Going Old School in South Dakota

Wall Drug

As I was driving across South Dakota, I saw some of the signs for Wall Drug. You can’t help but see them.

Wall Drug began in 1931 when Ted and Dorothy Hustead moved to Wall, South Dakota and started the Hustead’s Drug Store. It was the middle of the Great Depression, with a 25% unemployment at the time, which meant little to no customers each day. 

By 1936, the Husteads were about ready to give up on the store before Dorothy Hustead thought to advertise and hand out free water to travelers, since there weren’t coolers or resealable water bottles in the ’30s.

Ted Hustead went to the highway that day and put up the first billboard sign: “Get a soda. Get a root beer. Turn next corner, just as near to Highway 16 and 14. Free Ice Water. Wall Drug.” Before he got back to the store, the first customers already stopped in.

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Dinosaur Park

Located in Rapid City, Dinosaur Park is one of the area’s original tourist attractions. It sits on a ridge of sandstone that encircles the Black Hills. Along this ridge, dinosaurs of the Late Jurassic and Early Cretaceous have been found. The park has seven life-sized replicas.