Please call South Dakota Magazine at to place your order by phone or if you have any further questions. We apologize for the inconvenience. The local sheriff, who lives at McIntosh, is famous for feeding 6, starving buffalo.
The Merkels operate a new hotel in Watauga, pop. South Dakota might have too many small towns, but which one would you close? Each has its own character and characters, and the mile stretch of Highway 12 through Corson County — where there is or was a town every 8 or 10 miles — is classic. The steel rails parallel Highway 12 and pass through old towns planned by the railroaders. McIntosh, the county seat, is named for two brothers who helped build the tracks.
The towns of Walker and Morristown were named for cattle kings. McLaughlin got its name from a powerful Indian agent who was instrumental in developing the region.
Black Horse Butte near the Grand River derives its name from a wild black stallion that led a band of mares before settlers arrived. Skull Butte, south of Morristown near the Moreau River, was the site of a bloody battle between the Sioux and the Crow; according to legend, 10 skulls rested on the white sandstone for years after the fight. Occasionally the highway drops abruptly into a valley with a stream, green grass and scampering wildlife … towns and homes seem unimportant in this place of sky touching earth.
The people are as varied and interesting as the buttes and river valleys. Keith Gall, sheriff for 25 years, has the easy-natured disposition of a Chamber of Commerce executive despite a host of challenges over the past few years. He and three deputies patrol the 2,square-mile county. They write three warning tickets for every actual traffic ticket statistics like that are kept in a book in the courthouse hallway.
