History of Humboldt South Dakota

I will start with a little background because most people have no idea about this wonderful community. We have two lakes close to town, Beaver Lake and Grass Lake. There is wonderful fishing. It was named after Alexander Bon Humboldt. I

The Chicago, St Paul, Minneapolis, and Omaha Railroad came through the community in 1879. William Kruse had a small shack as a depot. In the years that followed many more arrived.

The first Post Office was established on Valentine's Day in 1889. William Kruse was the first Post Master and served 100 homesteads. Many businesses" started to arrive. We had Saloons, Dance Halls, Creamery, Livery, and much other business'.

The town was made up to start with mostly German's but after a while, Irish and English joined the ranks.

George and Marie Trapp would bring people to town after a while. George was the Marshall for a while. He worked for the city. He had exotic animals. George never charged anyone to come to what he lovingly called "The Spotted Ass Ranch". He had donkeys, llamas, one buffalo, muffalon sheep, and many others. They never got tired of visiting with people who stopped in. It seemed George was always ready to show off a new animal he had. He has a son named John, who married They were busy as they worked and raised seven children.

Large families were not a strange thing for this community. William Kruse had sixteen children and lost eight of them to the "Black Diphtheria" in a matter of months.

Many people did multiple jobs they did. There was a couple named Kenneth and Ellen Matthieu. Kenny would do welding and all the farmers would take their welding to him. Kenny also had a hay hauler that he did in his spare time which he didn't have much of.

The town had a fire in 1930 which burned the hotel and many other buildings. They had a funeral parlor at one time which was on the top floor of the bank, Doctors didn't seem to stay long. They might come in the spring but by December they were usually gone to a warmer climate.

This community though small is very friendly. If you look to buy a home here it is usually at least one hundred years old. The cost of living here is very affordable.