Four Mile, South Dakota facts for kids
Quick facts for kids
Four Mile, South Dakota
Fourmile, Moss City
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Looking southwest at Four Mile
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 Four Mile, South Dakota
Location in South Dakota
Four Mile, South Dakota
Location in the United States
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| Country | United States |
| State | South Dakota |
| County | Custer |
| Elevation | 5,361 ft (1,634 m) |
| Time zone | UTC-7 (MST) |
| • Summer (DST) | UTC-6 (MDT) |
| Area code(s) | 605 |
| GNIS feature ID | 1261691 |
| Four Mile | |
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| Location | |
| Roads at junction: |
 US 16 &  CR 715 (Pleasant Valley Road) |
| Construction | |
| Maintained by: | South Dakota Department of Transportation |
| Map | |
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Four Mile is a small place in Custer County, South Dakota, United States. It's called an unincorporated community, which means it doesn't have its own local government like a city or town. Four Mile is located about 4 miles west of Custer. It sits right where U.S. Route 16 and Pleasant Valley Road (County Highway 715) meet.
This community got its name because it was exactly four miles from Custer on an old stagecoach route. Today, Four Mile is a quiet place where people live. It has a special museum called the Four Mile Old West Town Museum. There's also a company that builds log cabins and a small mobile home park.
A Look Back: History of Four Mile
Four Mile started in the 1870s. It was first a camp for General George Armstrong Custer's army. By 1876, it became an important stop for stagecoaches. The stagecoach company simply named it "Four Mile" because of its distance from Custer.
At first, only eight people lived there. But soon, more people moved in. By 1890, about 100 people called Four Mile home. For a while, it was even called Moss City. During this time, a jail, a store, and a saloon were built.
People also tried to find gold nearby. They used a method called dredging in Four Mile Creek in 1898 and again in 1933. However, these attempts to find gold were not successful. As the 20th century began, the number of people living in Moss City started to go down. So, it went back to its original name, Four Mile. Today, only a few of the very old buildings are still standing. Other buildings were rebuilt for the Four Mile Old West Town Museum, which opened in 1994.
Where is Four Mile? Geography
Four Mile is found in the beautiful Black Hills region of South Dakota. It's located in a rural part of Custer County. As mentioned, it's at the meeting point of U.S. Route 16 and County Road 715, also known as Pleasant Valley Road.
