“Iverson Crossing Bridge”

Ole B. Iverson, his father Iver, brother Peter and brother-in-law Andy had no established roads to follow when they came to Dakota Territory in 1868. They had to wade or ford rivers and streams as best they could. These men, from near Decorah, Iowa, were the vanguard of settlers. As the first to arrive in Split Rock Township, the Iversons were able to claim several choice homesteads along the Big Sioux River where they found timber, water power, abundant wildlife and rich soil. They were isolated and alone because there were no towns in the county in 1868. Their nearest neighbors were the soldiers stationed at Fort Dakota near the Falls of the Big Sioux River. Nonetheless, with the resources at hand and their own strength and sense of purpose, the Iversons triumphed over the hardships and in time established successful farms.

In April 1871, settlers from Split Rock Township petitioned the Minnehaha County Commissioners asking that a road be created and extended west to a point called Iverson Crossing, named for Ole B. Iverson on the Big Sioux River. From the early 1870s, until the county’s first railroad arrived in Sioux Falls in the summer of 1878, this Iverson Crossing road served as the main artery of transportation for mail, freight, and passengers from Minnesota and Iowa to Sioux Falls. The stagecoach from Blue Earth, Minnesota to Sioux Falls and the stage from Sibley, Iowa, used this road and crossed the Big Sioux River at Iverson Crossing as did others and was frequently mentioned in Sioux Falls newspapers.

This area was first known as Gibraltar, because of the numerous outcroppings of quartzite rock on the hillsides. In January of 1871 the Dakota Territory Legislature sent a memorial to Congress asking that a bridge be constructed over the Big Sioux River, ‘at or near Gibraltar, near where the Sioux Falls and Blue Earth City road crosses the same.' Since Ole B. Iverson by that time was serving in the legislature, the memorial was likely a result of his influence. During certain times of the year, the river was dangerously high, overturning wagons and stranding travelers. The Bridge was also deemed necessary for the many new settlers who were certain to move into the area.

The first bridge on the road was constructed in 1889. Until then, a growing but uncounted stream of people took their chances fording the river at Iverson Crossing. We can only imagine, with a sense of curiosity and wonder, the procession of pioneers who passed by on horseback, or in stagecoaches, or in covered wagons on their way east or west. For most of them, this road, the crossing and the scenic countryside promised a better future.

Dedicated in 1997 by the Minnehaha County and South Dakota State Historical Societies and Aaron and Jan Munson

Minnehaha County, corner of SD Hwy 11 and 266 Street (2006)