Watertown, South Dakota

==History==
[[File:Watertown, SD 1883.jpg|thumb|left|An 1883 bird's eye illustration of Watertown]]
Watertown was founded in 1879 as a rail terminus when the [[Chicago & Northwestern Railroad]] reactivated part of a line it had constructed to [[Lake Kampeska]].<ref name=Hasselstrom29/><ref>Thompson (ed.), p. 173.</ref> Despite the prominence of rivers and lakes in the area, the city was named after [[Watertown, New York|Watertown]], New York, the hometown of brothers John E. Kemp and Oscar P. Kemp, two of the city's founders. The town's name was originally planned to be named Kampeska.<ref name=Hasselstrom29/>

During the 1880s, Watertown prospered as a transportation hub after the railroads had been extended farther west. Along with several other cities, Watertown had been a candidate as capital of the new state of South Dakota,<ref name=Hasselstrom29/> although it lost out to the more centrally located [[Pierre, South Dakota|Pierre]]. The city's current newspaper, the ''[[Watertown Public Opinion]]'', began publishing in 1887.<ref name=Hasselstrom29/>

In the mid-20th century, [[Interstate 29 in South Dakota|Interstate 29]] was constructed through eastern South Dakota.<ref name=Schell333>Schell, p. 333.</ref> The route included a slight bend to bring the interstate closer to Watertown.<ref name=Schell333/> The interstate's construction has been a major economic benefit to Watertown and the large communities next to it.<ref name=Schell333/>