The Eastern South Dakota Town That Passed Away In 2017

South Dakota is rich with history. Maybe the first name that comes to mind when you think historical South Dakota is Deadwood. Perhaps the last name you would think of (ok, let's be honest here, you wouldn't think of it at all) is Lily.

Lily? Lily, South Dakota?

Yes, Lily, South Dakota.

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In the 2010 census, Lily boasted just 4 residents. But now...it is no more. The town was dissolved in 2017 because, well, it had no residents. Located almost as far away from Deadwood as you can get and still be in South Dakota, Lily was located in Day County.

If you still need a little geographical help, think northeast South Dakota. Think Webster, that's the Day County county seat.

But what is this 'historical significance' I talk about?

Well, it was around 1883 that Lily South Dakota was, well, born. And it was in 1889 that a guy named Andrew Sannes settled there with his family. Now you're thinking to yourself 'Yeah, so what'?

Well, wait for it....wait for it...

'Ol Andrew and his wife had a total of 11 children, one of which was a lovely daughter named Kristine. And in 1903 a new fella moved to Lily and opened a drugstore. His name was Hubert Humphrey, Sr.

The couple married in 1906, moved to Wallace, S.D. in 1907 and that's where their son was born, a son named after his father.

Hubert Humphrey Jr. went on to one of the most distinguished political careers in 20th-century America.

A long-serving Senator from Minnesota, Vice President of the United States, and presidential candidate in 1968.

And that historic gentleman would trace his American roots back to Lily, South Dakota stating '  "I was baptized in the Highland Lutheran church in a rural section just north of Lily, South Dakota."

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