A Lasting Legacy

Aug 9, 2017

Our July/August issue includes a story by John Andrews on Joseph Ward. Ward came to Yankton in the late 1860s to spread congregationalism, but his legacy in South Dakota extends far beyond the church. Andrews collected several photos from the Yankton College archives for the feature. Here are some that we couldn’t fit into the magazine.

Download Original

Joseph Ward preached his first sermon at Yankton’s newly created First Congregational Church on Nov. 8, 1968.
Download Original

He and his wife, Sarah, had arrived in town just two days earlier. After Ward's death in 1889, Sarah continued his legacy as a missionary and even preached in a closed saloon and dance hall in Lesterville.
Download Original

Ward was passionate about education and resigned as pastor of the First Congregational Church in 1883 to become the first president of Yankton College. Photo by Bernie Hunhoff.
Download Original

South Dakota chose to honor Ward's contributions to the state with a statue sculpted by Bruno Beghe.
Download Original

It was unveiled in the U.S. Capitol in Washington, D.C. in 1963 and placed in the National Statuary Hall.
Download Original

Beghe (right) is pictured with Ward's youngest daughter, Margaret, and James Lloyd, a Yankton native and Republican politician who won the 1960 South Dakota Presidential primary.