Pierre: Economy

Major Industries and Commercial Activity

Pierre serves as the major trading center for central South Dakota. Its economy is supported by government, agriculture, and recreational activities tied in with the Missouri River reservoirs. Pierre's retail area has a radius of 100 miles and comprises approximately 100,000 people. Nearby lakes Oahe and Sharpe, both reservoirs on the Missouri River, make it possible for Pierre businesses to enjoy low electric rates and abundant water for production processes.

Pierre's economy depends largely on the state government, which has its operations in the city and is the largest local employer. The largest private employer is St. Mary's Hospital, with 485 employees. Small businesses and tourism are the remaining sources of jobs and income. Tourism was spurred by the lakes created by the Missouri Basin Development Plan.

Agriculture remains an important part of the economy of Hughes County, home to about 380 farms. The principal crops in the area are wheat, rye, oats, wild hay, flax, corn, barley, mint, soy beans, and alfalfa. Farmers raise cattle, chickens, hogs, buffalo, and horses, and produce eggs and milk.

Items and goods produced: assembly metal works, water conditioners, helicopters, dairy products, bottled beverages, wheat, corn, barley, processed furs

Incentive Programs—New and Existing Companies

Local programs

Development assistance and financing programs are offered by the Pierre Economic Development Corporation (PEDCO) and the Economic Development Administration. Free business consultation and a local revolving loan fund have helped dozens of new businesses get started and older ones to expand. PEDCO also works with business owners contemplating selling their businesses, and offers a free office and manufacturing space database to help in finding locations for businesses. E-commerce is well supported through seminars and other programs. The Small Business Administration Development Center helps with business plan development, market surveys, cash flow projections, and financing options.

State programs

The South Dakota MicroLOAN program offers funds of up to $20,000 to qualifying businesses for working capital, equipment, real estate, or other fixed costs. The USDA Business & Industry Guaranteed Loans make funds available for working capital, equipment, buildings, and debt refinancing.

Job training programs

The Work Force Development Program provides companies with the money needed to train new and existing employees. Job Service of South Dakota and Capital University Center provide training in leadership, customer service, and business. The Capital University Center offers short-term training and certificate programs to meet the needs of businesses in central South Dakota. The Right Turn, a career learning center, offers programs to help individuals train for employment; programs include GED preparation and testing, the Alternative High School program, medical transcription, clerical/computer skills, and other short term training programs, a basic skills brush-up class, career/education counseling, and job search assistance.

Development Projects

Building projects that have been completed since the beginning of the new century include dedication of the $3.9 million Aquatic Center, the opening of a 72,000-square-foot distribution center for Running Supply Inc., and a $2 million city golf course renovation. On top of the recent $11 million addition to St. Mary's Healthcare Center, another $12 million expansion is underway there, and will include a new area for transitional care, kidney dialysis and rehabilitation. A ribbon cutting was held for the expanded, four-lane Pierre-to-Interstate connection. A brand new soccer complex also held its first statewide tournaments.

Economic Development Information: Pierre Economic Development Corporation (PEDCO), Business Expansion Office; telephone (605)224-6610; toll-free (800)962-2034

Commercial Shipping

In addition to the Pierre Municipal Airport, the city is served by numerous trucking companies, and package service is provided by Federal Express, United Parcel Service, DHL, and Airborne Express. The Dakota, Minnesota & Eastern Railroad also serves the city.

Labor Force and Employment Outlook

Well-known for its superb labor force, the Greater Pierre area has a labor force of approximately 14,000 people, and they have among the highest educational level in the state. The area has a good balance of skilled, semi-skilled, technical, and entry-level workers.

According to the Pierre Area Chamber of Commerce, the total number of employed residents was 13,480 out of a labor force figure for the entire area of 14,055. The South Dakota Department of Labor affirms that the fastest growing industries in the state are health care and social assistance, followed by accommodation and food services, finance and insurance, and construction. Industries that are declining on a statewide basis include local government positions, manufacturing, agriculture, forestry, fishing and hunting.

The following is a summary of data regarding the Pierre labor force as of April 2005.

Size of civilian labor force: 13,430

Number of workers employed in . . .

natural resources/mining/construction: 750

manufacturing: 100

trade, transportation, and utilities: 2,575

information: 185

financial activities: 680

professional and business services: 535

educational and health services: 1,360

leisure and hospitality: 1,590

other services: 725

government: 4,930

Average hourly earnings of production workers employed in manufacturing: Not reported

Unemployment rate: 3.7% (March 2005, South Dakota)

Cost of Living

The following is a summary of data regarding several key cost of living factors for the Pierre area.

2004 ACCRA Average House Price: Not reported

2004 ACCRA Cost of Living Index: Not reported

State income tax rate: None

State sales tax rate: 4.0%

Local income tax rate: None

Local sales tax rate: 2.0% (plus 1.0% on hotel/motel, restaurant, and liquor establishments. Food and drugs are exempt)

Property tax rate: $3.71 per $1,000 of assessed valuation, city of Pierre, plus $23.53 per $1,000, Hughes County and schools (2001)

Economic Information: Pierre Area Chamber of Commerce, PO Box 548, Pierre, SD 57501; telephone (605)224-7361

Pierre: History

Early History and Exploration by Whites

The first white men to see the Pierre area were the two LaVerendrye brothers. They were the sons of the French explorer who first claimed the region for France in 1743, Pierre Gaultier de Varennes. At the site above present-day Fort Pierre, South Dakota, at one of the bluffs above the Missouri River, the brothers left an inscribed lead plate, which thereafter lay covered until found by a group of children in 1913. The plate is now on display at the South Dakota Cultural Heritage Center in Pierre.

In the mid-eighteenth century, the Sioux Indians, who had been pushed out of Minnesota by the Chippewa, arrived at the Missouri River. Their arrival challenged the claim of the Arikara, the native people who lived in palisaded forts around present-day Pierre. In 1794, the battle for control of central South Dakota finally came to an end when the Sioux drove the Arikara from the area.

In 1803, the United States completed the Louisiana Purchase from France, which included the area that would later be named South Dakota. In September 1804, Meriwether Lewis and William Clark anchored their canoe at the site of present-day Pierre. During that time, Lewis and Clark met with 50 or more chiefs and warriors, including the Teton Sioux. They named the nearby river Teton, in honor of the tribe, but it is now called the Bad River.

The meeting started out badly but negotiations soon improved when the explorers and the Indians shared a feast of buffalo meat, corn, pemmican, and a potato dish. After all present smoked a peace pipe, the explorers continued their journey upriver. During their visit to the Pierre area, Lewis and Clark raised the United States flag there.

City Is Established

When the explorers returned to St. Louis in 1806, they described the streams full of beaver and grasslands full of buffalo, and they noted the lack of trading forts in the Pierre area. Their report soon attracted people interested in exploiting the riches of the region.

In 1817, Joseph LaFramboise built a fur trading post across the river from where Pierre now sits. In 1831, a representative of the American Fur Company, Pierre Chouteau, Jr., built Fort Pierre to replace the old LaFramboise trading post. In 1855, the U.S. Army bought Fort Pierre for use as a military post, but abandoned it two years later in favor of nearby Fort Randall. Even after the army departed, people continued to live at the site of Fort Pierre.

In 1861, the Dakota Territory was formally established. Once the railroad line made South Dakota more accessible, settlers began to pour in, causing the Great Dakota Boom of 1878-1887. During that period, in 1880, the new town of Pierre began as a ferry landing at the site of a railroad terminal, across the river from Fort Pierre on what was formerly Arikara Indian tribal grounds. Rapid growth ceased when droughts struck throughout South Dakota, bringing the period of prosperity to a quick end. On February 22, 1889, South Dakota entered the union as the 40th state.

Pierre Chosen as Capital

The period from 1889 to 1897 saw development slowed by a depressed national economy, a time known in South Dakota as the Great Dakota Bust The number of new settlers greatly declined and some who had moved to Pierre and the rest of the state departed. But by the late 1890s, the state and the nation began to recover.

In 1890 Pierre was made the capitol of South Dakota after a drawn-out political battle between its supporters and supporters of the town of Mitchell, which was situated further east and nearer to the bulk of the state's population. In the end, however, Pierre won a statewide vote by a large margin.

In 1908 the cornerstone for the new capitol was set down, and the Capitol Building in Pierre opened its doors in 1910. As state government grew, the building expanded and separate office buildings were constructed. The original structure still stands today as part of the capitol complex.

Pierre in the Twentieth Century

During the 1930s, South Dakotans faced not only the Great Depression but severe problems caused by drought and dust. Many jobs were created for Pierre citizens by the Civilian Conservation Corps and other government agencies.

In 1944, the U.S. Congress passed legislation that resulted in the construction of the Oahe Dam near Pierre, which still serves the region. In 1949 a terrible blizzard struck the area, and the railroad line from Pierre to Rapid City, South Dakota, was blocked for weeks. A 1952 flood of the Missouri River caused severe damage to the town of Pierre but it was not destroyed, making clear to the citizens of Pierre the wisdom of the Oahe Dam building project. The project remains controversial among the Cheyenne River Sioux, who believe land was taken from them illegally for the dam construction.

The dam, the largest of six Missouri River dams and one of the largest dams in the world, has a generating capacity of 700,000 kilowatts. Along with the other dams on the Missouri River in South Dakota, it generates more than 2 million kilowatts of electricity. Other benefits of the dam include expanded recreation areas, irrigation, increased public water supplies, and fish and wildlife development.

During the wintertime, Pierre is abuzz with activity, as legislators from various parts of the state meet for three months to decide issues of state government. The rest of the year, Pierre is a quiet tourist town and farming center. In recent years, Pierre has invested millions of dollars in projects that benefit businesses and the community.

Historical Information: The South Dakota State Historical Society, 900 Governors Drive, Pierre, SD 57501; telephone (605)773-3458

Pierre: Recreation

Sightseeing

A must-see for Pierre visitors is the beautiful 1910 state capitol, one of the most fully restored in the nation. Its rotunda reaches 96 feet and features a brightly colored Victorian glass top. Pillars flank the marble staircase, and the terrazzo tile floor includes 66 blue tiles, each representing one of the artisans who worked on laying it by hand. Finishing touches are provided by marble water fountains and brass door fixtures, art murals and sculptures. Out on the capitol grounds is a fountain fed by an artesian well with a natural gas content so high it can be lit. The glowing fountain serves as a memorial to war veterans.

At the Cultural Heritage Center, South Dakota history is brought to life through museum exhibits and publications, educational programming and research services. High-tech exhibits feature early Native American cultures, an early history of white settlement, the river boat era, and the railroad period. Among the Native American exhibits are a teepee visitors can walk through, a rare Sioux horse effigy, and a full headdress. The Verendrye Museum in Fort Pierre, across the river from the city, provides an eclectic display of exhibits and items of historical interest.

The Discovery Center and Aquarium is a hands-on display of 50 self-guided science activities in the areas of sound, vision, light, electricity, and motion. Its Aquatic Education wing has three aquariums featuring Missouri River fish. The planetarium provides a look at the skies overhead.

The South Dakota National Guard Museum displays a wide range of military weapons and other items such as an A-7D jet fighter plane, a Sherman tank and several artillery pieces, military uniforms, small arms, and helicopter and jet engines. Six miles north of Pierre, tours of the Oahe Dam are available. The dam is the second largest rolled-earth dam in the world. A visit to the Oahe Dam and Powerhouse and Oahe Visitor Center, dedicated in 1962, tells the story of the dam and has displays on such topics as the Lewis and Clark Expedition and the dam itself. On site is the Oahe Chapel, removed from its original site at the old Arikara Indian Village, which was flooded when the dam was built.

Arts and Culture

Pierre Players, the longest running community theater group in South Dakota, offers productions throughout the year. The Pierre Concert Series presents a variety of musical and dance productions by professional touring troupes.

Festivals and Holidays

September activities in Pierre center on statewide softball tournaments held in the city and Goosefest, an outdoor festival that features a South Dakota Arts Showcase, craft and Native American pottery and food booths, and Lewis and Clark reenactments. October brings the Native American Day festival and the Annual Governor's Hunt. The holidays are heralded by the Pierre Players' Christmas Pageant and the Capitol Christmas Tree display. June's many events include softball tournaments, band concerts, and concerts in the parks. July is highlighted by the Independence Day celebration, including a rodeo and parade, baseball and softball tournaments, concerts, summer theater, and the governor's Cup Walleye Tournament. August is enlivened by the 4-H Rodeo and the three-day Riverfest Festival, which features music; water ski, car, and air shows; water events; and a kids' carnival.

Sports for the Spectator

Pierre's Expo Center features indoor hockey and skating events. In nearby Fort Pierre, pari-mutuel horse racing is offered in the springtime; rodeos and stock shows are also held there.

Sports for the Participant

Farm Island and the La Framboise Island offer such activities as biking, hiking, camping, and wildlife observation. Pierre's city parks system boasts 11 parks, 11 tennis courts, a beach volleyball court, a Frisbee course, basketball courts, horseshoe pits, two swimming beaches, indoor and outdoor swimming pools, a band concert shell, an assortment of playground equipment, fishing piers, seven little league baseball fields, baseball diamond, pony league field, eight softball fields, eight soccer fields, an outdoor skate park, and 3.5 miles of bike path. Griffin Park, the major park area, is located in a riverside setting and has a swimming pool and newly renovated camping facilities.

Five miles upstream from Pierre, Lake Oahe's 2,250-mile shoreline offers swimming, boating, water skiing, scuba diving, snorkeling, camping and picnicking. Anglers come to Lake Oahe in search of a variety of sport fish, including walleye, northern pike, Chinook salmon, channel catfish, small mouth bass, white bass, sauger, bluegill, and crappies. Public hunting grounds offer excellent waterfowl and upland game hunting, featuring Canada geese, mallards, pheasants, and grouse. Whitetail and mule deer and antelope also abound, offering challenges to the big game hunter. Knowledgeable guides and game lodges are available to provide enjoyable and successful hunting experiences.

Shopping and Dining

The city's main shopping center is the 34-store Pierre Mall, which is anchored by JCPenney, Sears, and Kmart. There is also a Wal-Mart in the city.

Pierre's variety of restaurants primarily offer American cuisine and include Smokees BBQ, Classy's, Outpost Lodge, and Jake's Good Times Place.

Visitor Information: Pierre Convention & Visitors Bureau, 800 West Dakota Ave., Pierre, SD 57501; telephone (605)224-7361

Pierre: Education and Research

Elementary and Secondary Schools

The Pierre School District has always held itself to high academic standards and the community has long been a source of support for its schools. Increased communication through the use of the Oahe Cable Channel by airing drama, chorus, band performances, and activities and lessons is a current focus of the district. Riggs High School hosts adult education classes, and is home to the Community Concert Series and the Short Grass Arts Council. Pierre Public Schools currently partners with the Capital University Center providing classrooms and technology. The Pierre Education Foundation provides financial support via grants for innovative Pierre educators. A cooperative spirit with the community of Pierre flourishes through several programs including: Right Turn, Advanced High, Character Education, Youth to Youth, Junior Achievement, Reading Buddies, the Mentorship Program for Students at Risk, Fine Arts and Athletic Booster Clubs, and Native American Liaison.

The following is a summary of data regarding the Pierre public school system as of the 2004–2005 school year.

Total enrollment: 2,624

Number of facilities elementary schools: 4

junior high/middle schools: 1

senior high schools: 1

Student/teacher ratio: elementary, 20.7:1, junior high, 17.2:1, senior high, 20:1

Teacher salaries average: $32,414 (2002–2003)

Funding per pupil: $5,607 (2002–2003)

Pierre also has a Catholic elementary school, an Indian Learning Center, and an alternative education program operated in conjunction with The Right Turn, a career learning center.

Public Schools Information: Pierre Public Schools, 302 E. Dakota, Pierre, SD 57501; telephone (605)773-7300

Colleges and Universities

While Pierre is not the site of any colleges or universities, it does boast the Capital University Center. This non-profit institution helps students earn university degrees through Northern State University, South Dakota State University, the University of South Dakota, and South Dakota School of Mines & Technology. The center offers courses that enable students to obtain associate degrees in business, and master's degrees in business administration, industrial management, and technology management.

Libraries and Research Centers

Rawlins Municipal Library, which celebrated 100 years in 2003, contains nearly 50,000 books and has special collections on the history of South Dakota. The South Dakota State Library houses more than 180,000 volumes, with special collections on Native American and South Dakota history.

Other libraries in the city include those of the South Dakota State Historical Society, the South Dakota Supreme Court, St. Mary's Healthcare Center, the South Dakota Braille & Talking Book Library, and the South Dakota Department of Game, Fish & Parks Wildlife Division Library.

Public Library Information: Rawlins Municipal Library, 1000 E. Church St., Pierre, SD 57501; telephone (605)773-7421; fax (605)773-7423

Pierre

(fl. Paris, 1733-1760)

instrument making.

A member of the Société des Arts and an associate of its president, the clockmaker Julien le Roy, Jacques Lemaire built sundials, many of which Le Roy had designed. He invented the front-view reflecting telescope, which herschel developed so advantageously in giant telescopes and which does away with the auxiliary mirror used to project the image onto the eyepiece of the mechanical device that permits several screws to be advanced at once by turning a single screw.

Lemaire’s son, Pierre, who carried on the tradition of excellence and inventiveness established in his father’s workshop, and who had all sorts of scientific instruments made in the family shop, enjoyed the reputation of being the outstanding French compass maker. He was the first Frenchman to construct the Hadley octant and thereafter proudly used an image of it as his ensign, which had been a lodestone. He worked closely with the academicians Duhamel du Monceau and La Condamine, who inspired him.

A great variety of instruments possessed by the Académie des Sciences came from the Lemaire workshop, which, With that of langlois, Kept alive in France a tradition of quality precision-instrument making in spite of the impediments caused by the craft guild system of the ancien régime.

BIBLIOGRAPHY

I. Original Works. Jacques Lemaire’s front-view reflecting telescope of 1728 is described in Machines et inventions approuvées par l’Académie royale des sciences …,VI (Paries, 1735), 61-63; his device of 1726 for advancing several screws is in ibid., IV (Paris, 1735), 179-180, and in Histoire de l’Académie des sciences for 1726 (1728), P. 17.

Pierre Lemaire’s work on compasses is described by Duhamel du Monceau, who did experiments with Pierre, in Mémoires del’Académie des sciences for 1745 (1749), pp. 181-193; a description of his compass, inspired by Hadley’s quadrant and by a proposal made in 1733 by La Condamine, is in Histoire de l’Académie des sciences for 1747 (1752), p. 126, and in Machines et inventions approuvéespar l’Academie royal des science …, VII (Paris, 1777), 361-367.

Instruments constructed by the Lemaires may be found at the Conservatoire National des Arts et Métiers, Paris; at the Musées Royaux d’Art et d’Histoire, Brussels; in the Mensing Collection at the Adler Museum, Chicago; at the National Maritime Museum, Greenwich; at the Muséee de la Marine, Paris; and at the British Museum, London. The inventory of instruments possessed by the Acadéemie des Sciences before the French Revolution is at the Archives Nationales, Pairs, F¹⁴ 1274.

II. Secondary Literature. La Condamine’s proposal and test of Pierre Lemaire’s compass are found in Mémoires de l’Académie des sciences for 1733 (paris,1735), 446-456, and for 1734 (Paris, 1736, 597-599; ibid. for 1745, 181; J. B. N. D. d’Apres de Mannevillette, Le nouveau quartier anglois ou description et usage d’un novel instrument pour observer la latitude sur mer (Paris, 1739), p. 46; H. Michel, Introduction ä l’étude d’une collection d’une collection d’instruments fancies de mathématiques (Antwerp, 1939), p. 96.

J.-A. Nollet, Art des expérience (Paris, 1770), I, 247-248, praises Pierre Lemaire’s compasses. M. Daumas, Les instruments scientifiques aux XVII^e et XVIII^e siècles (Praise, 1953), offers a comprehensive survey that permits the reader to situate the Lemaires in the context of their times.

Robert M. McKeon