“The Badger Hole”

1/4 Mile

Home of Charles Badger Clark (1883-1957), Poet-Laureate, Author, Lecturer and one of South Dakota’s best known and beloved citizens. For approximately thirty years Badger lived alone and wrote in the cabin built with his own hands. Thousands of friends, particularly school children, beat a path to ‘The Badger Hole’ to meet and visit with this friendly and understanding man. His poems reflect his love for the West, especially for the majesty and beauty of the Black Hills. ‘Sun and Saddle Leather’ and ‘Sky Lines and Wood Smoke’ are his best-known volumes. ‘The Cowboy’s Prayer,' used in many school books and reprinted often in magazines, probably is his most popular poem. ‘The Cowboy’s Lullaby’ was set to music and used in motion pictures. He rated ‘The Job’ his best. Our Badger is gone but his works and good deeds live on.

Custer County, intersection of US 16 and SD 87 in Custer State Park