Lincoln County Courthouse in Canton
Some may wonder how Oscar Gifford, the first superintendent at the Canton Asylum for Insane Indians, could make much of a pitch for the little town to host what might have become quite a large and important facility. South Dakota was a fairly centralized part of the country for the Indian population it sought to help, so the asylum’s location in that state was not so surprising.
Postcard, Birdseye View of Southwest Canton, SD, around 1912
Canton held only a couple of thousand people, but it was one of the established population centers in the state. It had hosted a district political convention as early as 1868 and a Territorial Republican convention in 1872. Citizens had established the Lincoln County (SD) courthouse in Canton, and the building was ready for occupancy in 1875. In contrast, South Dakota’s eventual state capital, Pierre, did not start construction on its capital building until 1905. Of course, Gifford, as Canton’s former mayor and a former legislator for both the territory and state, still had influence with the people most interested in establishing the asylum.
Postcard, East Side of Main Street in Canton, SD, around 1912
Canton had a well-established business district by the end of 1902, when the asylum opened. The town’s first store opened in 1868, along with its first post office. Clusters of business buildings served customers along Fifth and Broadway, Fifth and Main, Fourth and Main, and a series of adjacent streets. Townspeople could easily shop at a dry goods store, meat market, hardware store, and drug store among many others. In 1903, Chraft & Hansen could advertise five cans of tomatoes for 39 cents and a 20-lb. box of soda crackers for a dollar. Though small and out-of-the-way to Easterners, with its myriad of businesses and enthusiastic townspeople, Canton could truly support a government institution.
Thank you for sharing this information. I didn’t really check into whether or not the Kennedy building is still there, but if you contacted a librarian at Canton, he/she could probably tell you or refer you to someone who knew. And unfortunately, I wasn’t really looking for the kinds of records you mention, so I didn’t find any. Again, the Canton library would probably be a good first source. When I looked through the city newspaper, I don’t particularly remember seeing any advertisements for the Snowball, but again, I wasn’t especially looking for any…my focus was on the asylum and anyone associated with it. I have a book on the history of Lincoln County which contains short bios on some of the prominent families through the years, but don’t see any Hallicks mentioned. I’m so sorry I’m being such a blank for you, but it’s very likely that you can find out what you’re looking for by starting with the library.
I am doing research on Syrians who settled in South Dakota and recently learned that Sam Hallick and his partners (Syrian businessmen) had an ice cream parlor called the Snowball in Canton around 1913-14. It was located in the Kennedy Building on 5th St. Is the Kennedy building still in Canton or has it been demolished? Have you come across any records referring to the Snowball in Canton or to Sam Hallick or other Syrian business owners? I am very much interested in your book and look forward to reading it. Best!