When the President Spoke
The first and only U.S. President to step foot on the campus of South Dakota State University
Who is the only sitting United States President to step foot on South Dakota State University's campus?
Not Donald Trump (he spoke at Mount Rushmore), not Barack Obama (he spoke at Lake Area Tech), and no, not Richard Nixon (he spoke in Madison).
If you guessed Calvin Coolidge, our 30th president, you would be correct.
Coolidge is considered a "forgettable" president by historians, having presided after the scandal-ridden Harding administration and directly before the greatest economic disaster in our country's history. A Republican lawyer from Vermont, Coolidge supported fiscal conservatism, women's suffrage, racial equality and seemingly opposed Prohibition. Despite being in office during the economic boom of the 1920s—"The Roaring Twenties"—many critics and historians believe his policies may have had an influence on the Great Depression, hence his rather low ranking among past presidents.
Despite his lack of presidential noteworthiness, Coolidge made a lasting impact on the state of South Dakota. Like many people in his day, Coolidge fled the muggy, hot summers of Washington D.C. to more temperate weather. Previously, he had spent summers along the Massachusetts coastlines and in the mountains of New York. Heading into the summer of 1927, lawmakers in South Dakota—learning of Coolidge's desire to stay in the expanding West—invited him to the Black Hills. After hearing of the state's small, but growing population, and lack of mosquitoes (at least in the western half of the state), Coolidge, his staff and the White House Press Corps ventured by rail to South Dakota, a place few in the country had been at the time.
He spent the summer staying at the State Game Lodge in Custer State Park, while his "Summer White House" was in Rapid City. The invention of the telegraph, telephone and mail delivery via airplane allowed him to successfully stay in communication with the happenings in Washington and the rest of the world.
The summer of 1927 was rather uneventful, with Coolidge spending his time fishing in ridiculous attire (suits and a 10-gallon cowboy hat), visiting with Native American tribes, experiencing the adventure that was Deadwood, and attending a Mount Rushmore dedication ceremony. Coolidge, known for his quiet nature (nicknamed “Silent Cal”), described his summer as "interesting."
It was until the final weeks of his stay that he had his most memorable moment. On Aug. 2, Coolidge invited the press to his office in Rapid City. He handed them each a piece of paper that simply said, "I do not choose to run for president in nineteen twenty-eight." The move, while surprising to the country, was not completely unprecedented. Previously, James Polk, James Buchanan, and Rutherford Hayes had all forgone a chance at reelection. Some speculated that the peacefulness of his Black Hills stay fueled his desire to exit the public's eye.
Just over a month after Coolidge's surprise announcement, he began making his way back to the East Coast, but not before a stop in Brookings. South Dakota State College had just completed the Lincoln Memorial Library—the first building to bear President Abraham Lincoln's name on any land-grant campus—and the college's president, Charles Pugsley, had become familiar with Coolidge during his time in Washington and invited him to speak at the dedication ceremony. It's fitting that Coolidge would be speaking at a ceremony honoring Lincoln, who had paved the way for land-grant colleges. Similarly, Coolidge's signing of the 1925 Purnol Bill was also highly influential in helping to further land-grant colleges.
"It may be truly said that President Lincoln's pen established land grant colleges and President Coolidge's pen gave them the greatest aid for the expansion of agricultural research during the 65 years of their existence," the Argus Leader reported in 1927.
Word of Coolidge's visit spread quickly. Officials expected around 5,000 people in attendance for Coolidge's morning arrival. "Gala attire" was expected for the occasion. Bands from around the area were on hand to participate in the pomp and circumstance. By the time Coolidge took the stage for the keynote address, it was estimated that more than 15,000 people crowded together on college green to get a peek at the president.
The college decided they were going to name a gift from the class of 1926 and 1927—an outdoor theater—after Coolidge. The granite stone that Coolidge and his wife, Grace, placed in front of the "Coolidge Sylvan Outdoor Theater" is still there today.
Coolidge's address praised Lincoln while also remarking on South Dakota's growth and commitment to higher education. Below is a collection of historical photos from the speech/visit:
Brookings was Coolidge’s last stop on his summer excursion, as he returned to Washington following the dedication ceremony. Keeping to his word, Coolidge did not choose to run for reelection. The following year, the country elected Herbert Hoover, a California Republican, in a landslide victory over Al Smith.
Coolidge retreated from the public’s eye but did, apparently, make return trips to the Black Hills in the years following. He passed away in 1933. A bronze statue of Coolidge commemorating his South Dakota summer sits in downtown Rapid City.
The thing that interests me most about this tiny sliver of SDSU history is the sheer number of people who turned out to see Coolidge speak. 15,000 people in 1927 is a massive, massive crowd. Consider the size of Brookings at the time: roughly 4,000 people. Small towns around Brookings helped with the crowd size on that September day, but still, drawing over three times the population to see a politician speak is something we are unlikely to ever see again.
For context, College Gameday in 2019 drew an estimated 13,000 people to the exact same location.