Madison, SD -- A Visit Home

Before hitting the road fulltime in the motorhome, we lived for a number of years in Madison, SD, a relatively small city northwest of Sioux Falls. We really enjoyed our time in Madison and knowing the friendly folks who lived there. As you can see, Madison still has a real Main Street which is a pleasure to stroll along while shopping.

Of course, Madison was not always the tranquil town that you see now. Indeed, back in the 1874 era, the Town of Madison was established here, on the shore of Lake Madison.

But where is the town?? It turned out that the railroad decided to come through the area about 5 miles north of this location and the person holding that land, C.B. Kennedy, invited the residents of "old" Madison to move to his homestead and create a "new" Madison. This was done in 1880 and the town moved to its current location. 

The railroad is still a force in the city, but now, instead of hauling passengers, it predominately hauls corn and beans from the productive farmland in the area. 

When C. B. Kennedy offered land for the new City of Madison, he also provided land for a new University, which evolved into Dakota State University, located in the city area. 

Dakota State is a smaller public university (of about 2,500 students) that focuses on information technology as well as traditional liberal arts and sciences. Rick and Orinda were proud to be members of the Business faculty here and greatly enjoy returning to visit. 

 The campus is a beautiful enclave in Madison and offers everything that larger universities offer along with very student-focused attention. We were pleased to conclude our careers in higher education at this great school.

 One of the great leaders in South Dakota as well as at Dakota State was General William Beadle, whose statue Rick is standing next to. After a distinguished career in military service during the Civil War, Gen. Beadle was appointed as the Surveyor General of the Dakota Territory and later, President of the University. 

We also had to be sure to stop by our "home" here at MyDakotaAddress.com which serves as our mail forwarding and residency location. We have had great service over the years from Terri and her crown who operate the firm. It is fun to cal the couple thousand folks who "live" here neighbors!