How South Dakota Towns Got Their Names

5 stories so far. More South Dakota towns are being researched.

How Custer, South Dakota Got Its Name (It Almost Wasn't Custer)

Custer, South Dakota, is named for George Armstrong Custer, whose 1874 expedition found gold nearby.

Deadwood, South Dakota, is named after the gulch it sits in, and the gulch got its name from the dead trees the first gold prospectors found there.

Lead, South Dakota, takes its name from an old miners' word: a "lead" is a ledge or vein of ore, and the hills around town were full of them.

Rapid City, South Dakota, is named after Rapid Creek, the fast, spring-fed stream that runs through town.

Sturgis, South Dakota, is named for the Sturgis family of the 7th Cavalry, but the sources split on which Sturgis.