PARKS & RECREATION
Key Assets: Davison County’s seat, Mitchell, is genuinely and world-famously home to THE WORLD’S ONLY CORN PALACE, one of the most distinctive and enduring roadside attractions anywhere in the United States, drawing more than 500,000 visitors each year; the story begins in 1892, when Mitchell – then a small, ambitious railroad town of just 3,000 residents that had achieved South Dakota statehood only three years earlier – sought a way to prove to prospective settlers and businesses that the young state possessed genuinely fertile, healthy agricultural land; city leaders decided to build a “corn palace,” an ornate exhibition hall covered in murals crafted entirely from corn and other native grains, a novelty concept that other Midwestern towns (including Sioux City, Iowa, and even Gregory, South Dakota) had also experimented with between roughly 1880 and 1930; according to Dakota Farmer editor Lon Tonesson, at least 34 such corn palaces were built across 24 towns during this era – yet Mitchell’s is the only one that has survived to the present day, genuinely earning it the title “The World’s Only Corn Palace”; the original 1892 building cost just $1,500 and took a mere 60 days to construct, and the town quickly began holding an annual autumn “Corn Palace Week” harvest festival, complete with carnival rides and food booths lining Main Street; by 1905, with attendance booming and city leaders hoping a grander building might help persuade the state legislature to relocate the capital from Pierre to Mitchell (an effort that ultimately did not succeed), the original structure was torn down and rebuilt twice its original size using much of the salvaged lumber – this 1905 building was also the first to feature the now-signature exterior and interior murals made almost entirely of corn; today, the Corn Palace is completely re-decorated every single year, with a local farmer growing corn specifically for the project, local artists designing that year’s murals, and a dedicated team of roughly 20 workers hand-applying naturally colored corn in a dozen or more shades, framed by native grasses, straw, milo, and sourdock, typically beginning in late August as that year’s crops become available; beyond its role as a tourist attraction, the Corn Palace also functions as a genuinely practical multi-use venue, hosting concerts, dances, banquets, proms, graduations, and serving as the home basketball arena for both Mitchell High School and Dakota Wesleyan University – USA Today has even named it one of the top 10 high school basketball venues in the entire country; admission remains free year-round
Notes: The World’s Only Corn Palace’s genuine, extensively documented status as the sole surviving example of a once-widespread Midwestern architectural tradition is one of the most iconic and beloved folk-art landmarks found anywhere in this project.