Why Is Pierre South Dakota's Capital?

Hello everyone, welcome back to a blog of mine. This one's not a County Overviews (great sadness), but trust me, it's somewhat interesting. I've decided to branch out a little and do some more research-based blogs. So, I hope you enjoy!

Pierre is a city located in central South Dakota. As of 2025, its population was 13,880, ranking it as the ninth largest city in the state and the second least populated capital city in the country (only above Montpelier, Vermont).

Pierre was founded in 1880 on the east side of the Missouri River and served as an important railroad crossing of the river from Fort Pierre, which was on the opposite side of the river. Pierre is named, if you hadn't guessed already, named after Fort Pierre, which served as a fur trading post and was named after Pierre Choteau Jr.

Pierre's development boomed with the construction of the Rapid City, Pierre and Eastern Railroad, running through the city. This increased access to markets for regional products and transportation. However, the post-WW2 era made the city somewhat isolated due to more people using automobiles and trucks instead of trains.

After the Dakota Territory split, South Dakota needed a new permanent seat of government. Being the capital offered three main things to towns across South Dakota: money, prestige, and people. Several towns fought for the title of the capital of South Dakota, such as Huron, Mitchell, Sioux Falls, Watertown, and Pierre.

Now, the fight wasn't light. It ended in long-term debt and hard feelings between towns. Seven cities became possible contenders for the state capital: Pierre, Aberdeen, Redfield, Huron, Mitchell, Watertown, and Sioux Falls. Redfield and Aberdeen only stayed in but received little support. Redfield would eventually withdraw and support Huron.

WATERTOWN - had more people than Pierre or Huron and had eight rail lines. Businesses in Watertown boomed and made the town rich. It also had hotels and meeting spaces which the state government needed.

SIOUX FALLS - most populated of the seven contenders. Residents used it for goods and services.

MITCHELL - had good railroad connections and two large public halls, which was key for the state government.

The other two cities, Pierre and Huron, had quite the bitter and fierce competition between them.

HURON - squatter state capital from 1885 to 1889 and the "tentative capital of a tentative state." Huron had wonderful railroad connections and could allegedly reach 73 towns without switching trains. Pierre on the other hand could only reach 28 towns without switching trains.

Huron seemed likely to win. But, Pierre put up with a tough competition. In the three capital elections, Pierre won all three of them.

In the first election, Pierre triumphed against Huron with 27,000 votes, whereas Huron only got 15,000 votes (1889).

In the second election, Pierre won against Huron again with 41,000 votes. Huron only received 34,000 votes and accused Pierre of rigging the votes (1890).

The 1890 election was supposed to settle the capital location, but no bills were ever passed.

Finally, the final and third election came. Mitchell became Pierre's main competitor, but still lost. Pierre had about 59,000 votes while Mitchell only had 41,000 votes, a staggering difference (1904).

The fight was over and Pierre had officially become the capital of South Dakota.

Thank you for reading this very brief blog! There's not much I have to say. I started this in mid-June and ended in early July. They don't take very long to make and I procrastinate. I'll try to upload blogs a little bit faster and more efficiently.

As for now, see you guys!