County of statue: Butte County
Location of statue: 5th Ave. & National St., Belle Fourche
Artist: Tony R. Chytka, sculptor
Founder: T. R. Chytka Bronze
Text on base:
DEDICATED JULY 3, 1989
To
Celebrate a Century
State of South Dakota
Belle Fourche Area
1889 - 1989
Text on capsule:
July 3, 1989
our Hope
For the Future
That all shall be well
From the Citizens of
Belle Fourche
To Be Opened
July 3, 2089
"Belle Fourche (French for "beautiful fork") was named by French explorers when this area was owned by France, for the confluence of what is now know as the Belle Fourche and Redwater rivers and Hay Creek. Beaver trappers worked these rivers until the mid 1800's and Belle Fourche became a well-known fur trading rendezvous point. During and after the great gold rush of 1876, farmers and ranchers alike, settled in the fertile valleys, growing food for the miners and their work animals. At the same time the open plains for hundreds of miles in all directions were being filled by huge herds of Texas and Kansas cattle. Towns sprang up to service the ever changing needs of the farmers and ranchers. In 1884, the Marquis de Mores, a French nobleman and contemporary of Theodore Roosevelt, established a stage line between Medora, North Dakota and Deadwood, South Dakota. The Belle Fourche way station included a stage barn and a saloon.
"Knowing the cattle barons and the railroad would need a point at which to load the herds of cattle onto freight cars for shipment to the packing plants in the Midwest, Seth Bullock provided a solution and became the parent, in effect, of Belle Fourche, the city. Bullock had come to the Black Hills from Canada to mine gold in 1848, but had quickly tired of panning gold. After serving in the Montana legislature in 1871-1873 (and being instrumental in the establishment of a national park at Yellowstone), he came to the Black Hills to cash in selling supplies to the Deadwood miners, arriving August 2, 1876, the day Wild Bill Hickok was murdered. During the next fourteen years, Bullock acquired land as homesteaders along the Belle Fourche River "proved up" and sold out. When the railroad came to the hills and refused to pay the prices demanded by nearby township of Minnesela, he was ready. Seth offered the railroad free right-of-way and offered to build the terminal if the railroad would locate it at a point on his land near where the present Belle Fourche Livestock Exchange exists. In 1890, the first trainload of cattle headed east. By 1895, Belle Fourche was shipping 2500 carloads of cattle per month in the peak season, making it the world's largest livestock shipping point. This was the start of the agriculture center of the Tri State area that Belle Fourche would become, and still is, well-known for.
"In 1895, a fire of suspicious origin destroyed much of the downtown business district. Within three months (with the aid of buildings moved in from nearby Minnesela, now nearly a ghost town) it was nearly completely rebuilt. Much of the present downtown business district consists of these buildings.
"On June 27, 1897, Kid Curry, of the Butch Cassidy-Sundance Kid Hole-in-the-Wall gang botched the robbery of the Butte County Bank (at the site of the present Norwest bank) in one of the funniest episodes documented in the Old West. However, behind this colorful history, lie the quiet feats of thousands of members of six generations of Belle Fourche and area residents which produce a town rich in a tradition of hardiness and ingenuity in the face of diversities.
"Belle Fourche today serves a large trade area of ranches and farms. The wool, cattle, and bentonite industries have been important to the growth of Belle Fourche. Gateway to the Northern Black Hills, Belle Fourche has a population of 4500." ~ Shamelessly stolen from the Belle Fourche America's Hometown Booklet (1998)
Proper Description:
A cowboy on a rearing horse. The cowboy has his hat in his proper right hand. The reins are flying free from his proper left hand. A coiled rope is hanging from the saddle horn. The horse's head, a bucking bronco, is faced downward with his back arched, tail spread downward against the rear and the front legs are bent with its hoofs pointing toward rear of horse. The cowboy is fully rigged. ~ Smithsonian American Art Museum
"Sculptor Tony Chytka has immortalized some of the rodeo legends of the Belle Fourche area in bronze.
"Chytka is a rural South Dakota native, rancher and former champion bull rider and now sculpts western and rodeo scenes in bronze.
"Greeting visitors coming in from the south on Highway 85 stands the tall figure of a cowboy “breakin’ his bronc”. Located at the intersection of 5th Avenue and National Street, the six-foot bronze known as “Lasting Legacy” exemplifies the heritage of the western town. It shows the hardiness of the cowboy as he readies his ride for use on the prairie.
"Belle Fourche is known as a “cowtown” and is proud of it. That’s what has made it a place to take the time to appreciate the sights of the town.
"On the corner of State Street and 5th Avenue, Chytka has molded a sculpture of modern day buffalo tamer Jerry Wayne Olson sitting on his buffalo, Chief. Olson performed for many years at rodeos and western events across the country with the buffalo – even riding the large animal. He is the third generation of a family of rodeo entertainers from the area.
"Several blocks away and just kitty-corner from each other, are the Garrett brothers, top pro rodeo contestants who hail from the Belle Fourche area.
"The likeness of Marvin Garrett is found on the northwest side of the corner of State Street and 6th Avenue, while Mark Garrett is on the southeast corner of the intersection.
"Marvin was a four-time National Finals World Bareback champion and has been inducted into the Pro Rodeo Hall of Fame. Mark was National Finals World Bareback Champion in 1996." ~ Black Hills Pioneer: By Betty Bruner, Wednesday, April 3, 2013