[Congressional Record (Bound Edition), Volume 150 (2004), Part 12]
[Senate]
[Page 15742]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]




                     HONORING THE CITY OF WATERTOWN

 Mr. JOHNSON. Mr. President, today I honor and publicly 
recognize the 125th anniversary of the founding of the town of 
Watertown, SD. The town of Watertown has a proud past and a promising 
future. In 1878, the Winona and St. Peter Railroad settled the area 
that became known as Watertown.
  Previously, in 1873, the railroad company had established a 
settlement called Kampeska. Eventually, due to a lack of railroad 
construction beyond Kampeska, many of the town's residents moved to 
Watertown. By the end of 1878, Watertown had become the county seat of 
Codington County. In that same year, the town's first railroad station 
and post office were built. By February, the population of the town was 
509.
  In 1880, the U.S. Land Office opened in Watertown and subsequently 
opened ``surplus'' land on the Sisseton-Wahpeton Reservation to 
settlement. In that same year, the town's first bank opened.
  From 1898 to 1915, Watertown grew rapidly and became the wholesale 
and retail trade center for much of Northeast South Dakota. By the end 
of World War I, four major railroad companies operated eight routes 
into and out of town, making the town a transportation center and 
facilitating its growth.
  Watertown and Codington County veterans have served in all major wars 
and conflicts of the 20th century, with 18 dying in WWI, 57 in World 
War II, 2 in Korea, and 11 in Vietnam. A World War II U.S. Navy 
destroyer-escort was named USS Gustafson in honor of a young naval 
officer, Lt. Arthur Gustafson, a resident of Watertown who was killed 
when the Japanese attacked his ship in early 1942.
  The loss of a large meatpacking plant and other agricultural-related 
concerns by the 1960s and 1970s alerted city and county officials to 
the necessity of diversifying the local economy. Watertown embarked on 
a program of industrial and economic diversification. What is today 
Lake Area Technical Institute began in the 1960s and has provided 
technical education to thousands of students since that time. Watertown 
became a regional medical center with the consolidation of hospital 
facilities into the Prairie Lakes Healthcare System in the 1980s.
  In the 1990s, nationally and internationally known artist Terry 
Redlin, a Watertown native, came back to his home town to establish the 
Redlin Art Center, a gallery of more than 140 of his original oil 
paintings. The Center opened in 1997 and, by 2004, over 1.5 million 
visitors had been through its doors. A tremendous asset for Watertown, 
it has attracted visitors from all 50 States and over 30 foreign 
countries.
  To celebrate the town's anniversary, Watertown hosted a Mayor's 
Breakfast, including recognition of the town's 125th anniversary in the 
4th of July parade and hosted a ``crazy days'' celebration. 
Celebrations will continue throughout the year and include a dinner and 
dance on New Year's Eve. It is with great honor that I advise my 
colleagues of the achievements made by this great community.

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