Railroads and the Depot

In 1868, the development of railroads began to dominate the Middle Border Country. Railroads played a part of the following:

- Influenced moving the territorial capitol from Yankton to Bismarck in 1883.

- Were the major force in dividing Dakota Territory into the states of North and South Dakota in 1889.

- Played a major role in making Pierre the state capital of South Dakota in 1904.

- Established the location of 80 percent of the towns in Middle Border Country from 1873 to 1920.

- Influenced land values by distance from rails. 

- Established "Railroad time" which everyone used after 1883.

- Were the connection to the rest of the country for travel and trade.

- Set the schedules, established freight rates and had a monopoly on high speed transportation. 

The depot was the hub of middle border life. It was the doorway to going "back east", "out west", "up north" or "down south". Passengers, mail, freight, and Western Union telegrams came and went through the depot. Railroads controlled the locations of towns in the 1880s. They required a station every 8 to 12 miles for service of trains. Main Street was usually perpendicular to the track and began at the depot. Towns were initially laid out with all the streets and blocks on one side of the track, thus reducing the amount of local traffic crossing the right-of-way. In Middle Border towns the hotel was within a block or two of the depot and other amenities -- hardware, lumberyard, bar, café, grocery, general store, bank and post office were clustered nearby.