Located on the Coteau des Prairies, the community initially named Medary began drawing settlers in the 1850s. Driven away in 1858 by an American Indian uprising, settlers began returning in 1869, and by 1879 Brookings had become a permanent settlement. This was followed two years later with the establishment of a land-grant institution, then called South Dakota State Agricultural College and now South Dakota State University (SDSU). Over 130 years...