“African American Homesteader Community in Sully County.”

In 1882, Norvel Blair, an African American born into slavery in Tennessee, sent two sons to explore homesteading prospects in Sully County. Soon, Norvel along with several members of the Blair family filed claims on the land, which they turned into successful farms.

The Blair family members were energetic entrepreneurs. Norvel’s daughters Betty and Winnie ran a restaurant and bakery, and his sons Benjamin and Patrick operated a livery. In 1896, Benjamin became the first black person in South Dakota to sit on a school board. In 1906, he and others formed the Northwestern Homestead Movement in hopes of recruiting other African American settlers to South Dakota.

John McGruder of Missouri established another successful family farm when, through Betty Blair as land agent, he acquired 1,200 acres. His wife, Ellen McGruder, and sons George and James all homesteaded in the area. In all, African American homesteaders in the community received patents on twenty-two homestead claims totaling over 5,650 acres and purchased additional lands.

Though most community members left during the Great Depression, these homesteaders remain a powerful reminder of generations of African Americans who sought opportunity in the Great Plains and pursued their dreams of land ownership, entrepreneurship, and civil equality.

Sully County Courthouse