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Pettigrew Home & Museum
The
beautiful home was constructed in 1889 for Jenny and Thomas
McMartin, who sold the house to Senator Richard Franklin Pettigrew
in 1911 for $12,000, hoping to preserve the history of Sioux Falls
and the region around it. Richard came to the territory in 1869, and
worked hard to build and promote the town; and was responsible for
bringing five different railroads to the city, as well as starting
many businesses in the area. He also served as the state's
representative in Congress, and when it became a state in 1889, he
was elected as the state's first senator. Richard championed the
rights of women, the working man and farmers. One of his passions
was collecting, since he traveled the world and was an early amateur
archaeologist. He had such an extensive collection, that he would
build an addition on the back of this house to house it and show it
to the public in 1925. His collection included such magnificent
items as Native American clothing, guns, stone tools, projectile
points for arrows and spears, natural history objects and all kinds
of items that pertained to the settlement of Sioux Falls.
Unfortunately, he passed away in 1926, but left all of his holdings,
including his house and furnishings to the city so that it would be
kept as a museum and available for generations to come. In the
1930s, another addition was constructed so that his dream could be
complete, done by the city. This spectacular house, with splendid
woodworkings, staircase and moldings is breathtaking, full of
detailed craftsmanship and materials. Exhibits here include the
Surveying Dakota; Speculation and conflict and the cabinet of
curiosities. In the surveying gallery you'll learn more about
Pettigrew and his attempts at surveying the state, as it has been
done to many other regions throughout history and the world. It is
one of the oldest professions, going back some 5000 years to ancient
Egypt, and includes addendums about some of our leaders that were
also surveyors like George Washington and Thomas Jefferson. In the
speculation and conflict gallery you'll learn the story about this
city and how it came to be, with a chronological view of the past
two centuries in and around Sioux Falls, South Dakota. The cabinet
of curiosities takes a look back at the museum that became the
city's first and eventually best museum in the state.
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