Wagner Live Cam

America’s vast wilderness, the Great Plains, attracted pioneers and adventure-seekers. Many found their destinies on the South Dakota prairie. Discover their history and legends at sites across the state. Two French brothers, named Verendrye, left the first written record of white men in South Dakota. In 1743, they buried a lead plate on a Missouri River bluff, claiming the region for their king. The plate is on display at Pierre’s Cultural Heritage Center. Cartographer Joseph Nicollet mapped the land between the Mississippi and Missouri rivers in 1838-39. One of his favorite locations was the “Coteau des Prairies” of northeastern South Dakota. Today, Nicollet Tower, a 75-foot Douglas fir tower near Sisseton, offers a bird’s-eye view of the magical prairie that Nicollet so admired