Pillars of the Nation

Pillars of the Nation (HM252V)

Location: Sioux Falls, SD 57105 Minnehaha County
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Country: United States of America
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N 43° 31.944', W 96° 43.421'

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Inscription

McKennan Park Historic District

With World War II threatening the tranquility of the United States in 1940, Oscar Ellefson, caretaker and builder of many early McKennan Park attractions, proposed a new project. Ellefson envisioned designing and building two pillars made of stones native to each of then 48 states that would symbolize the unity and strength of the nation. With help from the Sioux Falls Chamber of Commerce, letters were sent to chamber offices in every state capital requesting specimens of local stone.

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Nationwide patriotic fervor fueled the project. All states readily responded with stones found in their locales. The pillars were completed in August 1941 and were named "The Pillars of the Nation."

Emil M. Christianson of Hills, Minnesota, earlier had donated native South Dakota stone fossils and Indian artifacts to build the two older pillars.

In 1999 the Sioux Falls Parks and Recreation Department refurbished all four pillars and installed lighting fixtures on the "South Dakota " pillars.
Details
HM NumberHM252V
Tags
Year Placed2000
Placed ByMinnehaha County Historical Society and by Dr. and Mrs. John Wichtman in Honor of their Daughters, Meg and Laura
Marker ConditionNo reports yet
Date Added Sunday, January 28th, 2018 at 7:01pm PST -08:00
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Locationbig map
UTM (WGS84 Datum)14T E 683931 N 4822456
Decimal Degrees43.53240000, -96.72368333
Degrees and Decimal MinutesN 43° 31.944', W 96° 43.421'
Degrees, Minutes and Seconds43° 31' 56.64" N, 96° 43' 25.26" W
Driving DirectionsGoogle Maps
Area Code(s)605
Closest Postal AddressAt or near 1300-1498 S 2nd Ave, Sioux Falls SD 57105, US
Alternative Maps Google Maps, MapQuest, Bing Maps, Yahoo Maps, MSR Maps, OpenCycleMap, MyTopo Maps, OpenStreetMap

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