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The arrival of the railroad in South Dakota is directly responsible for the population boom and town development the state experienced in the early 1900s. Enticed by the promise of opportunity, many immigrants and East Coast residents hopped on the train and headed west, many settling in South Dakota. Railroads opened the doorway and made the West what it has become. Using over 200 images, authors Mike Wiese and Tom Hayes take the reader on a historic tour of the depots, trains, and wrecks that defined South Dakota railroading in the early part of the 20th century. Drawing on their immense collections of images and postcards, they tell a story of railroad development and local history in South Dakota.

Before the early 1900s, the northern edge of the eroded White River Badlands was virtually impenetrable except for the precarious horseback trails that reached the plain below. The "Badlands Wall" is an escarpment that separates the upper prairie from the lower prairie for 60 miles. In 1907, the Chicago, Milwaukee & St. Paul Railroad pushed west from Chamberlain and reached the lower plains of the Badlands. Small towns sprang up to provide water for the steam engines and trade centers for the cattlemen and homesteaders moving into the area. These towns flourished for a time, but when they were no longer needed, they disappeared or became ghost towns. Meanwhile, settlers clamored for roads from the north into the interior. When the Badlands became accessible, tourists traveled to see them. Two towns, Kadoka and Wall, accommodated the tourists and became promoters as the gateways to the Badlands.