Mitchell Corn Palace

The world's only Corn Palace is located in Mitchell, South Dakota.  First built in 1892 when the town was only twelve years old, the Palace has been a tourist attraction ever since. 

Originally it was constructed in an attempt to attract enough attention to the city to make Mitchell the state capital.  To their disappointment, Pierre was chosen by the powers that be.  However, their Corn Palace was such a huge success it has survived every year since then as an attraction.

The town also was attempting to attract new settlers to the area by demonstrating their agricultural bounty achieved in the fertile soil found here.   Each year for 122 years they have attached fresh corn cobs in twelve different colors and grains grown in the local area to the exterior of the building.  A new theme for the exterior pictures was created each year.  A drawing was done on roofing paper and then the corn cobs were cut in half, trimmed even and then nailed to the roofing paper according to the color pattern desired.  To maintain the purity of each cob's color, the corn is raised in separate fields by color so they do not intermingle.  Each fall the unveiling of the upcoming year's theme is unveiled during a fall festival after harvest.  

Over 3,000 bushels of rye, oat heads and sour dock are tied in bundles and attached to the walls surrounding the corn cob pictures.  Then 275,000 ears of corn are sawed in half lengthwise and nailed to the building.  Local artists create each year's designs known as a folk art wonder on the prairie of South Dakota.  Inside, the town hosts stage shows, basketball games, trade shows and thousands of visitors per year.  This is indeed an amazing sight to see!