W. H. Over Museum

W. H. Over Museum

Location	1110 University Street, Vermillion, South Dakota
Coordinates	42°47′30″N 96°55′30″W / 42.7918°N 96.9250°W / 42.7918; -96.9250

The W. H. Over Museum, in Vermillion, South Dakota is the oldest museum in the state of South Dakota.^[1] The museum is dedicated to preserving and displaying South Dakota cultural and historical objects.^[2] One of the objectives is to develop educational programs. Another objective is to maintain an inventory of research works and files.^[3]

The museum was founded in 1883, established by the University of South Dakota.^[1] It is named for W. H. Over, who is credited or blamed for excavating the Ludlow Cave, an archeological site of great importance, probably the most significant in the state, which had a wealth of projectile points and much more. It was excavated with poor methods, including possible accidental mixture of projectile points from other sites/cultures/eras into its collection. Between 1926 and 1948, the director of the museum was W. H. Over.^[1]

The museum contains exhibits of archaeological artifacts; exhibits of geological objects, such as minerals and rocks; and exhibits on the different ethnic groups that inhabit South Dakota.^[4] The museum contains artifacts from the Lakota people.^[5] The museum also contains photographs of the Dakota Territory.^[6]

• Paleontology in South Dakota

• W. H. Over Museum, official site