Did You Know: This Is Sioux Falls’ Oldest House
You have probably driven by this 151-year-old building in Sioux Falls and didn't even know it's the oldest house in the city.
The oldest home in Sioux Falls was built in 1871. Originally the wood-framed building was constructed as the Cataract Hotel and sat at 9th Street and Phillips Avenue.
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Keep in mind South Dakota didn't officially become a state until November of 1889. And the village of Sioux Falls wasn't incorporated until 1876 and then became a city in March of 1889.
To put things in perspective in 1862 the conflict between the Sioux and the settlers in southwestern Minnesota spilled over into Sioux Falls at which time the town was abandoned, sacked, and burned.
Nine years after Sioux Falls was abandoned, sacked, and burned the Phillips House was built. And it's still providing people a place to live today.
The oldest home in Sioux Falls
In the 21st Century, The Phillips House is a 2,400 square foot, 6 bedroom apartment complex at 120 South Duluth Avenue close to downtown Sioux Falls.
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The original wood-framed building was moved several places before getting to where it is now just off West 10th Street about a block south of the Pettigrew Home & Museum.
According to Dakota News Now the curator of education at the Old Courthouse Museum, Kevin Gansz said that based on the records at the museum, the apartment building at 120 South Duluth Avenue is considered the oldest building in Sioux Falls.
Gansz says, "It was really the first hotel (Cataract Hotel) in Sioux Falls, really one of the first hotels in the Dakota Territory. It had two parlors, 14 sleeping rooms, and claimed that it didn't have any bed bugs."
Gansz went on to point out, "The Cataract Hotel was really the place to come in Sioux Falls. It was one of maybe the most important businesses to start in early Sioux Falls."
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