A brief history of Jerauld County

Jerauld County straddles the moraine between the James and Missouri River. The moraine is often called the Wessington Hills. The eastern part is flat, rich land which once lay at the bottom of the glacial Lake Dakota. The county was named for H.A. Jerauld, a territorial legislator from Canton, SD.

Wessington Springs, the county seat, was named for an early explorer who found a natural way to scale the heights of the moraine. Wessington Springs has many natural springs.

Wessington Springs was granted a post office in 1884, but had first been called Elmer. One of the first schools was opened in 1884 in Wessington Springs, and in 1887 the Free Methodist Seminary was built on a side hill and surrounded by beautiful Shakespeare Gardens.

Waterbury was an earlytown up on the top of the moraine. It had a post office from 1884-1913 when the area suffered from prolonged droughts and many of the people moved away.

Alpena was founded in 1883 and named by C.W. Prior for a town in Michigan. Alpena still has a post office and school today.

Lane was founded in 1903 and named for L.W. Lane, who was part owner of the townsite.

Ghost towns in Jerauld include Ada, Busby, Crow Lake, Dale, Fauston, Glen, Gordon, Hyde, Longland, Lyndale, Parsons, Pearl, Stetson, Stock, Sullivan and Templeton.

Several springs are found at the foot of the Wessington Hills including Gravel Pit Springs, Big Springs, Iron Spring, Sulphur Spring and Val Vern Dale Spring (named for the children of the landowners).

Turtle Peak and Turtle Ridge are a 400-ft. rise north of Wessington Springs, named for an Indian Mosaic on the top. Stones were placed to form a large turtle, believed to be the buying place for Chief Big Turtle.

The first settler in Wessington Springs, Levi and Maribee Hain built a cabin in a spot that is now the Wessington Springs city park.