Charles K. Howard Biography


	This biography appears on pages 338-341 in "History of Dakota 
	Territory" by George W. Kingsbury, Vol. V (1915) and was 
	scanned, OCRed and edited by Maurice Krueger, mkrueger@iw.net.

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				CHARLES K. HOWARD. 

	Charles K. Howard, of Rapid City, was one of the early settlers 
of South Dakota as in 1863 he was appointed trader of the United States 
military post known as Fort Dakota. Previous to that time he had been 
identified with the northwest as he was in the employ of the American 
Fur Company of Sioux City, Iowa, which traded to Fort Pierre, and he 
therefore knows practically all of the history of the settlement and 
development of the great state of South Dakota. After abandoning 
trading he turned his attention to ranching and became one of the 
important cattle men of the state, owning six or seven thousand acres 
of land and many thousand head of cattle. In 1910, however, he disposed 
of his interests in that connection and is now residing in Rapid City. 
Although he has reached the age of eighty years he is still enjoying 
excellent health and has the vigor and energy of a man many years his 
junior. As he could not be content without some occupation he engages 
in the real-estate business to some extent. 

	Mr. Howard was born in Red Hook on the Hudson, on the 17th of 
May, 1835, and is a son of Hiram H. and Louisa (Kent) Howard. His 
father, who was also a native of the Empire state, was in his early 
manhood engaged in lumbering in Canada but later returned to his native 
state and devoted the remainder of his life to keeping a hotel. He 
passed away in 1879. C. K. Howard has three sisters, one of whom, Mrs. 
W. D. Stites, is a resident of Sioux Falls. 

	Mr. Howard received a public school education and also attended 
Hamilton College for one year. He left home when about fourteen years 
of age and for about six years worked as a farm hand in his native 
state. In 1855, when twenty years of age, he emigrated westward and 
after reaching Dubuque continued his journey across the state of Iowa 
by stage. From Kanesville, now Council Bluffs, he went to Sioux City, 
where he entered the employ of the American Fur Company, trading to 
Fort Pierre. He remained with them for about two years and then engaged 
in the steam boating service between Sioux City and Covington and 
subsequently was connected with the drug business in partnership with a 
cousin, Charles Rent. About 1863 a military post, known as Fort Dakota, 
was established in Dakota territory and he was appointed post trader. 
Subsequently he removed to what became Sioux Falls and there built the 
first house and later the first brick building, which was known as the 
Howard & Taylor block. He continued as a trader until 1883 and as by 
that time the state was becoming fairly well settled and as the trading 
business was not so profitable as it had been in the earlier days he 
turned his attention to cattle ranching, owning large tracts of land on 
the Cheyenne river about one hundred and twenty miles from Fort Pierre. 
He continued in that business until 1910 and became widely known as a 
cattle man. He made and lost several fortunes but is now one of the 
wealthy men of his part of the state. On retiring from ranching in 1910 
he disposed of six or seven thousand acres of land and is now living in 
Rapid City. He is eighty years of age and has remarkable vigor and 
endurance for his years, a fact which he attributes largely to his 
open-air life. He still takes a keen interest in all public affairs and 
in all events of general interest, living in the present rather than in 
the past. 

	In 1861 Mr. Howard was married to Miss Jeanette Rickets, who 
passed away in 1864, leaving a daughter, Mrs. Mary Pender, who resides 
in Minnesota. In 1870 Mr. Howard was married at Eureka Springs, 
Missouri, to Miss Catherine Franklin, who passed away in 1913. 

	Mr. Howard is a democrat in politics and has taken quite an 
active part in public affairs. For fourteen consecutive years he was 
treasurer of Minnehaha county, his continued reelection proving beyond 
a doubt the satisfactoriness of his services. Fraternally he belongs to 
the Elks and the Masons, being a member of the blue lodge and royal 
arch chapter in the latter order. During the early days in this state 
when white settlers were few and far between he had many thrilling 
experiences with the Indians and became thoroughly acquainted with all 
phases of life on the remote frontier As the state has developed he has 
adapted himself to the changing conditions and has been an important 
factor in the progress of the sections with which he has been 
connected. His high standing as a cattle rancher is indicated by the 
fact that he is ax-president of the Western South Dakota Stockmen's 
Association. He has manifested not only the hardy spirit, the courage 
and the endurance of the pioneer but also the foresight, the ability to 
see things in large and the sound judgment of the man who successfully 
directs extensive business interests. He receives the honor and respect 
to which he is entitled as one of those who have been forces in the 
making of the present state of South Dakota with its wonderful material 
development and its equally great progress along lines of civic and 
moral advancement, and the record of his life is one which should 
inspire others to greater achievement.