Wed., as I headed down the county road that runs outside of the W side of Custer Park, I didn't get far before I came to this memorial plaque on a stone marker that looks like a mini Washington Monument. I found it esp. interesting because I'm currently reading a book by local author Lilah Pengra, whom I've previously mentioned, about Sarah Campbell, the first woman in the Black Hills, who was African-American. Sarah came to the Hills with Custer's expedition in July of 1874. According to this monument, Anna Tallent, the first white woman in the Black Hills, arrived in December of 1874.
Not far down the road from the Tallent monument, I found this little bldg., partly upgraded to preserve it from the elements, including the metal roof. The sign says this was the Glen Erin School, the first public school house in the Black Hills, in use between 1882 and 1920. It is located just E of the town of Custer.
Many miles futher down the road, near the NW corner of Wind Cave Nat'l Park, I came upon this old bldg., which was a bit too eerie to examine closer than from the road...next to the bldg. is a small cemetery. The only info I can Google so far is that this was the Cold Springs Schoolhouse; significant dates, 1875 to 1899. It was also used for religious and town hall meetings.
Jann,
ReplyDeleteExcellent blend of history with images of today. I feel the Sarah Campbell book you reference provides images in words of Sarah and her hard fought life. Women pioneers in the Black Hills don't seem to get the credit they deserve. Anne Tallent is not always treated with respect.
Thanks to you, Lilah Pengra, and others like Ann Stanton (SD Jewish Historian) for your capture of Black Hills history in pictures and printed words.