Town of the Week

Armour, South Dakota
November 25, 2000

Head over to Armour, South Dakota; just listen in.

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Imagine being alive in 1885. Striving to survive, you read in your paper "Westward the star of empire takes its way, and Armor, Dakota is to be the new star of Bethlehem." You re-locate in what's called the best region for stock and agricultural purposes. In truth, for passengers on the Milwaukee Road, Armour, South Dakota was the end of the line. Literally, for Milwaukee carpenters built a roundhouse, turntable and a stock yards. The town was given the name of Phillip Danforth Armour, the Chicago meatpacking magnate, and a member of the railroad's board.

For the town, being the furthest point west meant it shipped a lot of goods. There is a four block area of main street which are listed on the National Register of Historic Places. Queen Anne, Victorian, bungalow and prairie-style architectural styles sit side by side. Armour's public library is still the Carnegie Library.

Its museums include a country school and the railroad house, and a display building on the National Register. The town's old movie theatre, the Lorain, closed in 1982. Volunteers have taken over the building, bought equipment and are showing four movies a week to an audience including communities in a 50 mile radius. This weekend, it's "Charlie's Angels".

Armour has made a name for itself through the years for its strong high school basketball teams, the Packers. This town of 900 people is also the seat of Douglas County, is recognized nationally by pheasant hunters for the abundance of the bird. This town is a mile long and still going strong in its 114th year, Armour, South Dakota.