Category: Belle Fourche

The Center of the Nation

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About a year and a half ago, my husband and I visited the Center of the World monument while vacationing in Quito, Ecuador. When I heard about the monument for the Geographic Center of the Nation in Belle Fourche, South Dakota, I decided that I needed to plan my travel route around this attraction.

Located in western South Dakota, the monument is accessible year round, but being that I visited on Veteran’s Day, I was disappointed to find that the Visitor’s Center and Tri-State Museum closed.

What was more disappointing, however, was that I learned that this was not actually the geographic center. Kind of like in Ecuador, where a mistake in measurements resulted in the monument not being located on the exact location, the actual center is located on private property. The National Geodetic Survey chose Belle Fourche, the town closest to the actual site and the monument was placed there.

While I learned that I could drive twenty miles north to the actual center’s location (latitude 44 58 02.07622N and longitude 103 46.60283W), marked by a red, white and blue hand lettered sign and a United States flag in a private field, I just didn’t have the time.

Walking behind the Visitor’s Center and Tri-State Museum, I found the 21-foot monument, near the Redwater River, made of etched South Dakota granite and a twelve inch bronze marker from the National Geodetic Survey.

What is interesting to consider, however, is that before the addition of Alaska and Hawaii in 1959, Lebanon, Kansas was the geographic center of the nation. With the inclusion of these two states, a new center had to be determined. Keep in mind, Rugby, North Dakota has the distinction of being the geographic center of North America.

Also on the property is the Buckskin Johnny Cabin, built in 1876, which was constructed by John T. Spaulding with logs felled in the Black Hills. It was donated to the Belle Fourche Lions Club, moved to the city and restored as a historical monument to the early days of the frontiersmen. You can also find a Korean War Memorial, a Vietnam War Memorial, antique farm equipment, military equipment and a trail extending near the river.

While my stopover was short and sweet, it was a good diversion, regardless of the fact that I was led here in error.

Sometimes you win some and you lose some. All in a days adventures!

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Geographic Center of the Nation