Chances are, even if you've lived your entire life in the great state of South Dakota, if someone asked you if you've ever been to Boomstrucket, you'd reply 'Huh'?

Yep, 'tis true, you can look all across a map of the state, town by town by town, big and small, and you won't see Boomstrucket anywhere. East River, west river, north border, south border. It's just not there!

Except that it is. Well, kind of anyway.

I've always loved seeing what some may consider unusual town names. They are, of course, all around the country and good 'ol South Dakota has their share. When I moved into the state nearly 50 years ago (really not that far away, I grew up less than an hour from the border over there in the Gopher state), one of the coolest town names I saw was....no, not Boomstrucket...but Woonsocket!

The county seat of Sanborn county, I've had the pleasure of being in Woonsocket a number of times over the years, and yes, like so many of those great small towns in our state, it's warm and friendly. Really, is there anything better than a nice hot lunch in a small town cafe? I think not. Visiting with the local folks, the conversation is just as delicious as the food. And there's a very good reason it's called 'The Town With The Beautiful Lake'.

Oh but wait, what about this 'Boomstrucket' business I was talking about?

Well, check out the history of the town, a piece of which is below from the Woonsocket website:

The City of Woonsocket began in 1883 at the junction of the Chicago, Milwaukee, and Saint Paul Railroads.  The superintendent of the railroad was C.H. Prior, and he named the new town Woonsocket, after his home town of Woonsocket, Rhode Island.  Lake Prior, located in the center of town, is named after Mr. Prior.  The town of Woonsocket grew rapidly.  The first day lots were offered for sale, 50 lots were sold.  Woonsocket grew so fast that it was called “Boomstrucket.”

The population grew from 500 to 800 people in two months.  The first business establishment to be located in Woonsocket was a saloon.  Three days after the sale of the first lot, the first church services were held in a carpenter’s shed, which had recently been moved in.

So do yourself a favor, take a little time, have a good hot sandwich and some warm conversation in Boomstrucket. Oops, I mean Woonsocket.

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