Prompted by Governor Mickelson, each community was asked to play an active role in the Centennial celebration; class reunions and commemorative mementos didn’t quite fit the bill. Through efforts by the Brookings Area Genealogical Society, the Centennial Log Cabin was dedicated on July 4, 1989. It sits as a lasting tribute to our city’s pioneer homesteaders. Each log was hand-selected from trees native to the area found alongside the Big Sioux River, for which landowners were more than happy to harvest. After more than 25 years, the cabin stands as an appreciation for the contributions set forth by the state’s first homesteaders.