SD-003 Hot Springs, SD

Marker text: HOT SPRINGS, SD

Tribal tradition states that as long ago as the 16th century the Fall River Valley and canyon area were seldom without groups of tipis belonging to the North American Plains Tribes. They knew the curative value of the warm springs located there and used them for bathing their sick and lame.
Exploration of the area by white men in 1874-75 led to settlement and discovery of 75 geothermal springs. The crystal clear water issues from clefts in rocks or bubbles out of the ground. Bathhouses, swimming plunges, hotels, hospitals and sanitariums were built turning the City of Hot Springs into an early national health resort. Some of these structures still exist, including a sanitarium now used as the VA Center, and the South Dakota Soldiers Home.
Cowboys and others crippled by rheumatism and other afflictions would arrive in wagons or trains and leave on horseback after three weeks in the springs.
From this point the rushing Fall River can be seen and heard.

Sponsored by the People and Businesses of Hot Springs, The South Dakota State Historical Society and the South Dakota Department of Transportation