Rapid City, SD

Rapid City, SD is the second largest city in South Dakota and the county seat of the Pennington County.  It was named after Rapid Creek when the city was established.  It sits against the eastern slope of the Black Hills mountain range.  Population is 68,000 with a median income of $36,000 and a median age of 36.  It is known as the "Gateway to the Black Hills" and the "City of Presidents".  It is divided by a mountain range that splits eastern and western parts of the city into two. 
Public discovery of Gold in 1874 by the Custer Expedition brought a mass influx of settlers into the Black Hills of South Dakota.  Rapid City, originally called Hay Camp, was founded by a group of disappointed miners who promoted their new city as the "Gateway to the the Black Hills".  John Brennan, Samuel Scott and a small group of men laid out the site of present Rapid City in February 1876 then changed its name to Rapid City.  A square mile was measured off and the six blocks in the center was designated as a business section.  Committees were appointed to bring in prospective merchants and their families.  The city began selling supplies to miners and pioneers.  Its location on the edge of the Plains and the Hills and its large river valley also made it a natural hub for the railroads from the south and the east in the late 1880s.  By 1900 Rapid City was establishing itself as an important regional trade center for the upper Midwest.  Rapid City continued to grow and with the automobile and highways tourism became part of its economy.  The Depression and WWII did affect the city some but with Ellsworth AFB and the Army Air Corp base built near Rapid City in the 1940s  it doubled Rapid Cities population.  In the 1950s missile sights were installed around Ellsworth AFB due to the Cold War, they were disassembled in the 1990s.  Today, Rapid City is South Dakota's primary city for tourism and recreation.  With the approval of a Deep Underground Science and Engineering Laboratory at the Homestake Mine is nearby Lead Rapid City has a future in technology, medicine and scientific research. 
We spent the day in Rapid City and had a great time.  It is a really nice town and it has everything.  It has the charm of its Historic Downtown area and its business district in the west.  It is really laid out well and very easy to maneuver around both areas.  The eastern ridge of the Black Hills separate the two which makes it even easier to maneuver through out the city.  The city has a great parks system and there are several parks through out Rapid City.  All different and all beautiful.  The recreational parks have every sport covered and are all state of the art.  They even have their own fish hatchery system to keep the Rapid Creek stocked with fish.  I was very impressed with the city.
Historic Downtown Rapid City is a very touristy area and a great place to spend the day with unique shops and restaurants.  The statue of Presidents is an added attraction and the statues of our Presidents are very well done (more about that in a later blog).  We walked the downtown area and had lunch at the Firehouse Brewery Co.   We decided go there for two reasons, the menu looked good and when we were driving across South Dakota it had billboards, almost as many as Wall Drugs, and at each billboard there was an old Fire Engine parked next to the billboards.  Obviously the advertising worked!  The food and atmosphere were good.  After lunch we hopped on a trolley for a hour tour around the city.  It was a great way to see all that Rapid City has to offer, learn some of the history of Rapid City and for $2.00 a person a great deal.  After the tour we went to the different attractions we saw along the way. 
We had a great day in Rapid City and we will return because we did not get a chance to do all the things it has to offer.  I really liked Rapid City and with all there is to do in and around the city I would recommend it as a vacation destination.