THE NOBLES TRAIL MAP of 1858 shows “Wessington Springs” along the banks of what was then called Plateau du Coteau du Missouri, and now known as the Wessington Hills. Could it be that Wessington Springs could have been named first and the Hills for them? It looks like a good possibility.

The information for the Fort Ridgely Pass Road is shown above as it appears in the lower right hand corner of a map put on loan to the Jerauld County Heritage Center.

Like the old question: Which came first, the chicken or the egg?

BY DUKE WENZEL

TRUE DAKOTAN EDITOR

The map of Fort Ridgely South Pass Road, recently put on loan to the Jerauld County Heritage Museum by the 12-county Heartland Historical Society, opens up more questions about the origin of the town name, “Wessington Springs”.

The source of the town’s name has long been debated among local people. Among the most popular is the legend of a Nobles Trail teamster named Wessington who returned to this place to do some trapping along the hills. High drama came to the legend when Wessington was burned to death while tied to a cottonwood tree by Indians who were not happy with the encroachment of whites on their land.

From that, the story goes, the hills surrounding the area were named the Wessington Hills. When it came time to change the town’s name from Elmer, the townspeople chose Wessington Springs, a combination of the legend of the dead teamster and a reference to the streams that flowed from the hills.

Indian oral history would later say that the burning of Wessington at a tree never happened. Searches of the records of the Nobles road building party never turned up a man named Wessington.

Back to square one. With no proof of the Wessington legend, oral history is all that remains.

And then the Nobles Trail map came to our local museum, opening up a few more questions and perhaps, answering a few.

On loan from the Heartland Heritage Society for a year, the map is dated 1858. The hills are drawn in and the name, “Wessington Springs” marks the place that would not officially take that name until 24 years later.

In his official report of project, the Nobles Trail engineer wrote the following about this place (from “South Dakota Historical Collections Vol. VI 1912):

The road had been ordered constructed under the direction of the Department of Interior, 1856-58. The road would reach from Fort Ridgely in Minnesota to the south pass of the Rocky Mountains as provided by an act of Congress. The road had been selected and made with a view to accommodate the immigrants by having it pass through good country with a supply of wood and water. The ultimate goal for the Noble’s Trail was for the route of the “Pacific Railroad” that would eventually take immigrants and supplies all the way to the west coast.

A post office named Wessington (P.R. Barrett, postmaster) was established in 1878 at the mouth of what is now known as Valverndale Gulch on July 1, 1882. The government changed the post office name from Wessington to Elmer and gave the name Wessington to a town in western Beadle County. The local people were quite upset and petitioned department officials to get their name back. In 1884 it was changed from Elmer to Wessington Springs.

Nobles Trail ran through Wessington Springs along the north ridge of South Gulch, including a line through Prospect Hill Cemetery, the American Legion/Prairie Lounge building and parking lot, up to the big spring at the south side of what is now the Wessington Springs city park.

There was no mention of “Wessington Springs” in the 1857 report, but when the map came out in 1858 it became the first mention of “Wessington Springs” in printed history. This brings up the question: what came first, the Wessington Hills or Wessington Springs?

It looks a lot like Wessington Springs was named first and the Wessington Hills were named later.

Perhaps such an important place along the road –with the only dependable source of water between the James River and the Missouri River—deserved a name.

It appears that Samuel A. Medary or perhaps even Col. Nobles himself, might have given this place a name as the map was being prepared.

None of these theories about the origin of the town’s name have been proven and maybe never will be. And the question of how they came up with “Wessington” is still a mystery. Was it after a slain teamster, a railroad man, or the parish of the same name, located in the county of Derbyshire, England, UK?

Local history buffs have wondered about the origin of the town’s name for over 125 years and it could take another 125 to answer some unanswered questions.