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Exhibit Opening 2026
New permanent exhibit opening soon!
A Dakota Story
is a new exhibit coming soon to the Mead Museum! Located in the northeast wing of the building, 12 galleries - 2500 square feet of space! - will feature the history, stories and artifacts of Yankton, South Dakota's first 100 years.
A Dakota Story will:
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Share the history leading up to the creation of Yankton, the capital of Dakota Territory, and its first 100 years.
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Feature the city of Yankton’s regional impact on and development of the Dakota Territory. Visitors will learn from post-Lewis and Clark Expedition to the creation of the Gavins Point Dam.
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Allow visitors to gain appreciation for the Ihanktonwan people and culture of which was the namesake of Yankton, South Dakota.
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Present the narratives and perceptions of all cultures of the Yankton area.
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Provide visitors with the opportunity to experience cultural growth and understanding.
A Dakota Story features over 800 artifacts:
some beloved items that used to be in the
Dakota Territorial Museum...and some never-before displayed!
Gallery 1: Post Lewis & Clark Expedition 1806-1850 Information collected by the Corp of Discovery Expedition changed everything for westward expansion of Americans. Thomas Jefferson thought it would take generations to settle the Louisiana Territory, it took one. This gallery discusses the impact of this on the Ihanktonwan (Yankton) people living near what became the City of Yankton.
Plus: Call-outs to over 100 historic places and remnants still existing around the city, offering a catalysts for visitors to spend time exploring our community!
Gallery 2: A Changing Landscape 1850-1860 The pre-Dakota Territorial years had a significant impact on early politics and relationships. Treaties and trade changed the cultural landscape and brought many dynamic historical characters to the Midwest.
Gallery 3: Creating Dakota Territory 1861-1881 Get picture of the big Far West Replica Yankton was the capital of Dakota Territory and put it on the fast track to being the St. Louis of the Upper Midwest. These Capital City years was the center of a political wild west along with the hustle and bustle of a Riverboat Port. All of it came to a rapid halt by politics and nature.
Gallery 4: Capital City to Cement City 1880-1920 Being the capital city of Dakota Territory, Yankton was afforded many opportunities to provide the first of many industries, organizations, and events in all of what would become South Dakota, North Dakota, Montana, and Wyoming. Losing Capital status in the 1880s didn’t deter this city of entrepreneurs from reinventing themselves in a new industry to put them on a new map… cement.