An amendment to the Constitution authorizing the State of South Dakota to engage in the development and distribution of electric power and to construct, own and operate hydro-electric plants was submitted by the legislature in 1917 to the voters.  It was approved in the election of 1918 by a vote of 41,658 for and 24,429 against.

Pursuant to this amendment the legislature of 1919 created a hydro-electric commission.  Members of this commission were the Governor, Secretary of State, Chairman of the Railroad Commission, State Engineer, and Superintendent of the Department of History.  They were charged with the employment of engineers of high character, experience and accomplishments to make an engineering reconnaissance of the Missouri River within the State and to determine the sites for practicable development of power, if any.

A survey was made and the report was submitted to the commission on April 10, 1920.  They reported that it was practicable to develop power in the Missouri River at sites popularly known as Ashley Island, Badhair, Medicine Butte, Reynolds Creek, Chamberlain, and Mulehead Point.

The three most feasible were at Ashley Island near Mobridge, Medicine Butte near Pierre, and Mulehead Point in the southern section of the State (near Wheeler).  The Mobridge and Mulehead Point sites being respectively first and second in order.  The estimated cost of the construction in 1920 of a dam with a thirty foot head at Mobridge was 9.1 million ($147,409,000 today) and at the Mulehead site, 12.3 million ($198,630,000 today).

In the 1921 legislature a spirited contest arose between the promoters of the Mobridge and Mulehead Point sites, each seeking the first development.  The legislature declined to advance either; whereupon the promoters of the Mobridge site initiated an act which was submitted to the voters in the election of 1922.  It was defeated by a vote of 55,563 to 106,409.

Doane Robinson’s Encyclopedia of South Dakota which was published in 1925 reported that there were the following hydro-electric plants operating in the State of South Dakota at that time:  Big Sioux River at Sioux Falls, Dell Rapids, Flandreau, Redwater River north of Spearfish, Rapid River at Rapid City, Spearfish Creek above Spearfish, Little White River at White River, Fall River at Hot Springs, Cascade Creek near Hot Springs, and the Vermillion River at Centerville.

Mulehead Point is located on the west side of the Missouri River at the sharp turn in the river between Charles Mix and Gregory Counties.  It can be found near the mouth of Whetstone Creek — between Whetstone and Little Cedar Islands.

Lying along the river, the Mulehead Ranch was reputed, at one time, to be one of the largest ranches in South Dakota.  It was started by the Jackson Brothers (Frank, Graydon, and Ernest) whose father was Governor of Iowa and President of the Royal Union Insurance Company.  Because of their activities in Gregory County, the Jackson brothers nearly broke the insurance company

The Jacksons began with 4,000 acres and a few hundred head of cattle in 1912 but each year bought more land and cattle until in 1917 the ranch comprised over 160,000 acres of prime pasture land.  They first bought the good bottom land and later the hills.  The hills came easier since they were occupied by “nesters,” many who were looking for a way to make a “quick buck.”  They had started putting their empire together.

They bought their first land in 1921 and it was then that their accumulation of assets started to crumble.  It became what was thought to be one of the largest properties in the state.  The boundaries of this massive ranch extended to within four miles of Bonesteel on the west, to the Wheeler Bridge on the Missouri, almost to Iona in Lyman County and to the Missouri River on the east.

They never got up to a 1,000 head of cattle on their ranch.  However, they did buy quite a string from the Antler Cattle Company on the Little Big Horn in Montana.  These cattle had to be driven over 563 miles to their ranch on the Missouri in Dakota.

During the Mulehead’s greatest years, 60 men were employed on the ranch doing everything from riding herd to fixing fence.  Special crews were assigned to the various jobs and they worked at them year-round.  To take care of the cattle and farming operations, approximately 300 horses were used.  About 150 of these were saddle horses with the other half being used on the 3,000 acres of cropland.

With 50 – 60 men putting in long hard hours, it took carloads of food to feed them.  For this reason the Jacksons brought in practically all their staples by the carload (railroad siding at Bonesteel), with canned goods and flour the main carload items.  Meat was naturally plentiful.  Two or three beefs, plus three or four hogs, were butchered every week for the menu.

In addition to the Mulehead Ranch, the Jackson brothers were also responsible for the establishment and development of Dallas and later Winner in Gregory and Tripp counties.

In 1915, the brothers suddenly decided to get out of the cattle business and sold out to a man from Chicago.  He soon re-sold it piece by piece to those who had worked for the Jacksons until none of the original Mulehead holdings were left.  The end of the ranch was almost as swift as its beginning!

 

Author Author Clarence Shoemaker, originally published in the Gregory Times-Advocate on October 22, 2025