Quiet Towns on Labor Day: Ellendale and Redfield, SD

Before I left North Dakota, I sat down with my itinerary and mapped out all the locations I had marked. I ordered the stops and updated the list of things to see, only to realize that over 80% of them were clustered in the southwestern part of the state. That little planning session took three hours, but it set me up for the next leg of my journey—crossing into South Dakota, state number 28.

I left the Jamestown Walmart and pointed the van south toward De Smet. It was Labor Day, so I expected things would be quiet. With six hours of driving ahead of me, I figured I’d break it up by stopping in a few small towns along the way.

Ellendale

My first stop was Ellendale, and as I approached I noticed signs pointing the way to the opera building. For a town its size, the fact that it once had an opera house says something about the ambition of its early settlers. Built in the early 1900s, the Ellendale Opera House was once the pride of the community—hosting stage plays, musical performances, and later even films. The building is still standing, though time has taken its toll. The brickwork and bones remain, but the faded exterior and boarded windows speak to decades of decline. Even in its worn state, you can still imagine the excitement it brought to the town back in its heyday.

Across the street stood the Coleman Memorial Museum, which highlights local history, though it was closed for the holiday. Downtown itself felt subdued—many storefronts were shuttered or long past their prime. One building, though, stood out: the old bank, with its 1930s-era architecture, looking like something lifted straight from a Depression-era photograph. And down the street was the courhouse building. Driving a few of the side streets brought me to a corner house with a porch stacked so high with boxes that I had to wonder whether it belonged to an overzealous Amazon shopper or a hoarder in overdrive. I’m leaning toward the latter.

Before leaving, I stopped at the Trinity Bible College and Graduate School. Founded in 1948, the school began as a small Bible institute and has since grown into a modest but active campus serving students from around the region. Walking around the grounds, the atmosphere was calm—students were clearly off for the holiday—but the neat lawns, tidy dorms, and chapel gave the impression of a place that remains a vital anchor for the community. For a small town, having a college campus gives Ellendale an energy you don’t often find in places this quiet.

Redfield

From Ellendale, I continued south and rolled into Redfield. Like Ellendale, the town was silent—Labor Day had shut down just about everything. Main Street stretched out toward a backdrop of towering grain silos, a clear reminder of the town’s agricultural backbone. With little open, I made my own tour. My first stop was a Catholic church, where the manicured lawn framed the brick walls and golden domes perfectly against the bright blue sky. It was one of those spots where the composition practically begged for photos.

From there, I wandered over to the train station. Redfield grew up as a railroad hub, and the station, though no longer bustling with travelers, still hints at that history. Old rail cars sat on the tracks, their weathered metal sides catching the light. Behind them, the grain silos rose like guardians of the town, tying together its past and present—railroads once brought prosperity, and grain still fuels the economy today. Standing there, I could almost imagine the sound of a steam engine rolling in, whistle echoing down Main Street.

I circled through town for shots of the Carnegie library, the courthouse, and the public school—solid brick buildings that stand as civic anchors. Eventually, I pulled up in front of the U.S. Post Office, where I took advantage of the quiet to rest for a while. There was plenty of parking, and the stillness of the town was almost uncanny—just a handful of cars moving through, no one on the sidewalks, the kind of silence that only happens on a holiday in small-town America.

As I headed out of Redfield, the sun began to sink low, and the fields, grass, and trees lit up in that soft, golden light that comes just before sunset. The scene was simple but beautiful, adding a quiet warmth to an area that had felt frozen in time all afternoon.

Huron

I know very little about Huron, SD other than there are a lot of large box stores here and it had a Walmart. Again, there were “No Overnight Parking” signs, but there were already at least 10 other RVs that had stakedout their spot for the night. I was exhausted from a lot of driving and quickly settled in.