South Dakota Millers

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Eliza's letters to Walter Sr. 99-13

Tolvstad History	Asa Draic
(Stories of Tolstoy Families including W C Miller)	Walter Miller Family Walter came with his parents, as a small child, from Beaver Meadow, N. Y. They settled on the James River at Rondell in Brown County. Elizabeth came from Whitehall, Wisc. as a small child. Her parents settled on the James River near Armadale Island. Walter and Elizabeth came to South Dakota in 1882 and 1883 respectively. Walter's parents were from Beaver Meadow, New York and Elizabeth's from Norway. Walter and Elizabeth Miller and three children Lewis (Cully), Fred, and Eunice came from Brown County on the M and St. L R R to early Tolstoy in 1907. Walter had built a house and livery barn in the eastern part of town. There the family lived for eleven years. During those years Hazel, Walter (Casey), Verna, Donald, Delbert, and Inez were born. The livery barn burned and in 1909, he built a saloon and pool hall. After prohibition, Walter built a large garage. It was later moved to the south end of main street. It later burned. In 1919, Walter moved his family two miles west of Onaka. A short time later, he decided they must have more grassland for the cattle. This is when the family moved to Ziebach Co. south of Dupree. There he and his family lived their lives, some of the children and grandchildren still do. The family's life in Tolstoy were very happy years.
http://www.rootsweb.com/~sdpotter/allbios.htm (Tolstoy Family Bios by name)
Gen's Book

Millers letters ...excerpts from letters containing family history.. comments...stories

This file is the text of the book, "South Dakota's Ziebach County,
History of the Prairie", published in 1982 by the Ziebach County
Historical Society, Dupree, SD

ftp://ftp.rootsweb.com/pub/usgenweb/sd/ziebach/history/chap16-2.txt

WALTER C. MILLER, SR.

     Walter C. Miller, Sr. and Eliza Tolvstad were married at Redfield,
South Dakota in 1900. They lived near Redfield. Later they moved to
various farms or homes in, or near, Roscoe, Tolstoy and Onaka, South
Dakota. Walt farmed, raising hogs and horses, ran a livery stable and a
saloon during these years.

     Walter's people had come to New York in the early part of the 17th
century, from Holland and England. Eliza's people came to Whitehall,
Wisconsin from Norway. Both of their grandparents came to South Dakota
about 1885, settling along the Jim River southeast of Aberdeen.

     Walt and Eliza raised nine of ten children, one having died in
infancy. In 1929, Walt and his family (except Eunice, who had married
Roy Baker, and Hazel, who was teaching school) came to Ziebach County.
Some things came by train, while part of their belongings they hauled in
a covered wagon made out of a trailer and pulling a hayrack. Delbert
tells of this trip. Fred drove the team while Delbert rode horseback,
driving some loose stock. When they came to the bridge at Whitlock
Crossing, Fred insisted that Delbert walk over the bridge and lead his
horse. He said, "Your horse could get scared and shy and throw you into
the river". Delbert was nine years old at the time and was highly
indignant at being treated like a little kid! However, once Fred made up
his mind, nothing could change it, so Delbert walked and led his horse.

     The family bought the Jake Maca place, south and east of Dupree.
Walt soon became actively involved in county affairs and was elected
county commissioner, an office he held for many years.

     The family members that came to Ziebach County to live were:

    Lewis (Cully), who later married Margaret Miller, daughter of Jess and Maggie Miller.

Fred, who remained single and died in 1978.

     Walter C., Jr. (Casey), who married Genevieve Olson.

     Verna, who married Arthur Flick and raised four daughters -- Dawn,
Mary, Ginny and Lorna.

    Donald, who married Florence Martin.

Delbert, who married Eva
Henderson.

     Inez, who married Walter Boettcher and raised four children --
Linda, Bill, Bob and Nancy.

     Delbert, Donald and Inez all attended grade school at the Gage
School south of Dupree and all graduated from Dupree High School. Verna
attended high school her senior year and graduated in Dupree.

    Eliza died in 1956 and Walt died in 1961.

Early in the spring of 1910, after the registration the previous fall in Aberdeen, Le Beau, and Pierre for the drawing in the opening of the Cheyenne River and Standing Rock Reservations, for homestead entries, there was some speculation as to just where the town of Dupree (Dupris) was to be located, as no one seemed to be able to tell just what quarter of land would be selected for the town site.

In April of 1910, the early settlers or the ones who wished to be on the ground to avoid the great rush for locations for various businesses, started a little town just two miles east of the present town site, on the La Plant land. Frank A. Haagen erected the first building in which he began a small hardware store. A few days later, H. E. Keller, of Le Beau, put up a shack for a store, and McGarraugh and Dunn, started the Farmers State Bank on this location. About the first of June, 1910, these gentlemen moved their building to the present town site, but as no lot sale had been held, and not knowing the location of the main street, the buildings were placed just west of the creek about where the tourist camp now stands.

The following buildings were erected: The Dupree Hotel, Pool Hall, which is now occupied by Quirk's Restaurant, an addition to Keller's building, a restaurant and store building erected by H.C. Lafferty, Haagen's hardware store, Babe La Plant's restaurant. The Farmers State Bank building was moved. In August A. A. Karley built the Dupree State Bank building. Hayes Milton had a Livery Barn and Fritz Lindgreen, a small residence or sort of a store.

The Town-lot sale was held in Aberdeen in late August of 1910, and in a few days all the buildings were moved to the present town site. Dr. F. H. Creamer had a building built on the old location, which was moved to the present location. H. E. Keller, H. A. Van Campen, and Martin Sletten built buildings. Gotfried Picker built the first forty feet of the Shelton House, and Frank H, Barnes built the first part of his store on the east side of Main Street. A little later Crew & Robinson built the Club Pool Hall, which later on was moved from its location on the corner by the Berglin building to its present location. H. Pinnicker built a pool hall just south of the Shelton House, which is now the residence property, formerly the Keller property.

Fisher built a hotel building or rooming house which was moved from the main street and is now the Wenger home. Melow and Campbell built their store building soon after. Frank E. Riley had the News Office in the building formerly used by Fritz Lingreen as a house, just south of the Dupree Hotel. The old Dupree Hotel was moved to the present town site and a large addition made, which is today the J. J. Pollard property, on South Main Street. Thomas R. Nelson built his law office in 1910 and was the First United States Commissioner here. The Post Office was just north of the Club Pool Hall and was later moved to south of Dr. Creamer's office building, and an addition was erected, which is now used and known as the Court House Annex.

The town was named for a mixed blood who lived on the Creek, just north of town, on the ranch now owned by Kruckman and Scott; in some way or other, the spelling of the word: Dupris was changed to Dupree, and it was adopted by the Post Office as Dupree instead of Dupris, the proper spelling of the name being Dupris.

The old County House was built on the location of the new Courthouse in August, 1911, by Philip Schweick, who had a claim just south of the Judge Spies homestead. For twenty years it nearly answered for the needs of a Courthouse. Not being large enough for Court, the District Court was held in the Berglin Hall for many years, and after the erection of Legion-Community Building, court was held there.

The railroad was not completed into Dupree until December 16, 1910, and that date saw the first train into Dupree, the County seat of Ziebach County. Up until that time all supplies, food stuff, lumber etc., was freighted in over land by teams from Isabel and Eagle Butte. Much of the lumber which went into the early buildings, was freighted from Lemmon, Le Beau, and Isabel.

Of the original citizens residing in the town of Dupree in 1910 and 1911, there are but three families who make this city their residence, namely A. A. Karley and family, who established the Dupree State Bank in August, 1911, and was in the banking business until May 1929, when he sold out his bank to the Farmers State Bank, and went into the real estate business, Harry E. Mosher, who lived In the town most of the time, and at all times so near town as to be included as one of our citizens, is our present Post Master. He has served as State Representative at Pierre, and has been in the Auto and Garage business, hardware, and farming ventures; Dr. Frank H. Creamer, came to Dupree on July 18, 1910, and has been practicing medicine in the old stand for all these years, except for about six months when he served in the World War. Thomas R. Nelson has been in Dupree since proving up on his homestead in Dewey County in 1911; George Kruckman has been a resident of the County and Dupree, off and on, ever since the fall of 1909, when he was in the locating business, and over the county before there was a Dupree town site laid out. This is also true of Thomas R. Nelson. The W. M. Scott family have been in Dupree since 1914, and are to be considered as one of the older families.

The following is a list of families who came to this county in 1910 and 1911 and have resided in the County all the time since that date: L. O. Adams, E. E. Armentraut, Carl A. Anderson, Herman Eulberg, A. J. Bickerman, Sophus Brams, Joseph B. Buresh, Roy Fish, Carl A. Griffith, Mrs. Cora Hagan, J. W. Hersey, Lev! C. Hurst, Moody G. Drummond, Miss Hilda Jacobson, J. P. Jensen, John Leiber, Oscar Lund, Mrs. Robert Marple, Mrs. Elise Orbeck, George Pesicka, Mrs. Harriet Walters, Mrs. Marie Van Sickle, Mrs. Carl Anderson and Mrs. Herman Eulberg.

Dupree, South Dakota

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