Seventy-five years ago, 1883, the Blue Blanket Valley looked like the "Promised Land" to the early settlers. Some interesting early history of Lebanon, Gettysburg, and Potter County was given in a letter to Charles Harris, editor of the Potter County News at the time of Gettysburg's Golden Jubilee in June 1933. It was from A.J. Pruitt, Lakeland, Florida, one of the counties early settlers:

"Fifty years ago today I saw Potter County and that night camped close to the site of Lebanon. As we came through the hills and saw the Blue Blanket Valley, our hats went up and we felt that our eyes beheld the Promised Land.

When I first saw Gettysburg about June 20, she was a very small tented city. There was not even a shack, and the only tent I recall was the one that housed Brink's Grocery. He was there on the ground floor and should have grown with the town and made his fortune, but Gettysburg was too small for his restless ambition.

The old soldiers were on the job but could not agree on a leader as they were all captains, majors and gererals, so one faction pulled away and founded Appomattox. Captain Bryson and Mr. Todd of the Townsite Company stayed with Gettysburg, and Mr. Todd was succeeded by his sons George and Lebanus, both of whom became famous for their good deeds in Rochester, New York.

After I proved up my claim at Lebanon, I moved into Gettysburg and cast my lot with the young hustlers who were making the town. It could not fail to go ahead with such men as Frank Byrne, J.R. Hughes, the Todd boys, Dode Williams, Tom Meacham, all good fellows, and others whom I do not recall. Everyone was happy and hopeful, and Gettysburg was our great pride.

The impending county seat fight loomed very large in the minds of us all. The wicked Forest City politicians had stolen a march on us and captured the prize, but there was to be a day of reckoning; and the coming election to permanently settle the location of the county seat was just as important to us Gettysburgers as it would have been had we been electing a President of the United States.

The campaign started early and was red hot from start to finish. Every voter in the county was interviewed several times and his preference recorded. The Center town hoax was used to divide the friends of Gettysburg, and all the tricks of political campaigns were used. No record could be kept of the "lies that were mailed," there were so many of them.

Election day came at last and Gettysburg was overwhelmingly chosen, but that did not settle the matter. Forest City had the canvassing board and the irregularities that they saw in the Gettysburg vote almost paralyzed them. They were so hurt that they could not possibly condone the sins of our campaign and so had to throw out 19 precincts of the 25 in the county, giving Forest City a majority of the votes, and they then declared Forest City the choice of the voters for the permanent county seat.

No heat wave ever struck Potter County with such intensity as the temperature of the wave if indignation that burned in Gettysburg when the work of the canvassing board was announced. Of course, we took the matter down to the District Court at Pierre, and what a tragedy it was when there was a mistake in the pleadings.

Back in Gettysburg we rushed in zero weather to start the suit over, and finally the court ordered the board to count the votes. Then we descended on Forest City en masse, loaded the records and safe on bobsleds and hauled them to Gettysburg where they were guarded by armed men for several days until the storm subsided. It was a great victory for Gettysburg.

Our experience with the county seat fight gave Gettysburg a wide acquaintance with the voters of the county, and elections for the next year or two were dominated by Gettysburgers. Soon we began to hear complaints of the county seat ring, and disgruntled office seekers started the fight on the "Todd and Pruitt ring." Some may recall how we were roasted by Fisk in the Lebanon papers under the nom de plume XYZ. It was a serious matter then but is now remembered with interest and amusement.

We can never forget some of those early friendships. Time has smoothed out the asperities of those early struggles of our younger days.

(From: Gettysburg South Dakota, 75th Anniversary, 1883-1958, page 107, with permission)