Pillars of the Nation

With World War II threatening the tranquility of the United States in 1940, Oscar Ellefson, caretaker and builder of many early McKennan Park attractions, proposed a new project. Ellefson envisioned designing and building two pillars made of stones native to each of then 48 states that would symbolize the unity and strength of the nation. With help from the Sioux Falls Chamber of Commerce, letters were sent to chamber offices in every state capital requesting specimens of local stone. 

Nationwide patriotic fervor fueled the project. All states readily responded with stones found in their locales. The pillars were completed in August 1941 and were named "The Pillars of the Nation."
Emil M. Christianson of Hills, Minnesota, earlier had donated native South Dakota stone fossils and Indian artifacts to build the two older pillars.
In 1999 the Sioux Falls Parks and Recreation Department refurbished all four pillars and installed lighting fixtures on the "South Dakota " pillars.