Sioux City History
Your link to the past.
Sioux City Ghosts
The Sioux City Ghosts were an all-black fast-pitch softball team. They started in Sioux City and began touring the United States, Canada, and Mexico during the 1930s, and played until 1956.
Sioux City Corn Palaces
From 1887 to 1891, Sioux Cityans celebrated the autumn harvest with a festival featuring the construction of a large building in downtown called a Corn Palace covered in corn and other grains. The final Sioux City Corn Palace of 1891 is shown here.
LGBTQ Community History
Sioux City PRIDE Roots is a project to preserve and share history of the LGBTQ community in Sioux City. The Sioux City Public Museum received funding in February 2019 from Humanities Iowa and the National Endowment for the Humanities to conduct, preserve and share oral histories and provide a public program with historian/author Neil Miller in June 2019.
Sioux City’s Mini Indy
In 1914, the history of automobile racing was forever changed in Sioux City. Sioux City’s Mini Indy was the highlight of auto racing in Sioux City and Iowa.
T. S. Martin Department Store
In 1880 Thomas S. Martin opened the T. S. Martin Company, a dry goods store, at 49 Fourth Street in Sioux City. He was joined by George Westcott, and later by his brother, James P. Martin.
1888 Sioux City Corn Palace
Sioux City’s second corn palace, built the next year in 1888, was even more splendid than the first. It was built at a new site on the northeast corner of Sixth and Pierce. There was a huge main tower and several smaller towers, and every square inch of the exterior was covered with grain. The only wood showing was on the flagpoles.
1889 Sioux City Corn Palace
The publicity generated by the Corn Palace Train and the successes of the first two palaces led to the grandest festival thus far. Built on the same site as the last palace, (now known as the Corn Palace Lot), the 1889 palace featured a main tower 200 feet high that towered over surrounding buildings.
1890 Sioux City Corn Palace
The biggest palace yet, the 1890 Corn Palace featured a 200-foot main tower and six 100-foot towers. A huge dome, built as part of the largest tower, formed a giant globe with various countries mapped with grains of corn. Of course, Iowa faced front and center with Sioux City most prominently displayed.
1891 Sioux City Corn Palace
The 1891 Palace was so large that it spread across Pierce Street and featured a large archway that allowed traffic to pass through. The palace featured a balcony atop the main 200-foot tower. There, visitors could take in a magnificent view of the city and the surrounding three states.
