W.H. Over Museum – Vermillion, South Dakota
How did a Perkins County homesteader with an eighth grade education develop a scientific career and become director of the University of South Dakota Museum?
It all began when young William Henry Over found an arrowhead in his father’s field near Albion, Illinois, where he was born in 1866. Like the seeds his father planted in that field, the chipped scrap of stone would produce many crops in a lifetime of collecting and learning.
While other boys entertained themselves in more conventional ways, young Over began collecting insects, plants and artifacts. “When I was 15,” he told a USD Volante reporter in 1942, “I exhibited my first archaeology items in a small showcase in my home in southern Illinois. It was then I knew my ambition was to direct a large museum.”
The mission of the W. H. Over Museum is to tell the story of the Land and People of South Dakota, using tangible links to the past to benefit and enlighten present and future generations. The W. H. Over Museum is operated and funded by the Friends of the W. H. Over Museum who are responsible for all aspects of the Museum.
Location: 1110 Ratingen St. Vermillion, SD
Phone: M-F; 9 – 5 (winter hours; 11-4:30 – through March 21st)
Sat.; 9:30 – 4:30 Sun.; 1:00 – 4:30
Email: whover@usd.edu
Free Admission
To the staff of W. H. Over Museum, University of South Dakota Museum:
I have an Indian hammer found by my father many years ago when working his farm one mile west and one-half mile north of Milltown, SD. I have kept it since he passed away, but now I am getting old, too. I would like to find a home for it where it could be seen by coming generations.
If you would like to have this hammer for your collection, let me know. I can bring it next summer when we plan to visit relatives in South Dakota. If you need a picture of it , I can send one by E-mail or regular mail. I would need an E-mail address or postal address to send it to.
Let me know if that is something you can use for your collection.
Iola Bean, 10301 Melody Drive, Northglenn, CO 80260-6045
wibean@usfamily.net Phone 303-451-0488
They do not have an email contact so you will need to call them at 605-677-5228. It is most generous of you to offer this to them.