TALKING TRAIL

The town of Clifton, located 8 miles west of Onida on the south side of the Okobojo Creek, was designated the temporary county seat by territorial governor Nehemiah Ordway in 1883 and held that title until April 1885.

The first businesses included a general store, a hotel, The Sully County Watchman newspaper, a blacksmith shop, a real estate office, and an office for the Clifton Sun newspaper, which was published for a short time then sold to the proprietors of the Sully County Watchman. The Clifton Sun building became the school—the first school in Sully County. There was also an Opera House and a Lodge for the Independent Order of Odd Fellows.


Water was one of the blessings for Clifton. The Okobojo Creek flowed nearby and supplied water for livestock and some household use. A 90-foot well was dug in the village in August of 1883. With a windmill and pump, this well provided an ample supply of easily accessible water. As a backup, a 20-foot well was dug nearby to ensure there would be water even when the wind didn’t blow.


The Christian College of Dakota was established at Clifton in 1884. The Rev. G. T. Black had first worked to set up his college in Fairbank, but when prospects there dried up, he moved to Clifton. Black promised his denomination would support a Christian college in Clifton to provide higher education for the young people in the county. Believing their efforts would be enhanced by financial support from back east, the people of Clifton responded with enthusiasm. Unfortunately, the support from the east never materialized and the college closed in 1886.

Six miles west of Clifton, Frederick Stegameier platted the town of Carson on January 24, 1883. The Sully County Colonization Company took out ads in the Pierre newspaper promoting Carson as “the prospective county seat of Sully County, Dakota Territory.”

A flurry of building activity erupted during 1883 including the erection of a large hotel and the printing office, as a home for the Carson Herald. The first post office in Okobojo Township was established at Carson and a saloon was started that summer but was soon discontinued due to limited patronage.


Carson was home to the Fourth of July celebration of 1883. Bachelors were delighted to see women arrive with baskets containing delectables far more interesting than the potatoes, bacon, biscuits, pancakes, and coffee they had been relying on. In the evening they held a dance at the Carson hotel. Seeing that the crowd was not evenly balanced between men and women, a local settler took his wagon and team and collected twelve young ladies who had staked claims in Iowa Township. The “Jolly Dozen” livened things up and the dance lasted until midnight.

As it became clear either Clifton or Onida would be the county seat and Carson was no longer a contender, there was little chance for the town to survive. When the post office was discontinued in 1888, nothing was left of Carson but memories.