FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE:
Sturgis & Meade County History Day to be held June 15
The annual event showcasing local history will be held at the Sturgis Community Center, and will recognize the 150 th anniversary of the 1874 Custer Expedition
Sturgis, South Dakota — May 24, 2024— The eighth annual History Day, sponsored by the Sturgis & Meade County Historical Society, will be held Saturday, June 15, at the Sturgis Community Center. “1874 Custer Expedition: 150 Years of Exploration, Settlement and Exploitation” is the theme of the event this year.
Booths displaying a variety of historical artifacts, pictures and other information and memorabilia will be open on Saturday from 9:00 a.m. to 4:00 p.m. A donation lunch will also be served. Booths include information and displays about the Sturgis & Meade County Historical Society, latest updates from the archaeological dig at the Bear Butte Creek Historic Preserve, “Where I’m From”—a collaboration between Sturgis Brown High School Academy students and Aspen Grove Assisted Living residents, West River History Conference, a collection of antique maps including ones from the 1874 Custer expedition, History Below The Pines group, Black Hills Gold Rush as a result of the Custer Expedition, Early Women and their Influence After the Gold Rush, Lead Homestake Mine and Lab exhibits, Sturgis Area Arts Council History at High Noon and more.
The Meade County Time Capsule will also be on display, along with items from the Old Fort Meade Museum.
The Society will again be presenting their Friend of History Award(s).
Two programs, both held at the Sturgis Community Center Theater, will be offered. Donovin Sprague will present “1874-1877 Lakota History Shaping Sturgis Area History” at noon.
https://www.facebook.com/events/2098637947188635
Updated June 12, 2024
Teacher William Swanson will present “Custer in the Hills” at 2:00 p.m. This is instead of the program that Paul Horsted was going to do.
https://www.facebook.com/events/1185672372436800
For those who want to learn more about the Sturgis and Meade County Historical Society, a booth with information about the Society and membership will be available. There are five levels of membership in the Sturgis & Meade County Historical Society, as follows: individual
membership, $25 per year; family membership, $35 per year; student membership, $15 per year; life membership, one-time payment of $5,000; and business sponsorship, $250 per year.
History Day is possible, due in part, to the support from the City of Sturgis, HomeSlice Group, KBHB Radio and the Meade County Commission.
For more information, call 605-381-5395 or email presidentsturgishistory@gmail.com.
About Sturgis & Meade County Historical Society
Founded in 2014, the Sturgis & Meade County Historical Society is the result of a cooperative effort of people within the local community who are dedicated to preserving and relating the history of the area. The official mission of the Society is to “Preserve, protect and promote Sturgis and Meade County History.” More information can be found at sturgishistory.org.
For more information, press only:
Logan Lamphere
Sturgis & Meade County Historical Society
605-490-0732
llampher@hotmail.com
Jan Lamphere, below, asks questions of Janice Nequette of the information contained
on a poster board put together by Joan Bachmeier about the Nequette family during
History Days 2023. (Photo by Kris Hubbard)
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Complete List of Booths for 2024 History Day
Janice Lundgren, Kris Hubbard — Sturgis & Meade County Historical Society information
Logan Lamphere – 1874 Custer Expedition maps
Joan Bachmeier – Sturgis & Meade County Historical Society scrapbooks
Violet Stoltz – Early women and their influence after the gold rush
Mark Rambow – Meade County Time Capsule items old and new
Marcia Moore (Aspen Grove Activities Director) – “Where I’m From,” poems written by Sturgis High School Academy seniors based on personal history interviews with Aspen Grove senior residents.
Ross Lamphere – Bear Butte Creek Historic Preservation Council
Tim Velder, Laura Hovey Neubert, Dave Super – West River History Conference
Richard Moeller – Sturgis Area Arts Council History at High Noon
Lee Stroschine, Jessica Kusser – Old Fort Meade Museum
Bill Swanson, Spearfish – Ghost towns which sprouted from the Custer Expedition
Sanford Underground Research Facility and Homestake History Group
Afternoon Programing
Noon
1874-1877 Lakota History Shaping Sturgis Area History by Donovin Sprague
Custer Expedition and its effects on the Tribal peoples in the area.
Gold – The program will discuss historical events of the Lakota from gold discovery in 1874 to 1877 when Lakota surrenders had occurred-1877. Following the 1874 Custer Expedition into the Black Hills and gold discovery, there was a large influx of miners and settlement into the Black Hills which was a center of activity for the Lakota people. Events that followed included an attempt to have all “hostile” Lakota surrender to agencies.
The Treaty – Because the Black Hills land was wanted for the gold resources attempts were made to change the boundary and title to the Black Hills which was already designated to the Lakota through the 1868 Treaty of Fort Laramie. When the legal terms of the treaty were attempted to be changed by the Allison Commission who met near Crawford, Nebraska, the commission broke up and returned to Washington, D.C. where they comprised a forced plan which became known as the 1877 Black Hills Agreement.
Aftermath – Lakota either populated the agencies or refused to surrender and were labeled hostiles. War continued between them and the U.S.
Fort Meade was chosen for its proximity to Bear Butte and known camping areas of the tribes. The military wanted to oversee the new agencies and provide a military force if needed.
1874 Custer Expedition into the Black Hills. Its effect on the Lakota people.
June 17, 1876 Battle of the Rosebud in Montana
June 25-26, 1876 Battle of the Little Bighorn in Montana
September, 1876 Battle of Slim Buttes in S.D.
Surrenders – April-May, 1877 Lakota-Cheyenne surrenders. Lakota are on 5 reservations in western S.D. The “surplus” land was opened to non-Indian settlement.
Significance of Bear Butte and the waterways in western S.D
https://www.sheridan.edu/faculty/donovin-sprague/
2:00 p.m.
Custer in the Hills by William Swanson
This program will cover the reasons for Custer’s 1874 Black Hills Expedition and the controversy surrounding the reports during and after it. This is instead of the program that Paul Horsted was going to do.