WATERTOWN, SOUTH DAK. 8 RAILROAD LINES. A MARVELOUS CITY. SIXTEEN REASONS WHY WATERTOWN WILL BECOME THE CAPITAL OF SOUTH DAKOTA.

An unrecorded flyer lobbying for Watertown, South Dakota's selection as state capital in the 1880s. Watertown was founded in 1879 (a year before Pierre) as a rail terminus when the Chicago and Northwestern Railroad activated a line to nearby Lake Kampeska. It saw significant growth over the 1880s as the railroads expanded west, turning the city into a major transportation hub for the region. Pierre was eventually selected as the state capital on account of its central geographic location, despite the "Sixteen Reasons" advertised here (including, in addition to the railroads and lake, "her cultivated and intelligent societypeopled almost exclusively with persons from eastern cities" and the fact that the city "is not in debt, except for the small sum of $5000"). The double-page map, drawn by G.W. Carpenter and engraved by A. Zeese & Company, shows Lake Kampeska and nearby Watertown, with railroads, rivers, and roads, and also the location of the nearby "Sisseton and Warpenton Indian Reserve." The flyer concludes by taking a clear shot at its leading competitor: "In conclusion, let us emphasize the second reason above given, Watertown's accessibility, made possible by her net-work of railways. This fact outweighs all other considerations or arguments regarding geographical location.Upon these reasons Watertown goes before the intelligent people of South Dakota and conscientiously asks their votes for the Capital." When it finally came time for the vote, Watertown's administrators invented the entirely fictional town of "Harrison" in Hand County in an attempt to crowd the ballot and split the vote for Pierre, but to no avail (the ghost town garnered a grand total of nine votes). Interestingly, Watertown's transportation advantage has continued long after it lost its bid - the city is currently served by Interstate 29, while the state capital remains one of only four in the nation with no such access. The stamp above the map is that of W.H. Donaldson, an attorney and real estate agent who published at least one large-scale map of Codington, Grant, Deuel, and Hamlin counties in the 1880s. A rare and interesting look into a surprisingly heated civic competition in the days leading up to South Dakota's statehood. We locate no other copies of this flyer, although a slightly expanded "SEVENTEEN Reasons Why." pamphlet is displayed at the South Dakota Historical Society. Old folds, light edge wear. Ink stamp of lawyer and realtor W.H. Donaldson above map. Very good.…