SD’s first grain palace: How history shaped Plankinton

PLANKINTON, S.D (KELO) — To some, Plankinton, South Dakota is just another dot on the map, but if you do enough digging, you will find that the town and the surrounding area have a remarkable story to tell.

The Aurora County Museum tells the story of Plankinton and the surrounding area. There are five different buildings on the property, including a one-room school house, the old Farmer’s Union building, and this claim shanty. It was common for the pioneers that settled here in the late 1800s to live in a building like this.

“People can see how tiny it is and just how difficult it was to live in something like that,” Aurora County Historical Museum vice president Louis Matzner said.

Plankinton is located just west of Mitchell, and when you think of Mitchell, you probably think of the Corn Palace, but believe it or not, Plankinton built a grain palace before them.

“We had it starting in 1891, and it basically was a building that they would decorate just as they do the Corn Palace,” Aurora County Historical Museum treasurer Laura Mayclin said.

The public would gather there to celebrate the harvest, but Plankinton’s grain palace quickly gained some competition.

“When Mitchell began doing the Corn Palace, which they started the year after the grain palace here in Plankinton, well, that just put up so much competition that the Plankinton Grain Palace only lasted for two years,” Mayclin said.

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But it wasn’t surprising that Plankinton built a grain palace considering that agriculture has historically been the main driving force behind Plankinton’s economy.

“Agriculture is what Aurora County’s about. There aren’t any major industries, so everything revolves around agriculture and farmers,” Matzner said.

“On East River, it is everything. Every city you see is based on the income from the grains that are produced,” Mayclin said.

The agricultural boom might not have been possible without the railroad that runs through town.

“The railroad coming through here made it where they could transport their goods, so they couldn’t just transport them from one neighbor to the next or one city to the next any more. Now, they could go all the way across the country,” Mayclin said.

As agriculture took off, other industries started to pop up. A company called Aurora Industries was based in Plankinton and manufactured a miniature ferris wheel.

“They were quite dangerous. I don’t think they’d be approved today,” Matzner said.

Another unique event in the area was when a stratosphere balloon that was studying weather patterns landed southwest of Plankinton.

“The stratosphere balloon took off south of Rapid City on November 11th, 1935. Early in the morning at 4:14, it landed 14 miles south of White Lake, made a long trip, attained a new record highs for a balloon of 72,000 feet,” Matzner said.

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A more recent event that has left a lasting impact on the small South Dakota town: in 2001, a propane leak caused an explosion at the school.

“It kind of changed everybody. Everyone knew people who had gone through that school as students, and then, there were also people who were actually killed,” Mayclin said.

But the town found a way to move forward.

“They rebuilt a school, started fresh, but they still do a lot to just go back and dedicate things to the old school and to the people who passed away during that,” Mayclin said.

Which is a testament to the town’s tight-knit culture.

“I’m obviously a transplant from somewhere else, and I came in here and everybody welcomed me with open arms. I have formed friendships and the people are just wonderful. It’s a good place to be,” Mayclin said.

Another interesting fact about Plankinton is that it was named after a Milwakee meatpacker named John Plankinton, but it is unknown why early settlers chose him as the town’s namesake.

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