Homecoming at Esmond

Jun 22, 2016

Esmond qualifies as a ghost town six days a week, but rural people congregate at the little Kingsbury County burg on Sunday mornings for services at the Methodist Episcopal Church. Every two years the dirt streets actually become congested with traffic when the church hosts a homecoming. The next one is Sunday, June 26. It begins with morning worship at 10:30, followed by a pork barbecue and potluck. A freewill offering raises money to help with the small congregation’s costs.

Irene Aughenbaugh (pronounced Ahn-bow), age 90, hasn’t missed many of the homecomings even though she now lives in Rapid City.

“We moved to Esmond in 1938 when my father (Asa Heabirland) bought a gas station and blacksmith shop there. We moved from Nisland. Esmond was quite a town then. They had three grocery stores and the post office man had a gas pump and my dad had a gas pump. There was a lumberyard and railroad depot and a grain elevator and of course two pool halls.”

One of Irene’s first and best memories came on the first day of May. “The other girls said you have to get ready for May Day. I said ‘What in the world is that?’ I found out that you had to make May baskets and take them here and there and give them to your friends and then they gave you a kiss. I was about 11."

She says the Methodist church and a Farm Bureau Hall were the center of town activities in the 1930s. Today those are the only structures still maintained and in use.

“I don’t know how many houses were there but there must have been more than a hundred people living there and there was always something going on. But after the war they started moving the houses out to other towns. Some went to De Smet and some went to Arlington and here and there. It’s kind of depressing to see how the town has gone downhill but it’s like everything else. After the war people got better cars and they could go to bigger towns and shop and the little towns went downhill. Little by little they fell apart. It’s sad, but it’s fun to go back every two years.”

The public is invited to the homecoming. This year, prints of a painting of the 1885 church by local artist Julie Waldner will be available for $25.

Photos by Bernie Hunhoff.

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The old Aughenbaugh cattle barn is in fine shape on the outskirts of Esmond, along 422nd Avenue. Aughenbaughs have been farming and raising cattle in Kingsbury County for generations.
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Historic markers were placed around the old town as a project for South Dakota’s centennial in 1989. They record the people who lived at each location and the names of shops that were located in Esmond. Most of the houses are gone, but one of the finest residences still stands.
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Grass has reclaimed most of the home and business lots.
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Many of the houses were moved to farms and neighboring towns.
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The Methodist Episcopal Church and the Farm Bureau Hall are still in use.
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Esmond was a treeless prairie when settlers established the town in 1885. They would have loved the shade trees that grow there today.
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The dilapidated Esmond grain elevator stands as a wooden allegory to the misfortunes of the small farmer.

Comments

11:33 am - Wed, June 22 2016

Mary Lohr said:

I love how historians have placed signs indicating where the different homes were located, including the surnames of the owners. My husband's grandfather Jacob Lohr owned a blacksmith shop in Esmond in the 1930s and may have sold it to Irene Aughenbaugh's father Asa Heabirland if this sign is correct and in successive ownership listing.

https://maryjlohr.wordpress.com/2010/08/31/esmond-south-dakota/

01:52 pm - Wed, June 22 2016

Alberta Walls Moore said:

Lee Walls, 93, was born and raised in/by Esmond. He resides in his own home just 7 miles north of town. At this time he plans to attend--just like every other year. Many of his relatives attend as well.

04:33 pm - Wed, June 22 2016

Violet wicks said:

Congratulations Esmond on your Homecoming Celebration. Sorry I won't be able to be there. Hope you have a big crowd. God Bless you all.

07:05 pm - Wed, June 22 2016

Ed said:

A lot of water under the bridge since I started school there in 1942.

07:02 am - Fri, June 24 2016

Jim Aughenbaugh said:

The Aughenbaughs from Nebraska will be there! I am the grandson of Hiland and Irene.

05:10 pm - Sat, June 25 2016

Julie waldner said:

I am the artist , it is an honor to be there

12:15 pm - Sat, September 23 2017

Bill Walls said:

My name is Bill Walls. My dad grew up in Esmond. his name Allan Walls. His Parents were Bill and Dorothy Walls. My dad told me so many stories about growing up in Esmond in the 30's. I believe Bill was a barber in town. I live in Nashville Tn. Would love to come to homecoming and see the land and people he loved so much. I have a couple of drawings that were given to him by Artist Harvey Dunn when he came to the area to find subjects to paint. Those drawings caused me to pursue art at an early age. Is the homecoming every year or every couple of years. Thank you for any information.

03:55 pm - Sat, October 28 2017

Wayne Deming said:

My great grandfather Frank Forrest Deming and his wife Berta Crandon Sheets lived in Esmond around 1901 and later. Does anyone know of him or any of his children or relatives . My fathers name was John Avery Deming and I think he was born there.

03:05 pm - Wed, November 1 2017

Kyle J Dahl said:

I now know where to go for ghost hunting!

07:23 pm - Sat, February 3 2018

Lori Wehlander said:

2018 Esmond Homecoming
June 24, 2018
Church 10:30am
Catered meal to follow in Esmond Hall

10:19 am - Tue, June 19 2018

George Hubert said:

Please remember Henry and Louie and Pieter, twins who served on USS LST523 duriing WWII. They were killed when their ship hit a mine. They were united 74 years later when dna discovered they were twin brothers.They are buried in the American Cemetery above Omaha Beach.

They were from Edmond S,D, according to the article on Fox News Jun 19, 2018.

10:23 am - Tue, June 19 2018

George Hubert said:

Last name should be Pieper, sorry for the error.

05:35 pm - Fri, July 26 2019

Linda said:

To Wayne Deming: II know a lot about Martha Crandon Sheets' ancestors. She is the daughter of George Sheets and DeEtte Barker, his second wife. George is brother to my ggf, David F. Sheets, and son of John Metcalf Sheets and Eveline Rawson. David Sheets name is on the sign in front of the Esmond Methodist Church as founder with brother Horace and another lady. All the Sheets lived in Esmond from about 1882/3 to 1902. George Sheets and famiiy stayed in DeSmet and George and DeEtte are buried there. Don't know about Martha and husband. The rest of the Sheets left for Pomona in So. California where I was born. We visited Esmond/Iroquois twice about 2002 and 2003. I think I have a map showing George Sheets' land. His name is on a sign in Esmond showing ther former location of his house. Contact me at kaloskie1@gmail.com.

04:49 pm - Tue, October 13 2020

James Proehl said:

I was looking through the chest of family photos and found a small envelope labeled Esmond, SD. My father grew up in Madison, attended Eastern State Normal (DSU today) and taught in several small towns before enlisting in WWII. Several of the photos are well labeled in my father's hand. For example "Basketball Team, Esmond Sch. 1940" or "8th Grade Grads-Esmond Sch De Smet-1939." My dad is one of two adults in this group photo--I'm guessing they took the "Grads" to De Smet. Most of the photos are school related. I'd love to share this collection with someone preserving Kingsbury County history. I work with a museum in Bandon, Oregon and know how happy we are each time we find another piece of the puzzle. jimproehl@bandonhistoricalmuseum.org

11:53 am - Sat, March 13 2021

Gerald (Jerry) Grotta said:

I was born in Esmond in 1934. My grandparents, Iver and Lasina Grotta, emigrated from Norway in about 1880 and homesteaded just east of Esmond. After WWII broke out we moved to Sioux Falls. My dad Elmer and my oldest sister Phyllis both worked at the Airbase. Dad was a WWI veteran. I think there were about 40,000 people in Sioux Falls and 50,000 soldiers at what became Joe Foss Field. I have so many fond memories of those first eight years and returned to Esmond many times, watching it slowly disappear.

11:34 am - Wed, May 12 2021

Bill Walls said:

Is the Esmond Homecoming going to be held in 2021?
If so, what are the dates?

Thank you

04:45 pm - Sun, November 5 2023

Dave curtis said:

Interested on how the family signs were put in front of each house and buiness
Ive heard they were made from penitentiary in soiux falls not sure at what cost
And how go about getting some made fot the town of quinn sd if anyone out there could steer me in the right direction

Thanks for any help
Dave curtis
Quinn sdl

10:02 am - Thu, May 30 2024

Catherine Dilts said:

My father's family settled in Esmond after emigrating from Norway. I'm looking for info about the cemetery, as several Grotta's are interred there. Will another homecoming be held?