South Dakota was not left out of the Chautauqua movement of the late 19th and early 20th century. Ruskin Park, on the James River at Forestburg, was a venue for music, educational seminars, lectures, political rallies, sports and other recreational activities.
The following excerpts are from a "Historic American Buildings Survey" project document archived at the Library of Congress. "(The) project was sponsored by United States Department of Agriculture Natural Resources Conservation Service under the Direction of Lance Rom. Historic Research was conducted by Ken R. Stewart and measured drawings were produced by Wyss Associates, Inc. Technical assistance was provided by the South Dakota State Historical Society and South Dakota State Historic Preservation Office."(The entire document is available for download here.)
"Ruskin Park is significant because it illustrates the history of recreational activities in the Midwest. As one of the most popular summer recreation communities in eastern South Dakota from the 1890s to 1967, Ruskin Park evolved from a popular setting for community picnics and Chautauqua Meetings into one of the most prominent recreational resort areas of the region. The park was formally named Ruskin Park after poet and naturalist, John Ruskin, in 1902. Thousands of people came by train from throughout South Dakota.
In 1910 the park changed ownership, and facilities were expanded to include a one-mile dirt racetrack. Notables such as Eddie Rickenbacker raced there and Ruskin Park became one of the most popular tracks in the Midwest. An elaborate dance pavilion, also built in 1910, boomed through the 1960’s. Nationally known orchestras, such as Lawrence Welk and Les Brown, played there to crowds of over five hundred people.
A decline in use of the facilities at Ruskin Park began during the Great Depression and continued due to the availability of other recreational opportunities. A series of floods damaged many of the structures, and the park finally closed in 1967."
The town of Forestburg was established in the early 1880s. Some settlers were attracted to the spot because it was one of the few places on the Dakota Prairie with thick groves of trees.
"Among those early settlers who came into the area were Hiram Augustus Rodee and his family. Originally from New York, the Rodee family was equally enchanted with the groves of trees. After coming across the treeless plains in 1882, they found the greenery to be a welcome sight. Eventually, Hiram Rodee would acquire almost 1,900 acres of land adjacent to and near the James River. Here he would welcome and entertain a growing number of summer visitors who wanted to picnic in the groves. Here, too, community picnics were held in the later years of the nineteenth century.
In the late 1890s Hiram Augustus 'Gus' Rodee, Jr., was sent to school back east. While in the town of Chautauqua, New York, he had an inspiration. Why not take the concepts of Chautauqua back to his home in South Dakota? A devotee of John Ruskin, the poet and naturalist, Gus Rodee envisioned a Chautauqua site amidst the natural beauty of his home. In 1902, he returned to Forestburg and began construction of Ruskin Park.
Gus Rodee ordered construction of a square frame two-story hotel, stables, workshops, a lunchroom, workers’ quarters and a half-mile oval racetrack for trotting and other horse races. He put in two artesian wells to provide pure, cool water. He arranged for a park 'auditorium' that was, in fact, a large canvas tent, furnished with several hundred chairs and a raised stage. Many smaller tents were provided for visitors as well. Rodee named the area Ruskin Park and, in order to finance the development, sold a number of lots to nearby residents, many of whom built summer homes there. Rodee himself built an unknown number of these homes to rent out to summer dwellers."
The Chautauqua experience alone brought people to Ruskin Park from 1902 until 1910.
"Gus Rodee tied-in with the company that provided Madison, South Dakota's, Chautauqua with talent and scheduled the first such assembly in Sanborn County for July 2, 3, and 4, 1904. The program provided something for everyone. The assembly opened at 11:00 A.M. on Saturday, July 2, with an Opening Concert by the State World's Fair Band. This was followed at 1:30 P.M. by an address on government ownership by ex-United States Senator Richard F. Pettigrew of Sioux Falls. Then a basketball game was played between Woonsocket and Artesian. The game was followed by another concert by the South Dakota State Band and then, at 6:30 P.M., 'Musical and Elocutionary Entertainment.' Sunday, July 3, began with a sacred concert by the State Band, followed by more sacred music performed by the Artesian Band and a sermon, delivered by Dr. H.K. Warrren, on 'Service.' That evening the state band presented additional music with Miss Elizabeth Parkinson, a mezzo-soprano, performing as soloist. The activities for Monday, July 4, consisted of orations and music of a patriotic nature, with the Artesian Band providing an evening closing concert .
The Ruskin Park staff noted that 'refreshments and warm meals were to be served on the grounds. A gasoline launch and rowboats were available on the river. Two flowing wells provided water and a horse pasture was adjacent.'
"Daily admission to the park was 15 cents for children and 25 cents for adults. Season tickets were 25 and 50 cents. Tenting privileges cost $1.00."
More and more summer cottages and other buildings were added to the Park. In 1909, the sixty acres of Ruskin Park and the entire two thousand acres of the Rodee Ranch were sold to Robert E. Dowdell, editor of the Sanborn County Advocate, and Ben H. Millard, owner of the Artesian State Bank. They sold off parts of the ranch to finance additional buildings and other improvements to the park.
Among the building were "...forty small cabins to be used as rentals. The cottages were built for permanence. They were sided, painted and featured large screened porches. Each cottage was furnished with a gasoline stove, table, chairs, cooking utensils, dishes, lamps, one bed with a mattress, and a sanitary couch that could also be used as a bed. Each cottage could accommodate four people. All the guests had to bring was linen and cutlery.
A frame theater for the presentation of home talent plays doubled as a movie theater in later years. Bathhouses, diving boards and a rustic bridge were added to the site.
The racetrack was completed in 1909 and was used for horse races as well as auto races. The ballpark was situated in the middle of the racetrack near the grandstands so that visitors could enjoy the sports in comfort. The track was banked to provide safety for the racers.
The major casualty of the new ownership was the Chautauqua. For undisclosed reasons, the year of 1909 was the last year it was held at Ruskin Park. This did not mean death for the Chautauqua in Sanborn County. It continued its yearly run in nearby Woonsocket for many years.
For the year 1910, the first under Dowdell and Millard ownership, entertainment at the park emphasized picnics, patriotic events, diverse sports and orations. A summer stock theater group was formed from among the residents.
Ruskin Park continued to draw visitors throughout the 1920s, 1930s, and 1940s but World War II caused a drop in park attendance and profits. The park was sold again in 1949 and the entertainment focus shifted mainly to music, dances, and roller skating.
The rock and rollers of the 1950s and early 1960s found a home at Ruskin Park. Dozens of local and touring bands performed for weekend dances. But the Park's location on the James River, which made it so attractive at the beginning, proved to be a liability over time. Several floods over the decades took their toll on the Park's trees and buildings. In 1967, the end came for Ruskin Park.
"Ruskin limped on into 1967. But when the owner, Walter Siegenthaler, died of a heart attack Ruskin was doomed. The park and buildings were soon sold to Carlton Cassen, who converted the pavilion into a haymow and machine shed. The cabins were used for storage and as granaries. Horses grazed on the bluegrass.
What was left of Ruskin Park in 1968 was auctioned off. The contents included a number of 'wire ice cream chairs and tables,' antiques of another era, wooden booths, roller-skates, a nickelodeon, numerous dishes, furniture from ten cabins and a thousand memories."
In 2010, 11 years after the last building was felled by a bulldozer, Ruskin Park became the first venue inducted into the South Dakota Rock and Roll Hall of Fame.
Nothing remains of Ruskin Park. The entire site is on private property and most of it has been used as a cattle pasture for many years. Passers-by may notice a historical marker placed in 2013. The marker was paid for by volunteers and donors organized on Facebook.
Read the entire "Historic American Buildings Survey" project document written by Ken R. Stewart of the South Dakota State Historical Society.
Listen to an SDPB radio interview with Joe Tlustos, a Forestburg native who knows a lot about the history of the area and Ruskin Park:
Learn more and engage with the Ruskin Park Facebook Group
Listen to an SDPB radio story about the purchase and placement of the Ruskin Park historical marker.
See photos of Ruskin Park's rise and decline in the gallery below. Photos Courtesy: Joe Tlustos.
