“John Thompson Pioneer”

John Thompson arrived in America in 1854. He was 13-year-old orphan who had lost his parents and sister to cholera during the long journey from Meraker, Norway. He was raised by an aunt in Wisconsin. After serving in the Union Army during the Civil War, he moved to Minnesota to live. There he met and married Kirsti Haugen.

In June of 1866, the Thompsons and their friends Jonas and Anne Nelson set out in two ox- drawn covered wagons for Dakota Territory. The courageous travelers arrived June 29 at Fort Dakota located near the Big Sioux River in what is now downtown Sioux Falls. Learning that is it was unlawful to homestead within the 70-square-mile military reservation surrounding the Fort, they continued on their trek north along the river. The Thompsons settled in what is now Sverdrup Township and by fall of that year had constructed a secure 12-foot by 16-foot sod house. The pair became the first permanent settlers in Minnehaha County and their daughter Berthine, born May 26, 1867, was the first white child to be born in the county.

John Thompson played a very prominent role in public affairs. The Nidaros Lutheran Congregation was founded in his home on August 12, 1868. He served as a county commissioner, superintendent of schools, Sverdrup Township board supervisor, assessor, justice of the peace, and three sessions as a Dakota Territory legislator. In a rugged era when there were ‘Giants in the Earth,' John Thompson earned the respect and admiration of his fellow Dakotans.

Early Settlers’ Association

In 1892 group of pioneers with a sense of history began to organize an Early Settler’s Association. Beginning with the fourth annual picnic in 1895 and for many years thereafter, Thompson’s Grove on the west bank of the winding Big Sioux River was the site for the celebrations. John Thompson was the owner of the heavily-wooded, shady, and picturesque area located about three quarters of a mile south of this marker.

Each year banks and stores in the surrounding communities closed so that employees might attend the picnics. The Milwaukee Railroad ran special trains from Sioux Falls to Dell Rapid to the Grove. They were ‘filled to capacity’ with celebrants. Over the years the crowds increased, and by 1902 over 12,000 persons were on hand to socialize and visit with the pioneers in Minnehaha County.

Entertainment varied from year to year. The picnickers were reminded by orators of the hardships faced by early settlers of Dakota Territory. They listened to military bands and danced to music provided by local orchestras. Sports competition included sack races, baseball, greased

pole climbing, bicycle races, swimming, horse races, tug-of-war contests and comical tub races in the river.

The last picnic was held at Elmwood Park in Sioux Falls in 1939, but the ‘Old Settlers’ Picnic,' as it was fondly called, has not been forgotten. Thompson’s Grove will long be remembered for the pioneers who gathered there to share their experiences and to celebrate their life in early Dakota Territory.

Minnehaha County, north on Hwy 115, turn west on county highway 122 at the Midway store, to the entrance to Pioneer cemetery (Or 254th St. and Scancia) (2006)