On Tue, 27 Nov 2001 12:05:07 EST, [log in to unmask] wrote:

>Dear Friends,
>
>I would like to hear from someone who has knowledge of the railroad system
in
>the 1870's, specifically from the states of New York and Pennsylvania and
>going to the Dakota Territories, specifically Yankton.
>
>I have a relative who traveled there at that time and would like to know
what
>was available.  I don't think Yankton was a booming city so I'm curious as
to
>the availability of trains going there.  Thank you.  Mary L. Casey

I too had relatives who ended up in Yankton after spending some time in the
neighboring state of Nebraska. I remember reading a newspaper ad in our
local paper, The Windham Journal (Greene County, NY). It may have been
published in the late 1870s or early 1880s. One of the railroads was
offering free land to anyone who would be willing to settle in territory
where they had already laid tracks or were planning to do so. I believe the
settlers had to commit to staying a certain number of years and had to
agree to develop a certain percentage of the land. As I recall, Inman, Holt
County, NE was one of the areas where people were encouraged to settle.