Hidewood Rest Area, Brandt, South Dakota - Highway Rest Areas on Waymarking.com

The Hidewood Valley of Deuel County derived its name from Dakota Indians who called it the Hidden Woods.

In the summer of 1862, some of the Indians involved in bloody conflicts with white settlers in Minnesota fled across the border and hid for a time in the valley.

Some of the same slow-growing oaks that sheltered the Dakota still stand, along with their offspring, and it would still be possible to lose oneself in the thick growth that populates some of the 30-mile stretch of hills.

Deuel County lies on the east slope of the Coteau des Prairies. The highest point in the region is on a farm field east of Castlewood that overlooks the Minnesota River valley. Indians marked the site with rocks and used it to spot water. Today it is marked with a tin government sign.

Highway Number: I-29 Common Name for the Highway: I-29 Highway Access Direction: South Rest Area Name: Hidewood Rest Area Facilities: Telephone Picnic area Pet area Services: Vending machines Maps Rest rooms No fast food restaurants Special Features: One of four rest areas on I-29 from the North Dakota Border on the north to the Iowa border on the south. Hidewood Creek Rest Stop, South Dakota Historical Marker is located in the vicinity. Here is the inscription on the marker: Due east of these rest areas, the valley land looks much as it did before the pioneers came to this country. This area is part of the drainage of Hidewood Creek, located one-and-one-half miles south of here. Hidewood's name comes from the prairie past of this area. Following the War of the Outbreak (also called the Great Sioux Uprising) in Minnesota in 1862, many Sioux fled into this area, where they took refuge in clumps of timber along this creek. Thus, the name Hidewood. This area contains many of the threads that were woven into the settlement of Dakota Territory. These rest areas are in Deuel County, which was created in 1882, by the First Territorial Legislature. In 1872 one of the first railroads penetrated into Dakota Territory, at present day Gary, twenty miles northeast of here, prior to settlement of much of this region. In pioneer days the status of the county seat was a clear distinction for a community, and many bitter wrangles preceded final selection. Clear Lake contested with Gary until 1890, when Clear Lake was finally successful in gaining the coveted status. For such winners, there were also losers; Castlewood, 12 miles west of here in Hamlin County, was the county seat from 1884 to 1914, when it lost that honor to Hayti. Religion was important to many settlers, as evidenced by the site of the Tabor Evangelical Church, about two miles northeast of here. The church was founded in 1888 and was still in use until 1959. Many of the graves in the nearby cemetery are those of pioneers of this area. There is no singular historic distinction to this particular rest area site, other than it is part of the state for greater happenings, a witness to the tides of history. WiFi: no

Visit Instructions:
Since the cleanliness of a facility can change over time, log entries can include your impression of the cleanliness of the facility.

Log entries can also include additional pictures of the facility and/or associated special features (e.g., vistas or historical markers) and facilities or services not mentioned in the original description.

The same prohibitions from new entries apply to log entries.

Recent Visits/Logs:

Date Logged Log User Rating   05/07/2015 b&ladventures visited it