Watertower, Clark, South Dakota
Posted by: 
NGComets
N 44° 52.791 W 097° 44.348
14T E 599583 N 4970376
Watertower in a small town.
Waymark Code: WM6DMR
Location: South Dakota, United States
Date Posted: 05/18/2009
Views: 3
Clark is the County Seat of Clark County, South Dakota. It has a population of 1,073 as of July 2007, a 14% decrease from the 2000 census.
The town is made up of German, Norwegian, Irish, and Swedish ancestries and was incorported on March 22, 1886.
The town was named for the county. The county was named for Newton Clark, a Dakota territorial legislator of 1873. It was platted by the Western Town Lot Company in 1882. For a short time, this place was called Clark Center.
The first settlement in Clark County was in June 1879. In May of 1881, the governor appointed county commissioners who then met and organized the county. They passed a resolution declaring that the Clark House, owned and kept by Mrs. M.E. Greenslet, be designated as the official headquarters. This house was 1/2 mile north of where the present county seat of Clark County now stands. The Chicago and Northwestern railway reached the townsite of Clark in June 1882. Clark, the county seat, is the largest town and is located in almost the exact center of the county. It was settled in the fall of 1882.
The potato is king in Clark, South Dakota where local farmers grow bushels of the tasty tuber. That's why, each year, the town throws a party in honor of its favorite over-used, under-appreciated starch.
Mr. Potato Head is proud of Clark's celebration, and will be making an appearance at this year's festivities. The locals vie for top honors in a Potato Sculpture and Best Decorated Potato Contest. Past winners included an astronaut, farmer, race cars, and tooth. The Potato Dish Cooking Contests always bring out the best cooks in the county. And, the highlight of the celebration involves grown adults wrestling each other in mashed potatoes!
Besides all the potato stuff, the event features those small-town festival activities that keep families and regular folks coming back year after year.
Potato Day Headquarters will be located at the Dickinson Park. Information on activities and eating places for the day will be available, as well as souvenirs.
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