The center of attention
Just 20 miles north of Belle Fourche, S.D., hidden among acres of chestnut-colored prairie land, a thin, orange post stuck in a slab of concrete marks the geographic center of the United States. To elevate the importance of such a grand designation, the community decided to build a more substantial monument that also would attract tourists. In August, the town unveiled a new monument to honor Belle Fourche’s designation as the center of the nation and to mark the beginning of the city’s downtown growth.
Belle Fourche is an agricultural and ranch community, not much different from when cattle drivers roamed the lands in the early 1900s. Although the town of 4,700 is growing, with new housing developments and increased school enrollment, the nearest Wal-Mart store still is 11 miles away, and rodeo tournaments and chili cook-offs are the town’s premier events. “We consider ourselves just a regular working community that just is fortunate enough to have the designation as the geographic center of the nation,” says Teresa Schanzenbach, executive director of the Belle Fourche Chamber of Commerce.
In 1948, the U.S. Coast and Geodetic Survey declared an area near Lebanon, Kan., the center of the nation. But, when Alaska and Hawaii joined the union, the location changed to Belle Fourche. The agency drove a post into the spot, which is located in a pasture encircled by barbed wire fence. Sometimes guarded by a grazing cow, the marker is surrounded by vast landscapes.
Schanzenbach says that, although the experience of visiting the site is quite extraordinary, some who were seeking a grand monument were out of luck. “We would send people up to what we thought was a very quaint site and [they] would come back and say, ‘That is so disappointing. I can’t believe you are not embracing the fact that you are the geographic center of the nation. You should be doing more,’” she says.
After eight years of fundraising, Belle Fourche unveiled a new-and-improved monument on Aug. 21, on the 200th anniversary of the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration — which developed from the U.S. Coast and Geodetic Survey — and the date on which Hawaii became a state. Constructed of South Dakota granite, the three-dimensional monument was designed in the shape of a compass rose with the United States — Alaska and Hawaii included — etched on its surface. A stainless steel marker indicates the center of the nation. The new monument is located near city hall and the town’s visitor information center, and is surrounded by grass and trees with the Belle Fourche River visible behind it. Like the previous monument, an American flag waves nearby.
For Belle Fourche, the new monument is more than a tourist destination, it also is the beginning of a downtown revitalization. Next year, the town plans to open a 3-mile bicycle path near the monument. And, a brick courtyard will be constructed as a place for residents and tourists to enjoy various activities, including picnics. “We’re actually taking a very beautiful part of the community that’s kind of been overlooked for many, many years and we’re developing it into an area that…will become a prominent gathering point in the city,” she says.
Schanzenbach acknowledges that Belle Fourche’s monument may not attract the droves of tourists that visit the state’s other famous landmark, Mount Rushmore, but it will help celebrate the community’s uniqueness and its pride in its designation. “Every community has its attributes, and it’s just time that we start touting what we have here and let people know that there’s a lot of great things that are happening here in Belle Fourche,” she says.
