Paul Horsted Published South Dakota History Book
The new 400-page work features historical and modern landscape photos from across South Dakota.
Updated on Sept. 23, 2026 in Geography
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Author Paul Horsted has released a new book titled South Dakota Yesterday and Today, which documents more than 100 cities and landmarks. The book compares historical photographs taken over 100 years ago with modern recreations.
Why it matters
The project serves as a visual record of changing landscapes, documenting how human development has transformed the state over the last century.
The book spans more than 400 pages and features over 100 cities and landmarks. Horsted utilized archival photographs from the Journey Museum and private collections to create precise side-by-side comparisons.
The players
Paul Horsted
He is the author who recreates historical photographs to document the changing landscapes of South Dakota.
Journey Museum
This is a Rapid City institution that provided archival photographs for the project.
The details
Horsted identified historical locations from archives and traveled to each site to capture modern images from the exact camera position. The book includes unique details, such as the history of a stone gate in Custer State Park and the origin of wide main streets in towns like Custer designed for ox-pulled wagons.
Timeline
Original photographs were taken over 100 years ago.
The stone gate served as a Custer State Park highway entrance from the 1930s to the 1960s.
The Big Picture
This work follows the scientific tradition of repeat photography used by projects like the Repeat Photography of the American West. It provides a visual paradigm shift in how we track landscape evolution and urban development over time.
Readers can use the book as a guide to visit specific historical sites and visualize the changes in their own communities. The detailed documentation of landmark evolution provides a tangible connection to the state history for residents and visitors alike.
The takeaway
Comparing historical images to modern views offers a unique perspective on the persistence and alteration of the landscape. Residents interested in local history can use these visual comparisons to better understand the architectural evolution of South Dakota towns.
Further reading
Discover more about the regional landscape in our Geography section.
More information
For more information on the project, visit the book ordering and location list.
Source note: This article includes information reported by KNBN NewsCenter1.
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