Skip to content

Canton, South Dakota

Everything Canton is known for

RoadyGoat plays music like this when you drive through Canton. It's free on iPhone, and full songs play through Apple Music.

Music in Canton

Songs About Canton

No songs reference Canton yet.

Know one? Add it →

Artists From Canton

Rivers & Roads in Song near Canton

Songs written about the waterways and highways that run near Canton.

History of Canton

The Pink Quartzite Falls RoadyGoat

Sioux Falls is named for exactly what you'd hope: a waterfall, and a striking one. At Falls Park, just north of downtown, the Big Sioux River tumbles over ledges of rose-pink Sioux quartzite, some of the oldest and hardest rock on the continent, dated between 1.6 and 1.7 billion years old. Roughly 7,400 gallons of water spill over the falls every second, dropping about a hundred feet across the whole cascade (not in one sheer plunge). The pink stone built the city, too: settlers quarried it on site for mills and buildings, and the ruins of the seven-story Queen Bee Mill still stand beside the water. Today Falls Park spreads across more than a hundred acres with a five-story overlook tower. A waterfall this old gave the city both its name and its bones, which is a fine reason to pull over and look.

18.3 mi away

The Sioux Falls Stockyards: Gateway to the Western Beef Industry

1917

The Sioux Falls Stockyards operated from 1917 to 2009, becoming one of the largest livestock markets in the nation and processing millions of cattle that made South Dakota one of America's leading beef producers.

17.6 mi away

Falls Park: The Cascades That Built Sioux Falls

1856

The Big Sioux River drops roughly one hundred feet over a series of cascades through exposed Sioux quartzite that is 1.7 billion years old, creating the falls that gave South Dakota's largest city its name and its reason to exist.

18.8 mi away

Everything Near Canton

10 stories, landmarks & places within ~20 miles — the same local lore RoadyGoat plays as you drive through.

  • Canton Indian Insane Asylum · 2.1 mi · Scraped Hmdb

    This quiet patch of South Dakota holds a dark chapter in American history: the Canton Indian Insane Asylum. From 1898 to 1934, the federal government ran this facility specifically for Native Americans deemed insane.…

  • Blood Run Site · 11.7 mi · Scraped Hmdb

    Pull over a sec – this seemingly ordinary spot hides a history stretching back over 8,500 years! This is the Blood Run Site, a significant Native American archaeological area straddling Iowa and South Dakota. For…

  • The Sioux Falls Stockyards: Gateway to the Western Beef Industry · 17.6 mi · Historical Marker

    The Sioux Falls Stockyards operated from 1917 to 2009, becoming one of the largest livestock markets in the nation and processing millions of cattle that made South Dakota one of America's leading beef producers.

  • Sioux Falls, SD · 18.2 mi · Local history

    Sioux Falls owes its existence to the land itself, specifically the dramatic cascade of the Big Sioux River over red quartzite bedrock. This hard, Precambrian stone, formed billions of years ago, resisted the erosive…

  • The Pink Quartzite Falls · 18.3 mi

    Sioux Falls is named for exactly what you'd hope: a waterfall, and a striking one. At Falls Park, just north of downtown, the Big Sioux River tumbles over ledges of rose-pink Sioux quartzite, some of the oldest and…

  • Sioux Falls station (Illinois Central Railroad) · 18.4 mi · Scraped Hmdb

    Picture the clatter of luggage carts and the excited chatter of travelers – this spot was once the bustling Illinois Central Passenger Depot, connecting Sioux Falls to the wider world by rail. The Illinois Central…

  • Pettigrew Home & Museum · 18.5 mi · Scraped Hmdb

    Step back in time to the elegant home of a pivotal figure in South Dakota's history: Richard Franklin Pettigrew. This house isn't just bricks and mortar; it's a window into the life of a man who helped shape the state.…

  • Orpheum Theater (Sioux Falls) · 18.5 mi · Scraped Hmdb

    Step right up and experience a piece of Sioux Falls history at the Orpheum Theater! This beautifully restored venue has been entertaining audiences for over a century. Originally built to showcase vaudeville acts, the…

  • Queen Bee Mill · 18.8 mi · Scraped Hmdb

    Step back in time to the ghostly remains of the Queen Bee Mill, a monument to ambition and eventual ruin. Constructed in 1881, the Queen Bee Mill represented the hopes of Sioux Falls to become a major milling center.…

  • Falls Park: The Cascades That Built Sioux Falls · 18.8 mi · Historical Marker

    The Big Sioux River drops roughly one hundred feet over a series of cascades through exposed Sioux quartzite that is 1.7 billion years old, creating the falls that gave South Dakota's largest city its name and its…

Sign up for the free newsletter

Longer stories, research notes, photos, videos, and where the road goes next. Free, and no iPhone needed.

Subscribe free