Another Trip to the USA / The Falls at Sioux Falls

Just outside downtown Sioux Falls is the 52ha Falls Park.
Here, the Big Sioux River cascades down 30m of pink Sioux Quartzite giving the city its name.
The area is of some historical significance.

The remains of the seven-story Queen Bee Mill, a brainchild of South Dakota's first senator, Richard Pettigrew, lie on the east side of the river. In the autumn of 1878 Pettigrew decided Sioux Falls needed its own mill so farmers could avoid the cost of shipping wheat to Minnesota or Wisconsin.
The mill opened on 25th October 1881, and consisted of a seven-story main structure built of the quartzite quarried on site. At the time of its construction, the mill was one of the most advanced in America. However, by 1883, the mill had closed, a victim of inadequate water power and a short supply of wheat.
On 30th January 1956, fire swept through the structure, destroying the wooden roof and interior floors.

The quartzite building still standing on the east bank of the river is the Sioux Falls Light and Power Company building, completed in 1908. The building housed three 500-kilowatt hydroelectric generators and used the dam and the millrace from the Queen Bee Mill. 

In subsequent years the plant added additional coal-fired steam generators. The building was abandoned in 1974 and donated to the city in 1977 before remodelling took place to create the Falls Overlook Café.
Originally constructed to provide power for the Queen Bee Mill in the 1880s, the dam was raised in 1908 to supply power to the hydroelectric plant. 

Today the millrace is a viewing platform.

It was a cold day, -10℃ when I took the above video and the severe drought had reduced the flow over the falls significantly but a visit to Falls Park, no matter what, is always a rewarding experience.

It’s possible to visit the falls here virtually, 24/7.