few ghost towns in it. Schindler comes to mind. It is northeast of Harrisburg and is along SD 11 on ones' way to Sioux Falls. It is a collection of houses (post 1970s) but was its own town in the early 1900s. Another one is Norway Center in the southern part of the county. Klondike is on the border on the Big Sioux River (north of Canton) and had a flour mill at one time. Even though it was in Iowa, its existence affected Lincoln County in its heydays.

[ElkHunter]

Originally Posted by Chris19

Even though Lincoln County has been growing at a fast clip for the past 15-20 years, it has a few ghost towns in it. Schindler comes to mind. It is northeast of Harrisburg and is along SD 11 on ones' way to Sioux Falls. It is a collection of houses (post 1970s) but was its own town in the early 1900s. Another one is Norway Center in the southern part of the county. Klondike is on the border on the Big Sioux River (north of Canton) and had a flour mill at one time. Even though it was in Iowa, its existence affected Lincoln County in its heydays.

I still show Norway Center as a viable community with an active post office. haha My data might be old though.

[Chris19]

Originally Posted by ElkHunter

I still show Norway Center as a viable community with an active post office. haha My data might be old though.

I have been by Norway Center a couple times and is basically several houses with no post office. One would have to go to Fairview, Alcester, Beresford, Hudson, or Canton for post office and basics.

If you blink, you might miss it .

There used to be a West Sioux Falls and South Sioux Falls but were absorbed into Sioux Falls way before my time (1960s). East Sioux Falls was a thriving town in the early 1900s but died out in the middle part of the 20th century.

[plowman]

Oh my, this thread is still going. Interesting thread though. Kind of goes along with the grocery store thread. These little wide spots in the road which were just a country store and a gas station, maybe sold some feed.

Center Point and Pearson's City or Pearson's Corner. Wish I had a dollar for each time I went through both. My maternal grandfather lived the last years of his life on a farm between the two. I've been around long enough to recall when Centerpoint had two grocery stores!!! We used to stop there on the way to Yankton, one of my earliest recollections. There was also Midway Stores, Green's Corner, Meridian Corner. Remember those? On Junc. of Hwy 16 and 81 was Stanley Corner. Then going to SF there was Union Center (still a couple houses) and Pumpkin Center. I recall going to SIoux Falls shopping as a kid and we would stop on the way home, believe it or not, and buy groceries and Pumpkin Center. I guess that's why these little spots fell by the wayside. Here we'd been in Sioux Falls, but it never crossed anyone's mind to buy groceries in Sioux Falls. Same way when we went to Yankton, we never bought groceries down there. We bought them at Center Point or Turkey Ridge.

I hadn't been at Turkey Ridge store for years until last year we stopped in one day. Low and behold how I was taken back in time. It hasn't changed much since I was a kid. So glad I stopped. As I get older, it seems I long for things the way they were.