Editing Redfield, South Dakota (section)

==History==
The first settlers arrived in the Redfield area in 1878, and a post office was established two years later under the name "Stennett Junction." The "Redfield" name was adopted in 1881. The town became the seat of [[Spink County, South Dakota|Spink County]] in 1886, following a six-year legal and political battle among several Spink County towns. Redfield rapidly became a major town in the region, due in part to its status as a railroad center—the town was a crossroads of two lines of the [[Chicago and North Western Railway]], and was also served by the [[Chicago, Milwaukee, St. Paul and Pacific Railroad|Milwaukee Road]] Railroad. Railroads brought supplies, people, and animals, and also provided for transportation of crops back East.

[[Redfield College (South Dakota)|Redfield College]] was established in the town in 1887, and operated until 1932. In 1902 the "Northern Hospital for the Insane," a state institution, opened on a campus just north of town. That facility remains in operation today as the [[South Dakota Developmental Center]].

Redfield has been visited by three sitting [[President of the United States|Presidents of the United States]]: [[William McKinley]] in 1899, [[William Howard Taft]] in 1911, and [[Franklin D. Roosevelt]] in 1936.<ref>{{Cite web |last=sodakgovs |date=2021-07-06 |title=Presidential visits to South Dakota (updated) |url=https://sodakgovs.com/2021/07/06/presidential-visits-to-south-dakota-updated/ |access-date=2025-01-31 |website=SoDak Governors |language=en}}</ref>