An exciting event for Pierre occurred on Thursday at 4pm September 1, 1927. That was when Charles Lindbergh landed his plane in a pasture (now the location of the Pierre Airport) as part of his tour promoting aviation. This was a huge deal as Lindbergh was a major celebrity with literally thousands of people greeting him at every stop of his tour. The landing field had been prepared by the American Legion under the direction of Godfrey Roberts. Walter Burke, commander of the American Legion had seen to it that cattle were moved from the field and was responsible for the security. Rocks were cleared and the grass cut. The crowd on hand was estimated at 3800. The Legionaries recorded (oddly) 700 cars from 39 SD counties and 18 from out of state.
Lindbergh stayed at the St. Charles Hotel. He gave a speech on the steps of the Capitol at 8pm. The Pierre Kilties played before a crowd of about 5000. After his speech Lindbergh had planned to retire. He was asked to attend a Legion dance at the City Auditorium. He said that because the American Legion had helped so much in getting his landing sight ready he would go to the dance.

View more history for Post 8 in Pierre, South Dakota