Jan Cerney: 6 books

A historian separates facts from myths to search for the real woman behind the Western legend. The mere mention of Calamity Jane conjures up images of buckskins, bull whips, and dance halls, but there’s more to the woman than what’s been portrayed in dime novels and countless books, films,...

From prairie to river�s edge, the Pierre and Fort Pierre area resounds with historical adventure. Visited in 1743 by French explorers�the Verendrye brothers�and by Lewis and Clark in 1804, Fort Pierre was established as a significant fur trading post in 1817 and served briefly as a military fort...

The world's only Corn Palace began as "The Corn Belt Exposition" in 1892, a promotional enterprise established to showcase the rich agricultural region of the James Valley. The exposition became a popular annual event, and an icon of the American prairie. The Corn Palace has occupied three different...

Once vital to fire prevention and detection, most of the Black Hills National Forest historic lookout towers now serve primarily as hiking destinations. The first crude lookout structures were built at Custer Peak and Harney Peak in 1911. Since that time, more than 20 towers have been constructed in...

Rising out of the prairie, the Black Hills of South Dakota and Wyoming had long been rumored to have promising quantities of gold. Sacred to the Lakota, the Black Hills was part of the land reserved for them in the Fort Laramie Treaty of 1868. However, the tide of prospectors seeking their fortune...

In 1804, Lewis and Clark navigated the Missouri River by keelboat, exploring the river border between the two future counties of Gregory and Charles Mix. Their discovery and exploration of the territory acquired in the Louisiana Purchase unleashed the movement west and its subsequent settlement. The...