History of Community
“On the eastern slopes of the Black Hills, standing majestically on the banks of Battle Creek for over 400 years, the Council Oak Tree (the largest Burr Oak in South Dakota) witnessed the unfolding of history in this area. When gold was discovered in these sacred valleys of Paha Sapa in the early 1870’s it was only a matter of a few months until miners, homesteaders, and business men, began pouring into the region. In the spring, June 14th, 1886, to be exact, Hermosa was founded as the survey crew crossed Battle Creek about a mile east and north of the Battle River Stage Station. Pete Folsom, the chief engineer for the Pioneer Townsite Company, is credited with naming the new town ‘Hermosa’. The railroad officials were enthusiastic over the beauty of the new site, with Harney Peak to the west and a broad fertile valley to the east. They felt that ‘Hermosa’, meaning ‘beautiful’ in Spanish, was indeed the most appropriate name for the location”. (Hesnard, D. (1986). Hermosa, 1886-1986; Railroads, Cowboys and Memories, (pg. 1, 2)
