In October of 1881, a request was sent to the postal department in Washington, D.C., for a new post office to be constructed in the west-central part of Miner County. The application was granted, and a post office was established seven miles west of Roswell on the Milwaukee Railroad. The post office went under the name of Van Horne, D.T.
On September 8, 1882, a request was once again sent to Washington, this time for the post office to change location. Once the request was approved, the post office and accompanying businesses/places of residence were moved 1¾ miles west and named Miner Center. Shortly afterward, a creamery was built, and other businesses moved to the town as Chris Winters erected a general store and a blacksmith shop was established.
Miner Center ran for the county seat of Miner County in 1882 but finished in third place. The town was the last in the county to be platted, being completed in 1894.
There are two stories as to how the name of the town was changed to Fedora. They are as follows:
One story holds that the name of the town was changed to Fedora in the likeness of the “Fedora” hat, the most popular item in Chris Winters’ general store. The story goes on to say that a petition was filed by residents and in 1897, the name of the town was changed from Miner Center to Fedora.
Another story maintains that the Chicago Milwaukee Railway named the town Fedora after the daughter of one of the railroad executives, who had been named after the main character in a play where the Fedora hat was worn by the character in question. Regardless of which story is true, the town of Fedora did derive its name from the hat.
In May of 1907, an artesian well was sunk to a depth of 1,200 feet in Fedora. Also in 1907, Nickolas Kieffer purchased the NW¼ of Section 10 in Clinton Township and immediately proceeded to have the land platted and divided into lots. These events marked the beginning of significant growth in Fedora. In 1908 alone, half a dozen businesses and over 20 houses were built in what became known as Kieffer's Addition.
From 1909 to 1927, Fedora had three papers: The Fedora Advocate (published as part of The Artesian Advocate), The Fedora Messenger, and The Fedora Enterprise. The town, like many others during the latter part of the 19th century and heading into the early 20th century in South Dakota, experienced relatively strong growth during that period.
An independent basketball team by the name of the “Green Devils” was organized in Fedora in 1928. The team was made up of former Fedora High School basketball players including Lester Fox, Harvey Bennett, Walter Peterson, Reuben Hubbart, Charles Sweeney, Lloyd Hylland, Frank Fox, and Albert Peterson. Several other players joined the team in the next several seasons whose names are lost to history.
Within several seasons, the Green Devils became one of the better teams in the state and played many nationally recognized teams. Just some of the teams that came to Fedora were The House of David team from Michigan, a “colored” team (name not recorded) from Kansas City, and The Harlem Globetrotters (an early version of the team that tours internationally today).
In 1940, the town recorded 225 residents and had a large auditorium, an up-to-date consolidated school, and a four-year accredited high school.
The Fedora High School closed in 1966. During its 48-year tenure, the school graduated 647 students. The largest graduation was in 1942 with a graduating class of 29, the lowest in 1950 with 2. The high school averaged 13 students per grade during its lifespan. The Fedora Consolidated School closed in 1970.
Fedora is currently an unincorporated community with a population of 37 as of 2010.
-Written by George Justice Forster, originally printed in the July 22,2021 issue of the Miner County Pioneer.
On September 8, 1882, a request was once again sent to Washington, this time for the post office to change location. Once the request was approved, the post office and accompanying businesses/places of residence were moved 1¾ miles west and named Miner Center. Shortly afterward, a creamery was built, and other businesses moved to the town as Chris Winters erected a general store and a blacksmith shop was established.
Miner Center ran for the county seat of Miner County in 1882 but finished in third place. The town was the last in the county to be platted, being completed in 1894.
There are two stories as to how the name of the town was changed to Fedora. They are as follows:
One story holds that the name of the town was changed to Fedora in the likeness of the “Fedora” hat, the most popular item in Chris Winters’ general store. The story goes on to say that a petition was filed by residents and in 1897, the name of the town was changed from Miner Center to Fedora.
Another story maintains that the Chicago Milwaukee Railway named the town Fedora after the daughter of one of the railroad executives, who had been named after the main character in a play where the Fedora hat was worn by the character in question. Regardless of which story is true, the town of Fedora did derive its name from the hat.
In May of 1907, an artesian well was sunk to a depth of 1,200 feet in Fedora. Also in 1907, Nickolas Kieffer purchased the NW¼ of Section 10 in Clinton Township and immediately proceeded to have the land platted and divided into lots. These events marked the beginning of significant growth in Fedora. In 1908 alone, half a dozen businesses and over 20 houses were built in what became known as Kieffer's Addition.
From 1909 to 1927, Fedora had three papers: The Fedora Advocate (published as part of The Artesian Advocate), The Fedora Messenger, and The Fedora Enterprise. The town, like many others during the latter part of the 19th century and heading into the early 20th century in South Dakota, experienced relatively strong growth during that period.
An independent basketball team by the name of the “Green Devils” was organized in Fedora in 1928. The team was made up of former Fedora High School basketball players including Lester Fox, Harvey Bennett, Walter Peterson, Reuben Hubbart, Charles Sweeney, Lloyd Hylland, Frank Fox, and Albert Peterson. Several other players joined the team in the next several seasons whose names are lost to history.
Within several seasons, the Green Devils became one of the better teams in the state and played many nationally recognized teams. Just some of the teams that came to Fedora were The House of David team from Michigan, a “colored” team (name not recorded) from Kansas City, and The Harlem Globetrotters (an early version of the team that tours internationally today).
In 1940, the town recorded 225 residents and had a large auditorium, an up-to-date consolidated school, and a four-year accredited high school.
The Fedora High School closed in 1966. During its 48-year tenure, the school graduated 647 students. The largest graduation was in 1942 with a graduating class of 29, the lowest in 1950 with 2. The high school averaged 13 students per grade during its lifespan. The Fedora Consolidated School closed in 1970.
Fedora is currently an unincorporated community with a population of 37 as of 2010.
-Written by George Justice Forster, originally printed in the July 22,2021 issue of the Miner County Pioneer.