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Towns like White Lake, SD owe their location, if not their
existence, to a couple of 19th century realities: railroad locomotives
had to make regular stops for water and fuel, and the U. S. Government,
in a effort to spur development of the vast resources in the
west, gave free land to rail developers along new routes.
The railroads, conforming to technological limitations and
the opportunity to raise cash to support their rail building,
placed water stops at regular intervals along their lines. They
often laid out town sites near these stations, and sold the plots
to prospective merchants and entrepreneurs. So began White Lake.
The earliest history of the town is described in some detail
in "Andreas' Historical Atlas of Dakota", published
by A.T. Andreas in 1884. You can read some excerpts here, or consult the entire article,
including interesting descriptions of Plankinton and the rest
of Aurora County.
The pictures of early White Lake at the left were taken from
"White Lake, South Dakota Centennial, July 1989."
A number of other early Aurora County photos a available on
Joy Fisher's great "Penny Postcards" site. Among them:
Main Street, looking north. c1910?
Catholic Church and Parsonage, White Lake.
This must be St. Peters church, which would have been the home
parish for the early Krell families. I believe the church building
burned in 1925.
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