Lewis and Clark landed at a Yankton Sioux village on the north bank of the Missouri River on August 28, 1804. Yankton Sioux first inhabited the area in the early eighteenth century, and the modern city of Yankton stands on the village site. The Yankton Sioux agreed to a four hundred thousand acre reservation in 1858.

After the peace settlement, Yankton served as the capital of Dakota Territory from 1861 to 1883. A replica of the capitol building stands in the city today. The town was a meeting-place for fur traders and speculators, and kept its frontier spirit even as the territory’s capital. Jack McCall, killer of Wild Bill Hickok, was tried and hanged in Yankton. The town grew more civilized in the 1880s after Joseph Ward founded Yankton College, the first institution of higher learning in Dakota Territory, and the Benedictine Sacred Heart Monastery opened its doors. News anchor Tom Brokaw attended high school in Yankton, and a biking trail and street were named in his honor. Yankton was named an “All-American City” in 1957.

Today the city is home to fourteen thousand people, three thousand businesses and ten parks. Lewis and Clark Lake, impounded by the Gavins Point Dam, draws visitors to Yankton seeking outdoor recreation. The city is also home to the Lewis and Clark Theater Company and the Yankton Area Arts Gallery.

Researched, written, and narrated by University of West Florida Public History Student Jeremy Hatcher.