Although even today there are plenty of stretches of open, uninhabited space throughout South Dakota, literally just below the surface lies evidence that civilizations have made this land home for countless centuries. Many followed the buffalo, while others came searching for gold or to farm or, more recently, to marvel at natural and man-made wonders this beautiful state contains. A fascinating collection of thirty-two compelling stories about events that shaped the Mount Rushmore State, It Happened in South Dakota describes everything from Lewis and Clark raising an American flag on the Missouri to the continuing creation of a monument to Crazy Horse.

Patrick Straub is the author of Everything You Always Wanted to Know about Flyfishing and The Orvis Pocket Guide to Streamer Fishing (both by Globe Pequot). He lives with his wife on the Bighorn River in southeastern Montana.   T. D. Griffith has written or coauthored more than sixty books, including Outlaw Tales of South Dakota and Insiders’ Guide to South Dakota’s Black Hills and Badlands (both by Globe Pequot). He lives and writes in the Black Hills of South Dakota.