Sully County is on of the central counties of southern Dakota. It is bounded
north by Potter County and the Missouri River, east by Hyde County, south by
Hughes County, and west by the Missouri River and the Indian Reservation. It
contains, including the Fort Sully Indian Reservation, about the equivelent of
twenty-nine congressional townships, or 1,044 square miles, equal to 668.160
acres.

The Missouri River has a tortuous course along the west boundry of the
county. In getting a distance of twenty-four miles, it winds a distance of
forty-eight to fifty miles. Its channel is full of islands in places,
especially in front of the Fort Sully Military Reservation, the largest being
Okoboju Island, at the mouth of the creek of the same name, at the southwest
corner of the county. Cheyenne Island, a short distance below the mouth of the
Cheyenne River, is also a large one, and another is Devil's Island, three
miles below the new town of Fairbank.

The only other stream of importance is the Okobojou Creek, which rises in
Potter County, and entering Sully County in the north part of Town 110, Range
75, flows thence in a general southwest direction across the county, and
discharges into the Missouri River close to the south line in the southwest
corner of the county. Several small branches of the Medicine Creek rise in the
southeast part of the county, and flowing south unite, near Blunt, with a
branch coming from the east, and form the main Medicine Creek. There a
numerous small streams in the western part of the country which rise in the
hilly region, and after short courses discharge into the Missouri. In the
northwest part of Town 113, Range 74 is a fine sulphur spring which flows into
a branch of Medicine Creek.

The county generally is a high, rolling prairie, or table land, cut through
diagonally by the valley of Okobojou Creek, which is mostly narrow, though
widening in places to a mile or more. There is considerable bottom land along
the Missouri.

High bluffs border the river from the northern to the southern line of the
county, and these form the well known Artichoke Buttes, a group of broken
bluffs in Town 116, Range 79. The Sully Buttes form another group of conical
hills in Town 114, Rasnge 80. The county is remarkably clear from marshes and
no lakes are found within its borders.

Probably the first settlement in what now constitutes Sully County was at
Fort Sully on the Missouri River, in the southwestern part of the county,
which was located and established July 26, 1866. There may have been trading
stations, but we have not been able to discover any of them.

Its real settlement dates from the spring of 1883, when a number of points
were occupied and are now developing into respectible business towns.

The county was organized in the spring of 1883 and Clifton made the county
seat. The first county officials were the following: Commissioners, B.P.
Hoover, G.J. Millett, Sr., and N.H. Young; Register of Deeds and ex-officio
County Clerk A.J. Meloon; Judge of Probate, Col. M. Sweeney; Treasurer,
Charles H. Agar; Sheriff, G.J. Millett, Jr.; Assessor, O.W. Lee; Surveyor, Wm.
Ashley Jones; Coroner, Dr. J.A. Stevens; School Superintendent, David Staples;
Justices of the Peace, Geo. W. Everts, Wm. Ross; Constables, Henry W. Sprague,
George Bowers.

CLIFTON was laid out in the spring of 1883, and during the season about
twenty buildings were erected. It is located on the west half of Section 9,
Town 114, Range 78, on the Okoboju Creek about four miles west southwest of
the center of the county. It is the county seat.

The town of FAIRBANK, formerly called Little Bend, was laid out in the fall
of 1883 by a company of capitalists, some of whom are connected with the
Chicago & Northwestern Railway Company. It was named in honor of Mr. N.K.
Fairbank, a prominent Chicago business man. The Chicago & Northwestern Railway
Company is expected to extend its Winona & St. Peter division from Redfield in
Spink County, through the county seat of Faulk County and the southeast corner
of Potter County, to Fairbank in the near future. This would make the latter a
good river point and accomodate a large and rich section of country lying
between the Dakota Central and the Aberdeen branch of the Chicago, Milwaukee &
St. Paul Railway. Fairbank is reported to be growing rapidly. A half section
of land has been laid out in town lots.

OKOBOJOU, situated on the creek of the same name in town 114, Range 79 and
CARSON, also on the creek in the same township were laid out in the spring of
1883. ONIDA, in Town 114, Range 77 was also laid out about the same time.
Other post offices are PERCILLA, in Town 116, Range 78; MARSTON, in Town 113,
Range 78; WATERFORD, in Town 116, Range 77, and LEWISTON, Town 115, Range 79.
The population of the county in November 1883, was about 500; but is filling
up fast, and the number will be quadrupled before winter of 1884 sets in.

NEWSPAPERS - The Sully County Watchman was established in 1883, by Walter &
Gropengriser at Clifton, which has a hotel, a general store, several
attorneys, a flourishing school and a post office.

The Carson Herald was first issued at Carson in the summer of 1883, under the
name of the Sun, by Frost & Frost. The firm changed to Haines & Frost,
September 25, 1883 and the title at the same time.

CARSON was laid out by the "Sully County Colonization Company." In the fall
of 1883 it contained a post office, hotel, store attorney and school. All
these towns have "great expectations."

The Fairbank News, a wide awake weekly newspaper, was established at Fairbank
about January 1, 1884, by Messrs. E.B. Miller and Phil. Dewey. It is an eight-
column folio, and full to the brim of interesting matter, statistical and
otherwise, concerning Dakota in general and Fairbank and vicinity in
particular.

A line of four-horse coaches connects Pierre with prominent points in Sully
County.