When South Sioux Falls Was Its Own Town, And Why It Disappeared
If you live south of 33rd street, north of 57th, and west of Cliff Avenue in Sioux Falls, up until 70 years ago, you would have been living in a different town.
Sioux Falls has been an economic powerhouse for its entire history. Nowadays, the city is a growing regional medical hub. Before that, it was financial services, and from the beginning in the late 19th century, it was various manufacturing and food production.
Growth in the 1880s was so great that an industrial suburb grew up south of what was then Sioux Falls' city limits. This area became a town in 1890, known as South Sioux Falls.
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South Sioux Falls Had Its Own Airport and Government
South Sioux Falls existed along what is now Minnesota Ave, from 33rd street south to 57th. The town boasted several mills, plants, and factories, and the area's first airport: Soo Skyways near Western and Kiwanis Avenues.
South Sioux Falls was a nice little industrial and bedroom suburb of around 1600 people by 1950, with its own school district and a town hall.
The 1955 Vote That Changed the Map
As Sioux Falls proper continued to grow and move south, city leaders in both communities decided to merge them into one bigger city. In public votes in 1955, both towns approved the merger.
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The Welcome Sign That Went Up in Flames
There was going to be a ceremony in late 1955 to commemorate the merger at the welcome to South Sioux Falls sign on south Minnesota Avenue. But the night before, the sign got doused in gasoline and burned to the ground.
Source: Wikipedia
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