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Tucked among the hills on the banks of the Missouri River, Chamberlain has long been a stopping-off point for travelers. The Sioux found rich hunting, and Lewis and Clark discovered a comfortable place to rest on American Island. Chamberlain became a landing for steamboats, which carried cargo and provided transportation to the new western lands. The railroad reached the town in 1880, and by 1890 the settlement offered 200 businesses. The Chamberlain area evolved from the rough and wooly days of cowboy cattle drives across the pontoon bridge to the leisurely ferry excursions to American Island for picnics and ball games. Even today, as travelers from the east come over the rise and descend toward the Missouri River on Interstate 90, they must be thinking the same as travelers of long agothis is where the West begins.
About the author
Gene and Alice Olson owned and operated Old West Museum in Oacoma, South Dakota, which displayed local, pioneer, and western history for 29 years. Their extensive postcard collection chronicles Chamberlain and its neighboring towns. A former teacher, Jan Cerney, is a South Dakota author who has written eight books for Arcadia Publishing. She lives on a ranch near the South Dakota Badlands with her husband, Bob.
