Hope Cemetery, Newell, South Dakota - Worldwide Cemeteries on Waymarking.com

Newell is a city in Butte County, South Dakota, north of Sturgis on US Highway 212. Its population was 603 as of the 2012 census, a decrease in population by about 7% from the 2000 census.

The area was settled by German, Irish, Norwegian, English, and Swedish immigrants and the town was incorporated on February 8, 1911.
When General George Custer made his exploration of the Black Hills in 1874, he camped near Newell on his return to Ft. Abraham Lincoln. General Crook, on his gruesome "Horse Meat March" to the Black Hills from the 1876 Battle of the Slim Buttes, passed close to the east of Newell. The famous Bismarck Trail, established in 1876, traveled through the neighboring town of Vale.

Newell sprang up from the construction of Orman Dam, the largest earthen reservoir in the world at that time. Newell is the center of the Irrigation project that began in 1904 and was established in 1910.

Although first rumors had it that the new town would be called "Craig" after James T. Craig, who represented the Clay Banking Institutions and headed banks at Belle Fourche, Camp Crook, Nisland and Newell. The town of Newell received its name in honor of Frederick Haynes Newell, who at that time held the office of Chief Engineer of the United States Reclamation Service.

Newell came in contact with the outside world when the Northwestern Telephone Company ran their line from Nisland and Belle Fourche; it was later extended to Vale. This was reported by the Valley Irrigator, which was published in Vale, on April 14, 1910.

After 1911, there were several years when few new developments were recorded. But in 1917, the Consolidated Light and Power Company planned to bring electricity from Deadwood to Nisland and Newell.
In 1918 there was a Spanish influenza epidemic that struck the entire country. In November 1918, all meetings and gatherings were forbidden, and citizens were ordered to wear masks when out in public. Miss Mary Olson of Black Hawk came to Newell to help nurse flu patients. She worked such long hours, without rest, that she contracted bronchial pneumonia and died. She gave her life for this community.

In 1921, Butte County began construction of the Fair Grounds at Nisland. The next year, the Newell school board let bids for a new high school building. Seven years later, in 1929, Nisland dedicated a new gym in connection with their high school. At that time it was one of the largest gyms in the Black Hills.

In 1927, President Calvin Coolidge accepted an invitation to spend the summer in the Black Hills. Rapid City High School became the Presidential offices; the State Game Lodge did not only become the site of many conferences but also the White House. The President and Mrs. Coolidge took time to come to Newell, and to attend the Butte County Fair at Nisland.

World War II was affecting Newell, as it did every other community. Men, and young women, were going into the armed services from town and the country.

In 1942, the high school started holding classes six days a week so that school might be out sooner and release students for farm work.
In 1949, there came a blizzard that will be remembered until a worse one comes along. Starting late in the afternoon of New Years Day, it struck over a large area of the Plains states. Roads were closed, trains blocked, and schools stopped. Ranchers could not get to town for supplies; and in many cases, they could not get their livestock to feed, or vice versa. The U.S. Army sent in bulldozers to assist state and county highway crews in opening roads to overwhelmed ranches, and to hay stacks. Airplanes were also pressed into service to carry supplies to isolated families, or to get someone to a hospital. For almost three months, everyone joined in the battle to beat the blizzard. Eventually the roads were open, communications resumed, dead livestock were disposed of, and life resumed.
Information for this page was taken from "GOLDEN ANNIVERSARY - Newell, S. Dak., 1910-1960" compiled by Reverend William Reitmeier. More information was taken from the Newell Museum pamphlet, written by Linda Velder.

City, Town, or Parish / State / Country: Not listed Approximate number of graves: Not listed Cemetery Status: Not listed Cemetery Website: Not listed

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