Our time in Pipestone MN was only over night, however on the brochure we got at the visitors center indicated that there were a lot of things going on in this little town. The town has an Native American connection. They lived in close harmony with nature on the tall grass prairie of this area. Many American Indians traveled great distances to the sacred Pipestone Quarries where stone used to fashion ceremonial pipes is found.

The first white man to record his trip to the quarries was fur trader Philander Prescott in 1831. In the summer of 1836 noted artist and writer George Catlin visited the site. By sketching the site and collecting some of the legends surrounding it. Catlin did much to make the quarries known throughout the world. Two years later cartographer Joseph N. Nicollet literally put the site on the map.

Although he never visited the site, Henry Wadsworth Longfellow was inspired to write of the area in his well known poem "Song of Hiawatha".

The city of Pipestone was founded in 1876 by Charles Bennett and Daniel Sweet. Bennett was intrigued by the prospect of visiting the site he had read about in Longfellow's poem. These were difficult times for pioneering families, and droughts, blizzards, prairie fires, and grasshoppers drove many would-be Pipestone residents from the area. In 1878 the hoppers were gone for good and the young village began to fill with people. In 1879 22 businesses were operating in Pipestone and by the following year that number had grown to 53. Pipestone was incorporated as a village in 1881 and for the next 20 years was a real boomtown. By 1890 Pipestone had train service on four different rail lines and had become a major travel and business center.

All the existing stone buildings in the Pipestone Historic District were constructed between 1884 and 1910 by skilled stone masons whose art has been all but lost. The people of Pipestone are proud of the heritage which has been preserved in the national historic district, and welcome visitors who wish to share the legacy of the past.

Our photos are from the area. The first is one of the historic buildings, a performing arts building made of quartzite. Very pretty in the sunlight.

The second photo is of a mural downtown and the third is of lake Benton near the town of Lake Benton about 20 miles north of Pipestone, MN.

We are currently in Clear Lake, SD at the city park. A nice park with nice facilities for a small town. They have just installed wi-fi this afternoon, a joint venture between the city and the local amateur radio club that will be having the hamfest on Saturday. A small town about 7 0r 8 blocks along the highway and 3 or 4 on either side. We have gotten out of the flat lands of Iowa and now it is more rolling with some grain but more hay and cattle ranches. Not as boaring as Iowa. We will be here until at least Tuesday.