Area Historical Sites

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Belcher's Ford
Located 8 miles east of Redfield on Hwy. 212 at Fisher Grove State Park
Belcher's Ford was named for the pioneer who came in 1879 and offered a ferry across the James River. A ford, a natural slope down the steep east bank, lay beside the Old Indian Crossing. That was a foot crossing with rocks arranged as stepping stones.

A settlement sprang up on the east river bank, south of the ford with hotel accommodations and a sod barn. The first post office in the county was established here on July 2, 1879 and operated until 1883 when the railroad bypassed Belcher's Ford. The origianl stones of the Old Indian Crossing were removed in the 1930s and used for a dam by the WPA Development Program.

First School
Located 3 miles north of Redfield from the Jct. of Hwy. 212 and 281, then 1.5 miles east
The first school in Spink County was located on a one-acre plot. The schoolhouse was built in the spring of 1880 with lumber hauled 70 miles from Watertown. The school was then used for nearly 50 years before being replaced with a larger building. The original schoolhouse was moved to a site on Hwy. 281 and used as a meeting hall until its demolition in 1975.

Council Rock – Chief Drifting Goose – Abigail Gardner

This region has a noble history that was first documented by Lewis and Clark in their journals. They recorded annual Indian tribal councils and trade fairs held at the Council Rock site. The Council Stone site was first occupied by a people who constructed a village of dirt lodges. The James River, called Whitewoods by the Indians, served as a natural boundary as well as a convenient waterway for travel. The Yankton and Yanktonai bands of Sioux later located villages in the vicinity.

Chief Joseph Drifting Goose

One famous leader, Chief Joseph Drifting Goose of the Hunkpati band of Yanktonai, occupied Armadale Island, located a few miles north of Fisher Grove on the James River. His confrontations with early white settlers are legendary. To settle the Drifting Goose problem, a 69,000 acre reservation was established in this vicinity. Subsequent appeasements allowed Drifting Goose's band to move to Fort Thompson on the Missouri River. The James Valley area was then opened for white settlement. Also of historical significance is the release of Abigail Gardner just north of Redfield.

Following an Indian massacre in 1857 near Spirit Lake, Iowa, four women were taken captive by a band of renegade Indians. Of the four women, only two survived. Abigail was held captive for 84 days. She was then purchased by the Yankton Sioux and her freedom was then bought by the government. The cost of her freedom was "two horses, 12 blankets, two kegs of powder, 20 pounds of tobacco and 70 yards of cloth", Abbie wrote in her book. She was released at a site northeast of Redfield along Turtle Creek.

Abigail Gardner Commemorative Marker
Located 2 miles north of Redfield along Hwy. 281
A concrete obelisks that commemorates the release of Abigail Gardner after 84 days of captivity by Indian renegades

Eastern Star Home
Located within Redfield City limits