Uploaded March 2017 | Updated September 2026, 20 hours ago
One of Sioux Falls most prominent landmarks is the Pioneer Memorial and the Amidon Affair located in northern Sioux Falls just south of St. Michaels Cemetery on bluffs overlooking the Big Sioux River.
The current memorial was erected in 1991.
According to the Minnehaha County Historical Society and the South Dakota State Historical Society the 1862 Sioux Uprising, a result of unjust government treatment, claimed many Indian and non-Indian lives.
Near this place on August 25, 1862, two of its victims, Judge Joseph B. Amidon and his son, William, were killed while making hay on their claim which was a mile north of their cabin in Sioux Falls. This is that story.
Amidon was a County Probate Judge, Treasurer and Commissioner appointed by Governor Jayne and the Territorial Legislature. Joseph B. Amidon was born in Connecticut in 1801. He came to Sioux Falls from Saint Paul, Minnesota, with his wife, son, and daughter sometime around 1860.
On the day of his death he and William failed to return home at sundown, Mrs. Amidon became alarmed and sought help from the Dakota Calvary detachment in the village. A search was to no avail. But the bodies were found in the morning. Joseph died of a single bullet wound. William was riddled with arrows.
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One of Sioux Falls most prominent landmarks is the Pioneer Memorial and the Amidon Affair located in northern Sioux Falls just south of St. Michaels Cemetery on bluffs overlooking the Big Sioux River.
The current memorial was erected in 1991.
According to the Minnehaha County Historical Society and the South Dakota State Historical Society the 1862 Sioux Uprising, a result of unjust government treatment, claimed many Indian and non-Indian lives.
Near this place on August 25, 1862, two of its victims, Judge Joseph B. Amidon and his son, William, were killed while making hay on their claim which was a mile north of their cabin in Sioux Falls. This is that story.
Amidon was a County Probate Judge, Treasurer and Commissioner appointed by Governor Jayne and the Territorial Legislature. Joseph B. Amidon was born in Connecticut in 1801. He came to Sioux Falls from Saint Paul, Minnesota, with his wife, son, and daughter sometime around 1860.
On the day of his death he and William failed to return home at sundown, Mrs. Amidon became alarmed and sought help from the Dakota Calvary detachment in the village. A search was to no avail. But the bodies were found in the morning. Joseph died of a single bullet wound. William was riddled with arrows.
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