Smack-dab in the middle of the United States is Belle Fourche, South Dakota – and that’s where you’ll find the Tri-State Museum and Visitor Center. The complex includes not just the museum and visitor center but also the beautiful granite compass rose Center of the Nation monument, noting the town’s distinctive status, and the fully furnished Johnny Spaulding Cabin, one of the few 2-storey pioneer cabins to have survived since the 1870s.

Surrounded by lawns dotted with flower gardens and only steps away from the city’s River Walk in front of the historic Belle Fourche River, the Tri-State Museum and Visitor Center is a great place to stop on the road between Mt. Rushmore and Devil’s Tower, for a tour of sites as well as a picnic lunch.

The museum proper includes exhibits on pioneers, ranching, rodeos, the sheep industry, and local business history. Natural history exhibits include geologic and archaeological finds, as well as some dinosaur fossils unearthed from nearby paleontological dig sites.

Significant exhibits include photos and information on Belle Fourche WWII hero Don Smith, one of the pilots in the Doolittle Raid. The museum also includes the less than heroic story of the most bungled bank robbery ever, which occurred in 1897 and involved an extremely inebriated Tom O’Day.

In addition to permanent collections, the museum also features three temporary exhibits and three mini exhibits which change throughout the year.  Exhibits for the 2024 season include those on clubs and societies; menus; the police force; maps; libraries; fairy houses and the world of bats.

The town of Belle Fourche is a little one big in history. The name comes from the river that flows here, visited by the famed French fur trappers of the early 1800s. The town itself was founded by Seth Bullock, a larger-than-life western character who was featured in the TV series, “Deadwood.” It soon became the place for the internationally known Black Hills Roundup, now in its 104rd year of showcasing classic rodeo action.

The old west lives on in the middle - and at the Tri-State Museum and Visitor Center.