Strool, South Dakota facts for kids
Quick facts for kids
Strool
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Former settlememt
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 Strool, South Dakota
Location in South Dakota
Strool, South Dakota
Location in the United States
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| Country | United States |
| State | South Dakota |
| County | Perkins |
| Established | 1908 |
| Dissolved | 1974 |
| Named for | Ben Strool |
| Area | |
| • Total | 160 acre (60 ha) |
| Elevation | 2,854 ft (870 m) |
| GNIS feature ID | 1258398 |
Strool was once a small community in Perkins County, South Dakota. Today, it is known as a ghost town, meaning most of its buildings are gone and no one lives there anymore. It was started in 1908 by a homesteader named Benjamin Strool.
Strool was special because it had a lively culture and a famous baseball team. It also had a large Jewish community, which was unusual for a new settlement back then. Instead of selling land, Ben Strool rented it out to people. The community officially closed down in 1955. Many of its residents moved to Prairie City, a town just two miles away.
Contents
The Story of Strool
How Strool Began
Strool was founded in 1908 by Benjamin Strool. He was an immigrant from Latvia who came to America to start a new life as a homesteader. A homesteader was someone who settled on and farmed land given by the government. Ben Strool opened the first general store in the town.
In its early years, many people moved to Strool. The town even got its own post office in the same year it was founded.
Life and Culture in Strool
Strool had a unique way of doing things. Most people did not buy land there. Instead, they paid a monthly rent to Ben Strool, who owned all the land. Because of this, many buildings were not built to last forever. Settlers did not want to build very strong structures if they didn't own the land.
Even so, Strool grew into a busy place. It had hotels, a bank, and two schools. There were also many local businesses. The community had a dance hall and its own newspaper. Its baseball team became quite famous in the area. Strool was also special for having a large Jewish community. This was not common in many new settlements at the time.
Strool was never officially a town, so it doesn't have official population numbers. In 1940, a project called the Federal Writer's Project counted 50 people living there. Some reports say the population might have been as high as 500 at one point. Other reports say it was much smaller, perhaps never more than 100 people.
Ben Strool later became involved in state politics and moved away. But he still managed the settlement of Strool for the rest of his life.
Why Strool Changed
The way Strool was set up, with everyone renting land, caused problems over time. Ben Strool never sold any land. This meant that people living there never owned their homes or businesses. Because of this, Strool could not become an official town. This made it hard for some businesses to get the licenses they needed.
In the 1950s, a program called the Rural Electrification Act helped bring electricity to many rural areas. But many people in Strool were hesitant to install electricity. They worried about putting money into buildings they didn't own and might lose.
Another challenge was a new highway. State Highway 8 was planned to go through Strool at first. But its final path ended up being two miles away. This made it difficult for people in Strool to get to the highway, especially in bad weather.
Strool Becomes Prairie City
As early as 1946, some settlers started planning to move. They wanted to go two miles north to be closer to the new highway. They planned to rename their new community Prairie City.
The future of Strool became even more uncertain when Ben Strool passed away in 1949. His land was expected to go to his children. However, a woman claimed she had married Mr. Strool just before he died. She presented a will that would give her ownership of the land Strool was built on. Even though there was no official record of their marriage, she won ownership of the settlement.
She tried to get the remaining residents to buy the land. But most people moved to Prairie City by 1955. Prairie City grew very quickly that year.
The Strool post office closed in 1955. It was renamed and moved to Prairie City. By 1974, the land where Strool once stood was divided and sold to new owners. The remaining buildings were torn down. Today, Prairie City is seen as the new version of Strool. The only thing left near the original site of Strool is a fence.
