CORN PALACE

Before we left on this trip, we had a couple of people tell us to not miss the Corn Palace in Mitchell, SD. The what???? There is such a place??? Well, boys and girls, yes there is.  This place is interesting and pretty impressive in its own way.  The outside of the building, all the way around the building, has murals in this year's theme, made out of corn cobs and native grasses.  Who knew????

In the late 19th Century, a number of cities on the Great Plains constructed "crop palaces" (also known as "grain palaces") to promote themselves and their products. As the idea succeeded, it spread, including: a Corn Palace in Sioux City, Iowa, that was active from 1887–1891; a Corn Palace in Gregory, South Dakota; a Grain Palace in Plankinton, South Dakota; and a Bluegrass Palace in Creston, Iowa. From 1887 to 1930, at least thirty-four corn palaces were built across the Midwest United States; only the Mitchell Corn Palace has remained intact.

Eight years before the turn of the 20th century, in 1892 (when Mitchell, South Dakota was a small, 12-year-old city of 3,000 inhabitants) the World's Only Corn Palace was established on the city’s Main Street. During it’s over 100 years of existence, it has become known worldwide and now attracts more than a half a million visitors annually. The palace was conceived as a gathering place where city residents and their rural neighbors could enjoy a fall festival with extraordinary stage entertainment - a celebration to climax a crop-growing season and harvest. This tradition continues today with the annual Corn Palace Festival held in late August each year.

By 1905 the success of the Corn Palace had been assured and a new Palace was to be built, but this building soon became too small. In 1919, the decision to build a third Corn Palace was made. This one was to be permanent and more purposeful than its predecessors. The present building was completed in 1921, just in time for the Corn Palace Festivities. That winter Mitchell hosted its first boy’s state basketball tournament. The building was considered to have the finest basketball arena in the upper Midwest area.

Today, the Corn Palace is more than the home of the festival or a point of interest of tourists. It is a practical structure adaptable to many purposes. Included among its many uses are industrial exhibits, dances, stage shows, meetings, banquets, proms, graduations arena for Mitchell High School and Dakota Wesleyan University as well as district, regional and state basketball tournaments. USA Today named the Corn Palace one of the top 10 places in America for high school basketball.

The Palace is redecorated each year with naturally colored corn and other grains and native grasses to make it “the agricultural show-place of the world”. We currently use 12 different colors or shades of corn to decorate the Corn Palace: red, brown, black, blue, white, orange, calico, yellow and now we have green corn! A different theme is chosen each year, and murals are designed to reflect that theme. Ear by ear the corn is nailed to the Corn Palace to create a scene. The decorating process usually starts in late May with the removal of the rye and dock. The corn murals are stripped at the end of August and the new ones are completed by the first of October. Just like South Dakota Agriculture, growing condition can affect production of our decorating materials and may delay the decorating process.

From 1948 to 1971, the artist Oscar Howe designed the panels. Calvin Schultz designed the murals from 1977 to 2002. From 2003 to 2017, the murals have been designed by Cherie Ramsdell. No new mural was created in 2006 due to an extreme drought. Beginning in 2018, designs have been created by Dakota Wesleyan University students. As of 2018, it costs an estimated $175,000 each time the Palace is redecorated.

The Corn Palace is known around the world as a folk-art wonder on the prairie of South Dakota.  Mural designs are created by Dakota Wesleyan University students enrolled in Digital Media and Design courses under the guidance of Associate Professor, Kyle Herges.   This partnership began with murals designed in 2019.

The Corn Palace is open everyday 8:00-5:00 and is free to go in and see the picture exhibit. There is a picture of the Corn Palace from each year in the exhibit, along with miscellaneous exhibits and memorabilia. On Wednesdays (today), they have a farmer's market in the courtyard from 4:30-7:00.  There were 4 vendors there today.  I bought some home grown tomatoes from one vendor and some fresh cream style corn from another.  Well, now we can say we've been there, done that.  Worth the visit if you are in the area.  

While in Mitchell, we stayed at Rondee's RV Park. All of the sites are gravel/grass.  It is full hook-ups and close to the freeway.  We used Passport America and it was about $35 total for 2 nights.  It is an OK place to stay for overnight, which is what most people are doing.  It was good for what we needed.  We are headed to North Dakota tomorrow.  We are staying one night in Bismarck and then on to Medora for 5 nights. It is still cold, but should warm up to 70s by weeks end.  We've been wearing jackets and all these people are looking at us like we have lost our minds!