Fort Pierre Historic Sculptures

Fort Pierre – the most historic city in South Dakota – is working to bring a series of sculptures to our town, to help tell the story of who we are and where we came from.

The first sculpture is a Bison bull, being created by renowned artist John Lopez from Lemmon, South Dakota. When this life-sized sculpture is done, it will be installed at the new Bridge Plaza area at the Commander John C. Waldron Bridge.

The next sculpture in process is a scale-model of the USS Hornet, the aircraft carrier that that transported Commander Waldron’s torpedo squadron. It is very detailed, complete with all equipment and airplanes.

The third sculpture in the series of nine will be of Pierre Chouteau, the community’s namesake, and a symbol of the community’s founding history as the “Fur Trading Capital of the Northwest.” Established in 1832 by Pierre Chouteau Jr. to replace nearby Fort Tecumseh, Fort Pierre Chouteau became the American Fur Company’s headquarters in the Upper Missouri Region.

Additional sculptures include Scotty & Sarah Philip, the Verendrye Brothers, Lewis & Clark and Chief Black Buffalo, and Casey Tibbs.

Members of the Fort Pierre Historic Sculptures Committee include Committee Chair Pat Miller, Fort Pierre Mayor Gloria Hanson, Leroy Foster, Tad Perry, Sunny Hannum, Sandy Zinter, Judy Weisgram, Tom LaFaive and Chris Maxwell.