Why was Pierre South Dakota location picked?

Answer 1

Fort Pierre Chouteau was established in 1832 as a trading post by Pierre Chouteau, Jr. about 3 miles north of the mouth of the Bad River. It was purchased by the US Army in 1855 and repairs were made to turn the trading post into a military fort. The fort was abandoned in 1857.

The city of Fort Pierre began as early as 1817 when the first fur trading posts were built in the area. Due to its location near Fort Pierre Chouteau, the city became known as Fort PIerre. In the late 1870's, Fort Pierre began to grow due to the gold rush in the Black Hills and its location on the Missouri River allowing steamboat access and delivery of freight. However, since the city was technically illegally located on the Great Sioux Reservation, it was not platted or recognized as an organized town.

In 1877, gold seekers camped across the river from Fort Pierre and became the first settlers in Pierre. When the Chicago and North Western Railroad ended its track in Pierre in 1880, Pierre was platted and was officially named Pierre although it did not have an organized government until 1883 or incorporate until 1887. Note that the men who platted the city of Pierre did not know how to pronounce Pierre so they pronounced it as 'peer' and that became the official pronunciation of both the city of Pierre and the city of Fort Pierre.