Wagon Train Westward

Last fall, the governors of the Dakotas gathered at the front of the Capital to honor the wagon train teams that traveled from Yankton to Pierre South Dakota. They were marking the 125 years of statehood.

The wagons averaged about 15 to 17 miles per day. Yankton was the original capital of the Dakotas until it was moved in 1883 to Pierre as a more central location. President Harrison signed the admission of the two Dakotas as states on November 2, 1889.