06/10/2026
It's Wednesday, which means two things...
1. We have made it halfway through the week
2. It is time for another post!
Recently, we had a pretty historic piece of South Dakota history come into our collection! All you Black Hills ghost town fans MAY want to stick around for this post! From a first glance this may look like an envelope and that is it. However, this envelope represents so much more. Enjoy the history!
Today, we are traveling back to June of 1890. To a South Dakota pioneer town that actually, does not even exist anymore! However, the history of this town dates back to the early 1880s.
Today, we are talking about Minnesela, South Dakota. In Lakota the name means "Red Water. Minnesela was a small little trading town near present day Belle Fourche, South Dakota. It was founded in 1882 however, it was plotted in 1881 by a gentleman named D.T. Harrison and his friend Azby Chouteau. By the later part of 1882 the town boasted a population of well over 100 citizens. That same year the town was named the county seat of Butte County. This was the catalyst for the town. After being named the county seat the town started growing like wildfire. By 1883 Minnesela had a post office, two saloons, six "high end" businesses, a private social club, a large school, a super successful bank, a few churches, various homes, and even two newspapers. The town was the talk of the county!
The town's location was geographically perfect to become the next big thing. In fact, investors even called it "The Chicago of The Midwest." At one time it was noted to be the next big metropolitan area of the United States! Newspapers stated "It is the next Chicago."
So, what happened you may ask?! Well, the town started to meet its demise once Seth Bullock moved into the area. Ya, you know the former sheriff of Historic Deadwood. That guy! Seth set up his ranch nearby and made quite a name for himself and his large and expansive ranch. In fact, it was there that Mr. Bullock planted the first alfalfa in the western United States. It was also there that a stage stop was settup. The stage also brought with it a few businesses and saloons. Though it was in poor taste from what an old diary stated.
Long story short the stage stop on the Seth's ranch started to compete with the town of Minnesela. It created much drama and the Dem Mores Stage Station and Minnesela eventually were competing for the county seat.
Well, Minnesela thought they had this game in their pockets. They planned to bring the railroad through, keep growing, and really put their town on the map like it was supposed to be! However, so did the stage stop/ranch.
It was a tale as old as time. Two siblings were fighting and the parents had to get involved. The parent being Belle Fourche, South Dakota. See, in 1894 amongst the heated battle between the two towns of De Mores Station and Minnesela for the county seat Belle Fourche popped in and was like "Hey guys we will build a court house and host the seat here for FREE." Well, it was voted on and won by over 100 votes!
Today, the rest is history and also today nothing is left of De Mores or Minnesela. In fact, they are hot noted as privately owned ghost towns. Minnesela today is only marked by a stone monument. Other than that, it is now just another Black Hills ghost!
-HBP
