Discover Our Shared Heritage Travel Itinerary
Pierre and Fort Pierre, South Dakota

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By clicking on these links, you can go directly to a particular section:

Pierre and Fort Pierre History, Tourism, and Preservation Websites

Things to Do
Places to Eat
Transportation
Other Relevant Websites
Websites of Places Featured in this Itinerary
Selected Bibliography for Pierre and Fort Pierr
e


Pierre and Fort Pierre Tourism Information


City of Pierre
Official government site for the City of Pierre.


City of Fort Pierre
Official government site for the City of Fort Pierre.

Pierre Area Chamber of Commerce
This site contains information on businesses that are located in Pierre and Fort Pierre, along with information on promotions and events within the area.

South Dakota Office of Tourism
The Office of Tourism is a division of State government under the Department of Tourism and State Development. It markets and guides the development of the visitor industry.


Travel South Dakota
Part of the Office of Tourism, this site provides information on planning trips and vacation packages.


Things to Do

Native American Scenic Byway
The Native American Scenic Byway crosses the reservations of four tribes of Lakota Sioux: Crow Creek, Lower Brule, Cheyenne River, and Standing Rock.  The Byway passes through Pierre, and lets visitors experience the rich Native American history of South Dakota.

Oahe Days Arts Festival

The Oahe Days Arts Festival is an annual festival in Pierre that celebrates local artists and includes live performances from local bands.

Pierre Historic Homes
The Pierre Historic Preservation Commission’s website, which includes the Pierre Historic Homes Driving Tour.

South Dakota Cultural Heritage Center

The South Dakota Cultural Heritage Center at 900 Governors Drive in Pierre has a museum that is open daily. For additional information call 605-773-3458.

South Dakota Discovery Center and Aquarium
The South Dakota Discovery Center provides fun and exciting interactive exhibits and science activites.

South Dakota National Guard Museum
The South Dakota National Guard Museum contains memorabilia and historical documents pertaining to the South Dakota National Guard.

South Dakota State Game Fish and Parks
The Department of Game Fish and Parks conserves, manages, protects and enhances the wildlife resources, parks, and outdoor recreational areas for the use and enjoyment of South Dakotans and visitors.

Verendrye Museum

The Verendrye Museum is a non-profit organization that has a large collection of artifacts documenting the early history of the region including the Fort Pierre to Deadwood Trail. The museum, located at 115 Deadwood Street in Fort Pierre, is open 9:00am to 5:00pm from Memorial Day through Labor Day. You can also see some museum distplays at the Fort Pierre Log Cabin Information Center, located at 4 East Main Ave. Call 605-223-7603 for additional information. It is possible to arrange for a private tour.


Places to Eat/Places to Stay


Pierre Area Chamber of Commerce
This site provides a variety of restaurant and lodging options in the Pierre area.


Transportation

Forell Limousine & Bus Service
Specialists in limousines, limo-buses, buses, vans, suburbans, and escalades. Located in Pierre.

Grayline Bus Service
The Grayline Bus Service offers a variety of multiple location sightseeing tours around South Dakota.

Jefferson Bus Lines
Jefferson Bus Lines offers bus services to Pierre from locations across the Midwest and Southwest.

Pierre Regional Airport
Offering services from Mesaba, Northwest, Continental, Great Lakes, United, and Frontier Airlines, the Pierre Regional Airport allows any traveler to visit Pierre and Fort Pierre.

River Cities Transit
Public transit service provided 24-hours a day in Pierre and Fort Pierre area. Also service to Gettysburg, Lower Brule, Blunt, Harold, vivian, and Highmmore. Lift-equipped vehicles for those with special needs. Please call (605) 945-2360 for more information.



Other Relevant Websites

Discover Our Shared Heritage
Travel Itineraries
  Other travel itineraries in the National Park Service's ongoing series include many historic destinations that you can visit online or in person.  Each itinerary spotlights a different geographic region, community, or theme. The American Presidents Travel Itinerary explores Mount Rushmore, South Dakota and its significant tribute to American Presidents. The Aviation Travel Itinerary, From Sand Dunes to Sonic Booms highlights important places in aviation history, including the Minuteman Missile National Historic Site in South Dakota. The Lewis and Clark Expedition Travel Itinerary highlights historic places associated with the expedition of Meriwether Lewis and William Clark, which explored South Dakota.

Heritage Documentation Programs in the American Memory: Built in America
Heritage Documentation Programs, National Park Service, administers HABS (Historic American Buildings Survey), the Federal Government’s oldest operating preservation program, and companion programs, HAER (Historic American Engineering Record), HALS (Historic American Landscapes Survey), and CRGIS (Cultural Resources Geographic Information Systems). Drawings, maps, photographs, and historical reports produced through the programs and archived at the Library of Congress constitute the nation’s largest collection of historical architectural, engineering, and landscape documentation.

National Historic Landmarks

National Historic Landmarks are nationally significant historic places designated by the Secretary of the Interior, because they possess exceptional value or quality in illustrating or interpreting the heritage of the United States. They are listed in National Register of Historic Places.

National Park Service
The main National Park Service website is the gateway to national parks, information on preserving America’s history and culture in parks and communities, and a vast amount of other useful information. Visit the National Parks located in South Dakota: Badlands National Park, Jewel Cave National Monument, Lewis and Clark National Historic Trail, Minuteman Missile National Historic Site, Missouri National Recreational River, Mount Rushmore National Memorial, and Wind Cave National Park.

National Park Service Office of Tourism National Parks have been interwoven with tourism from their earliest days. This website highlights the ways in which the National Park Service promotes and supports sustainable, responsible, informed and managed visitor use through cooperation and coordination with the tourism industry.

National Register of Historic Places
The National Register of Historic Places is the nation’s official inventory of historic places worthy of preservation. Districts, sites, buildings, structures, and objects significant in American history, architecture, archeology, engineering, and culture are included in the National Register, which is expanded and maintained by the National Park Service. The National Register website is the gateway to information on authentic registered historic places, the benefits of recognition, and how to become involved in identifying, nominating to the National Register, and protecting these irreplaceable reminders of our heritage.

National Trust for Historic Preservation
National Trust for Historic Preservation is a U.S. Congress-chartered nonprofit organization that preserves historic places, publishes information about preservation, and operates preservation initiatives. Learn about the programs and membership in the oldest national nonprofit preservation organization.

Preserve South Dakota
Preserve South Dakota is a non-profit corporation that promotes the preservation of South Dakota through education, advocacy, and assistance.

South Dakota Heritage Fund The South Dakota Heritage Fund was established in 1982 as a private support group for the South Dakota State Historical Society.

South Dakota State Historical Society
The South Dakota State Historical Society is a division of State government under the Department of Tourism and State Development. The Historical Society promotes the historical and cultural heritage of South Dakota by collecting, preserving, researching, and interpreting evidence of the state's irreplaceable past and making it available for the life-long education and enrichment of present and future generations.

Teaching with Historic Places

Teaching with Historic Places is a program of the National Park Service that offers a series of online classroom-ready lesson plans on registered historic places and other resources to help teachers and students use historic places in the classroom.

The Weekly South Dakotan
The Weekly South Dakotan covers a selection of important historical events that influenced the growth and development of South Dakota as a State. This web-based resource provides instructional material geared toward fourth-grade teachers whose curriculum includes the study of South Dakota history.



Links to Websites of Places Featured in this Itinerary

Photographs of Chicago and North Western Railroad Bridge

First United Methodist Church (Methodist Episcopal Church)

Grand Opera House

Old Fort Sully

South Dakota State Capitol


Bibliography

Albright, L.B. A Half Century in Pierre. Pierre: State Publishing Co., 1931. 

Cerney, Jan. Pierre and Fort Pierre. Chicago: Arcadia Publishing, 2006.

Dalton, John Elmer. A History of the Location of the State Capital in South Dakota. Department of History in the Graduate School: University of South Dakota, 1944.

Damgaard, Marshall. The South Dakota State Capitol: The First Century. Pierre: South Dakota State Historical Society Press, 2008.

Erpestad, David and David Wood. Building South Dakota. Pierre: South Dakota State Historical Society Press, 1997.

Hoskinson, Paige. “Creations in Stone: Petroforms in East-River South Dakota.” South Dakota History v 35, no. 4, (winter 2005): 347-362.

King, Irma E. Pierre, the Friendly City and Fort Pierre. Pierre: [publisher unknown], 1966.

McAlester, Virginia and Lee. A Field Guide to American Houses. New York: Alfred A. Knopf, 2000.

McAllister, Laura Kirley. Gumbo Trails. Pierre: State Publishing Company, 1957.

Nelson, C. B. The Craftsman Style in South Dakota. Pierre: South Dakota State Historic Preservation Office, 2008.

Nelson, C. B. Notes on the Fur Trade in South Dakota Volume I. Pierre: South Dakota State Historic Preservation Office, 2008.

Rogers, Stephen and Lynda B. Schwan. Architectural History in South Dakota. Pierre: South Dakota State Historic Preservation Office, 2000.

Sahr, Carla. Glimpses of Pierre. Pierre: State Publishing Co., 1977.

Sahr, Carla and Henrietta Roberts. 100 Years of Pierre. Pierre: State Publishing Co., 1981.

Schuler, Harold H. A Bridge Apart: History of Early Pierre and Fort Pierre. Pierre: State Publishing Co. 1987.

Schuler, Harold H. Fort Pierre Chouteau. Vermillion: University of South Dakota Press, 1990.

Schuler, Harold H. “In Pursuit of Permanence: A Photographic Essay on the Capital of South Dakota.” South Dakota History v 19, no. 1, (spring 1989): 26-55.

Schuler, Harold H. Pierre Since 1910. Freeman, SD: Pine Hill Press, 1998.

Schuler, Harold H. The South Dakota Capitol in Pierre. Pierre: State Publishing Co. 1985.

 



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