About Belle Fourche...
With the admission of Alaska and Hawaii to the Union in 1959, the US Coast & Geodetic Survey officially designated a point 20 miles north of Belle Fourche as the Geographic Center of the Nation. Today, the Center of the Nation is denoted with a plaque at the Visitor's Center and Tri State Museum, conveniently located in the same building. The Museum is free and dedicated to men & women who pioneered the area. The museum features ever changing displays reflecting the community's western heritage. Belle Fourche is one of the most important livestock shipping railheads in the West. The wool Belle Fourche is a rural community with traditional Midwestern values. It is a recreational haven where the natural beauty of the rim of the Black Hills is laced by rivers that anchor themselves in western South Dakota's largest reservoir. Strong value systems, excellent education opportunities, and a low crime rate make Belle Fourche a wonderful place to raise children. In addition to outstanding antique shops, motels, museums, campgrounds and restaurants, Belle Fourche is home to one of America's premier rodeos - The Black Hills Roundup held each July. You'll discover summer concerts in Herrmann Park, the Center of the Nation All Car Rally each June, fly-ins and excellent outdoor recreation at nearby Orman Dam and the Belle Fourche Country Club. When you're ready for a place where the West still rings true, say "howdy" to Belle Fourche. We'll be waiting for you! |
Nestled on the northern rim of the fabled Black Hills at a "beautiful fork" in the river that gave the town it's name, Belle Fourche has been welcoming trail weary travelers with it's own brand of western hospitality for more than a century.
shipping warehouses are the largest in the US even today. The city is the trading center for a three-state agricultural area encompassing 21,000 square miles in NW South Dakota, NE Wyoming, and SE Montana. A hub for livestock auctions and wool shipping, Belle Fourche also is the center of a bentonite-mining industry. The downtown area's architecture retains the aura of the early 1900s; many of the buildings now contain antique shops.