Queen Bee Mill
Posted by: Groundspeak Regular Member GPX Navigators
N 43° 33.358 W 096° 43.311
14T E 684007 N 4825078
The Falls were at the heart of the young city of Sioux Falls - nicknamed the Queen City. The Queen Bee Mill stood at the most powerful point of the Falls and was a center of activity in the 1880s.
Waymark Code: WMKK5
Location: South Dakota, United States
Date Posted: 08/09/2006
Published By:Groundspeak Regular Member showbizkid
Views: 28

Sioux Falls was named after the falls on the Big Sioux River. Back when the pioneers were heading west the falls on the Big Sioux River attracted many. In 1879 ground was broken next to the falls to build a seven-story mill known as the Queen Bee Mill. It took two and a half years to build and half a million dollars. The Queen Bee Mill was a goliath among mills in early Dakota Territory. In less than three years the mill was declared unprofitable and shut down. The Mill was not profitable because of insufficient water power, the scarcity of high grade wheat and the inability to pay dividends to its investors. The mill complex changed ownership many times, then shut down forever at the end of WWII when it became a storage facility.

A wrecking ball knocked down most of the remains of the Queen Bee Mill, which was destroyed by fire in 1956. The lower portion of the mill remains today, alongside the Falls of the Big Sioux, and is the setting for outdoor Shakespearean players each summer.
Street address:
N. Weber Ave.
Sioux Falls, SD USA
57103


County / Borough / Parish: Minnehaha

Year listed: 1984

Historic (Areas of) Significance: Architecture/Engineering, Event

Periods of significance: 1875-1899

Historic function: Industry/Processing/Extraction

Current function: Vacant/Not In Use

Privately owned?: no

Season start / Season finish: From: 01/01/2006 To: 12/31/2006

Hours of operation: From: 9:00 AM To: 5:00 PM

Primary Web Site: [Web Link]

Secondary Website 1: [Web Link]

Secondary Website 2: Not listed

National Historic Landmark Link: Not listed

Visit Instructions:
Please give the date and brief account of your visit. Include any additional observations or information that you may have, particularly about the current condition of the site. Additional photos are highly encouraged, but not mandatory.
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