Wall Drug Facts for Kids

The main entrance to Wall Drug

Wall Drug Store, usually called Wall Drug, is a famous stop for travelers in Wall, South Dakota. It's right next to Badlands National Park. Wall Drug is a collection of stores with a fun cowboy theme. You can find a drug store, gift shops, many restaurants, and other shops. There's also an art gallery and a huge 80-foot (24 m) brontosaurus statue!

Unlike a regular shopping mall, all the stores at Wall Drug are part of one big business. It's a very popular place, attracting about two million visitors every year. People come from all over the world to see this unique spot.

The Story of Wall Drug
- Growing the Business
How Wall Drug Became Famous
Wall Drug Today
- Wall Drug in Movies and Books
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The Story of Wall Drug

A display showing the early days of Wall Drug

The Wall Drug Store started small in 1931 when Ted Hustead bought it. Ted was a pharmacist from Nebraska. He was looking for a small town to open his business. He chose Wall, South Dakota, which had only 231 people at the time.

Business was very slow at first. Then, Ted's wife, Dorothy, had a brilliant idea! She suggested advertising free ice water to thirsty travelers. These travelers were often heading to the newly opened Mount Rushmore monument, about 60 miles (97 km) away. After that, Wall Drug became very busy!

Growing the Business

Ted's son, Bill Hustead, also became a pharmacist. He joined the family business in 1951. Bill helped Wall Drug grow into a large cowboy-themed shopping area. He added the Art Gallery Cafe, which was inspired by a restaurant he liked in New York City.

Bill also created a western art museum and a chapel. One of his most famous additions was the 80-foot (24 m) brontosaurus statue. You can see it easily from Interstate 90. This dinosaur was designed by Emmet Sullivan. He also made dinosaurs for other parks in South Dakota and Arkansas.

Today, Bill Hustead's oldest child, Rick Hustead, runs Wall Drug Store.

How Wall Drug Became Famous

Wall Drug is well-known because of its clever advertising. You can see Billboards for Wall Drug for hundreds of miles across South Dakota and nearby states. These signs often say things like "Free Ice Water" or "Have You Dug Wall Drug?".

Many visitors have even put up signs around the world! These signs show how many miles it is to Wall Drug from famous places. During the busy summer season, from Memorial Day to Labor Day, Wall Drug used to give away 20,000 cups of free water every day!

Most of the billboards are along a 650-mile (1,050 km) stretch of Interstate 90. This highway goes from Minnesota to Billings, Montana. Local artists from South Dakota create these eye-catching signs.

Wall Drug Today

An animatronic Tyrannosaurus rex at Wall Drug

Even today, Wall Drug still offers free ice water. As it became more popular, they also started giving away free bumper stickers. These stickers help spread the word about Wall Drug. You can also get coffee for just 5 cents! Some popular bumper stickers ask, "Where the heck is Wall Drug?"

The Western Art Gallery Dining Rooms at Wall Drug have over 300 original oil paintings. This is one of the best private collections of Western and Illustration Art in the country. You can see works by famous artists like N. C. Wyeth and Harvey Dunn.

In the past, when the United States Air Force had missile silos in western South Dakota, Wall Drug offered free coffee and doughnuts to military personnel. They would stop there on their way to or from Ellsworth Air Force Base. Today, Wall Drug still offers free coffee and doughnuts to active military members. They are also very popular with all other tourists.

Ted Hustead, the founder, passed away in 1999. Bill Hustead, his son, also passed away later that same year.

Wall Drug in Movies and Books

Wall Drug has been mentioned in many books and shows.

In 1981, Time magazine called Wall Drug one of the biggest tourist spots in the northern United States.
The author Bill Bryson wrote about Wall Drug in his 1989 book, The Lost Continent. He called it "one of the world's worst tourist traps, but I loved it."
The history of Wall Drug was told in a two-part story on the podcast The Radio Adventures of Dr. Floyd.
In 2016, the TV show Z Nation featured Wall Drug in one of its episodes.
The 2020 drama film Nomadland shows characters working at Wall Drug and visiting the dinosaur statue.