Armour, South Dakota 57313 - U.S. Post Offices on Waymarking.com

Armour is located in south central South Dakota along U.S. Highway 281. It is 90 miles west of Sioux Falls and 45 miles southwest of Mitchell.

The people of Armour anxiously awaited the first train in 1886. On October 8, the first real freight train bringing in 20 cars of lumber, coal and merchandise finally arrived. Nine days later the telegraph line connected Armour with the “outer world” and on October 26, the first passenger service began.

Carpenters built a section house, depot, roundhouse, turntable and stockyards. The stockyards were on the southeast edge of town. The roundhouse and turntable, which was used to reverse the direction of the engine, were located in the vicinity of what is now the corner of Depot and Mathews Street. The two-story Depot was erected approximately at Main and Mill Street. The second story was the home of the Depot Agent(s).

Section House #33 was located close to the track at the corner of Mill and Braddock. It was first used to house the RR construction workers and later house Section Foreman and their families. It is the only tangible remains of the original Chicago, Milwaukee and St. Paul Railroad remaining in Armour. In 1986, it was moved to county property and now serves as a part of the Douglas County Museum Complex.

Since Armour was the end of the line, for a time it was said to be the best-paying railroad in the state. Three years after the first train arrived, there were a total of eight trains daily. A round-trip ticket from Armour to Mitchell to the Fair cost $1.10. In February of 1889 a round-trip ticket could be bought for $32.25 to attend the inauguration of President-Elect Harrison in Washington, D.C.

The Armour Roller Mill was erected in 1888. It was located on the southeast corner of Braddock and Depot and provided a major industry for the county. It had a capacity of more than 100 barrels of flour a day, much of which was shipped out by rail. In the last year of the century (1899), according to the Armour Chronicle, shipments from Armour included 366 carloads of hogs, 139 carloads of fat cattle and 45 carloads of butter and eggs plus an average of two carloads wheat a day for the entire year. It is interesting to note that most of the butter and eggs went directly to New York.

On Monday, Sept. 3, 1888, the town was declared incorporated. Statehood followed in November of 1889. Armour was definitely prospering, but failed to become a “Second Denver” as predicted by the Douglas County Chronicle.

Courtesy of Website.

Type of structure:: Stand Alone re-enter Zip Code here:: 57313 Current Status:: Still in Use

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