The great wave of patriotism which swept over the American people following the secession of the southern states did not escape the Dakotans. Although there were only a handful of them, they began to agitate for the organization of a regiment of soldiers for the war.

The total voting population of the Dakota Territory was but five hundred eighty-five men, such a proposition appears almost ridiculous. Nonetheless, Nelson Miner of Vermillion, and William Lyman of Yankton, were both enthusiastic in such a cause.

Mr. Miner in the winter of 1861-62 began actively to recruit a company of cavalry at Yankton and Vermillion.  Mr. Lyman was more ambitious.  He set out to get an appointment from the war department as a major in the cavalry.  He was a close friend and former employee of John Todd who was a delegate to Congress.  In January of 1862, he secured for Lyman a nomination as “Major of the First Dakota Volunteer Cavalry.”

James Witherspoon was listed as a member of “Company A, Dakota Militia” in 1862.

It is not known when Jim Witherspoon first arrived in the area which was later to become the site for the city of Yankton.  We do know that he was involved in some of the very earliest fights over the best and most valuable locations within the newly created city.

From the first settlement of Yankton, a contest had developed for a significant portion of the Yankton townsite between Jim Witherspoon and Gen. John Todd.  As a delegate in Congress, Todd was a man of wide experience in business and he had intimate acquaintance with the public officials in Washington.

The advantage appeared to be in favor of General Todd; however, in spite of all his political influence and power, the process of determining the owners of locations just dragged on and on and on!  Frustration was high and tempers flared between all parties.

In defending his rights, Witherspoon, who was a somewhat erratic character, walked the entire distance from Yankton to Washington, D. C., which was about 1,300 miles.  He must have considered the fact that Todd was regularly in the Nation’s Capital and had numerous friends in Congress.  He undoubtedly must have felt that it was important for him to personally visit with and persuade the public officials that the location should be awarded to him.  And remember, Interstate #80 had not yet been constructed.

The conflict between Witherspoon and Todd was finally settled in Witherspoon’s favor in the spring of 1867.  Jim suddenly came into possession of a very valuable piece of property.  All of a sudden he was rich!

Later that summer, Jim became the owner of the historic International Hotel in Yankton which was opened by Henry C. Ash on Christmas day, 1859.  He had become wealthy when the land contest turned in his favor.  He paid $7,000 for the property.  This was the largest private trade which up to that day had been made in the community.

The Yankton Daily Press and Dakotaian, on October 11, 1875, reported that he had offered to provide a free lot for the Methodist parsonage.  The “Real Estate Transfers” showed that the lot was valued at $500.

After his long walk to Washington, D. C., Jim apparently continued to regularly exercise his legs.  The November 25, 1881, issue of the Custer Weekly Chronicle, reported that he had arrived in Custer on foot from Yankton (404 Miles and no Highway #18).

On the evening of April 27, 1883, a man by the name of Giles appeared at the office of the “Press and Dakotaian” and asked if someone could give him the location of certain lots purchased by the “Pressed Brick Company” near the foot of Green Street.

It was determined that he was the man to whom Judge Brookings had made his somewhat celebrated sale a few years earlier.  It having been alleged that the judge had given title to a few hundred acres of Missouri River water.

Mr. Giles read a description of his purchase and the boundaries of the property.  It was then that Jim Witherspoon led Mr. Giles to the bluff near the river, and from that elevation pointed out to him his possession.  It was reported in the paper that “Mr. Giles said something softly to himself which sounded like a swear word.”

The farm included a swamp, a large sand bar which had formed, and a large liberal slice of the Missouri River.  When told that only a few years earlier, steamboats wended their way across his 200 acre farm, he was speechless.  He did not disclose how much he had paid for the water.  The Press and Daily Dakotaian reported that he was an eastern man who had bought it “unsighted and unseen.”

In early July of 1886, there was a woman, name and home location unknown, who had been wandering around Yankton for several days.  She was thought to be insane.  Sheriff Brennan took her to the State Mental Hospital where the insanity board was examining her for mental illness.

She said that she had been traveling for her health and was told about the discoverer of Yankton who she had come to meet.  The Press and Daily Dakotaian of July 12, 1886 reported that “She must be looking for Jim Witherspoon.”

 

Author Clarence Shoemaker, originally published in the Gregory Times-Advocate on August 30, 2023