Chamberlain Indian Industrial School


	This information is from "Memorial and biographical record; an illustrated
 	compendium of biography, containing a compendium of local biography,
	including biographical sketches of prominent old settlers and 
	representative citizens of South Dakota..." Published by G. A. Ogle & 
	Co., Chicago, 1899. Page 253

	Scan, OCR and editing by Maurice Krueger,mkrueger@iw.net, 1998. 

	This file may be freely copied by individuals and non-profit 
	organizations for their private use. 

	Any other use, including publication, storage in a retrieval 
	system, or transmission by electronic, mechanical, or other 
	means requires the written approval of the file's author.

	This file is part of the SDGENWEB Archives. If you arrived here inside
	a frame or from a link from somewhere else, our front door is at

	http://usgwarchives.net/sd/sdfiles.htm


THE CHAMBERLAIN INDIAN INDUSTRIAL SCHOOL, of Chamberlain, South Dakota, 
was opened to students May 5, 898. The appropriation made by the United 
States for this institution was twenty-five thousand dollars, and the 
site is north of the city of Chamberlain, on the east bank of the 
Missouri river. It provides a free course of education in the 
elementary and intermediate branches, and practical industrial 
training. The main building is of brick, and is 160 feet long and 33 
feet wide, with a wing 45 by 33 feet, the whole being a two story and 
basement, fire-proof structure. The basement is devoted to work rooms 
and play rooms, the first floor to study rooms, dining rooms and 
kitchen, and the upper floor is in use as a dormitory. In addition to 
the main building, are smaller buildings in use as hospital, laundry, 
shops and stables. An artesian well furnishes an abundant water supply, 
and its force is utilized to pump water from the river to reservoirs on 
the hills near the school buildings, thus affording water for domestic 
uses.  

Thirty-seven girls and twenty-six boys from the Sisseton and Crow Creek 
agencies were enrolled at the opening of the school. The pupils are 
divided into two sections, each devoting a half day to study and a half 
day to work. Farm work, care of the grounds, and care of the stock, 
together with laundry work, cooking and sewing, furnish all with 
practical work. The studies. are similar to those in the public schools 
of South Dakota. John Flinn is the superintendent of the institution, 
and his wife is its matron.