Located in Perkins County, South Dakota, in 1949 the Bureau of Reclamation dammed the Grand River to create Shadehill Reservoir. The reservoir is one of Western South Dakota’s few large lakes, providing recreational areas for camping, hiking, water sports and more.

Within Shadehill there is a historical marker for one the American West’s great folk tales. In 1823, the American Fur Company hired Hugh Glass for a hunting expedition. During this expedition, a blond Grizzly bear attacked him and left him with a gash down his entire body. The frontier myth says that two of Glass’ colleagues abandoned him and Glass crawled and floated over 200 miles to Fort Kiowa and survived.

In March 1825, James Hall, a lawyer and writer, published the Hugh Glass story. The story continued to grow through the years; retellings can be found in The Song of Hugh Glass, a 1915 poem, Lord Grizzly, a 1954 novel, and Man in the Wilderness, a 1971 movie.

Researched, written, and narrated by University of West Florida Public History Student Kelcie Lloyd.