Two Cemeteries: The First Burials of Sioux Falls

Today we visit the Two Cemeteries historical marker on North Duluth Avenue, the quiet bluff where Sioux Falls’ earliest burial grounds once stood. Before Mount Pleasant Cemetery existed, before Sioux Falls was even a stable settlement, this hillside held the remains of the village’s first residents. We explore the stories behind those early burials: Henry Masters, the provisional governor of the squatter government; Judge Joseph B. Amidon and his son William, whose deaths during the Dakota War of 1862 changed the fate of the entire settlement; and the soldiers stationed at Fort Dakota, whose presence created a national cemetery beside the city cemetery. This marker, dedicated in 2003 by the descendants of Judge Amidon, the Minnehaha County Historical Society, and the City of Sioux Falls, opens a window into the fragile beginnings of Sioux Falls. Candlelight Cemetery Tour at Mount Pleasant Cemetery Tickets, Multiple dates | Eventbrite History of Dakota Territory https://www.google.com/books/edition/History_of_Dakota_Territory/Ui9EAQAAMAAJ?hl=en&gbpv=1&dq=%22sioux+falls+city%22+history&pg=PA103&printsec=frontcover History of South Dakota https://www.google.com/books/edition/History_of_South_Dakota/o5tQAAAAYAAJ?hl=en&gbpv=1&dq=%22sioux+falls+city%22+history&pg=PA180&printsec=frontcover History of the Minnesota Valley https://www.google.com/books/edition/History_of_the_Minnesota_Valley/GGdAAAAAYAAJ?hl=en&gbpv=1&dq=%22sioux+falls+city%22+history&pg=PA216&printsec=frontcover New Church Messenger https://www.google.com/books/edition/New_Church_Messenger/dcc_AQAAMAAJ?hl=en&gbpv=1&dq=%22Henry+Masters%22+governor+sioux+falls&pg=PA138&printsec=frontcover Report and Historical Collections https://www.google.com/books/edition/Report_and_Historical_Collections/EmFDrioGZTIC?hl=en&gbpv=1&dq=%22Henry+Masters%22+governor+sioux+falls&pg=PA144&printsec=frontcover A Brief History of South Dakota https://en.wikisource.org/wiki/A_Brief_History_of_South_Dakota/Chapter_32