“KELOLAND Centennial Gold Rush”

Dakota Territory was created in 1861 and got its first big impetus in 1874 when gold was confirmed in the Black Hills by General Custer. A hundred years later on August 27, 1961, a gold rush was created by Joe Floyd’s KELOLAND TV and Radio stations and the Dakota Territory Centennial Commission.

1439 capsules were planted in a 200’x 300’ gold field. 1439 “prospectors” armed with gold shovels, won in a summer-long contest conducted by the KELOLAND Stations, entered the gold field, governors of the 50 states or their substitutes dug on behalf of charity for $3,500.

On a signal from bandleader Lawrence Welk, the diggers unearthed their capsules and rushed for the “assay office” to claim their prizes. First prize of $10,000 was won by Mrs. Floyd Carlon of Sioux Falls.

More than 150,000 people, the largest crowd in the state’s history, witnessed the “Gold Rush of 1961”.

Governor Archie Gubbrud, Senator Francis Case, Senator Karl Mundt, Representative Ben Reifel, former governor Joe Foss and other dignitaries attended. Climax of the Dakota Territorial Centennial year, the event also included a Square Dance Festival, Amateur Talent Show, Boy Scout Camporee, Carnival, Fireworks Display, and appearances by TV stars Yogi Bear, Huckleberry Hound, Paul Brinegar and Clint Eastwood.

Kingsbury County, US 14 just west of Manchester