This region was part of the Louisiana Purchase of 1803, when the United States acquired the 827,000 square miles of land from France for $15 million. Yankton is named after the Sioux Indian origins, as the expression E-hank-ton-wan means "people of the end village."

Known as "the village at the end of the line," Yankton was originally the winter camping ground for a band of Sioux Indians. During these early years, before white settlers arrived, the native people lived off the land. Explorers Lewis and Clark, in their famous expedition, passed through Yankton in 1804 and again in 1806.

In 1859 the land was opened for settlement. Two years later, Yankton was named the Dakota Territorial Capital; President Abraham Lincoln assigned his personal physician, William Jayne, as the first governor. (The legislature decided to move the capitol to Bismarck, ND in 1883.)

During the next decade, steamboats began navigating the Missouri River, often docking at the foot of what is now named Walnut Street. These steamboats were workhorses, carrying huge tonnage and hundreds of passengers making their way to the famed Gold Rush. Because of its location, Yankton was often a stopping point for settlers headed north and west into the Dakota Territory and points beyond. Riverboat trading boomed during this time.

In1873, the Dakota Southern Railroad arrived, marking the fate of the riverboat era.
That same year, Lt. Col. George Custer brought his Seventh Calvary to Yankton on its way west to the Black Hills and its lure of gold. Custer, his wife, and his soldiers were in Yankton for three weeks in the spring, enjoying the booming city's hospitality and surviving a ferocious April blizzard and Custer’s bout with pneumonia.

When gold was discovered in the Black Hills in 1874, Yankton saw the arrival of thousands of prospectors and dreamers. The town's weekly newspaper, the Press and Dakotoian, began publishing daily editions of a section called the Yankton Black Hiller to meet the hungry information needs of the gold-miners. The Press & Dakotan (the P&D) is still in existence today, as the oldest daily newspaper of the Dakotas.

Many characters of the Old West had something to do with Yankton. The most notable being Jack McCall, the man who killed Wild Bill Hickock while he was playing cards in the number 10 Saloon in Deadwood.  McCall’s trial was held in the territorial capital of Yankton. McCall was convicted and hung on March 1, 1877.

The state psychiatric hospital, now known at the Human Services Center, was established in Yankton in 1879.

Yankton College was founded in 1881, making it the oldest private college in the Dakotas. Due to financial struggles, it closed its doors in 1984 after 103 years. It was a sad end to the old college, but it also offered a new beginning for Yankton.

The federal government purchased the property and opened the Yankton Federal Prison Camp in 1988. In the process, the campus was renovated and the facility has become an important employer in the local economy.

Yankton was a leader in the electronic communication age. In 1922, a small radio station went on the air with sporadic programming -- a small start for what would become one of the most powerful radio voices in the Midwest. WNAX grew into a broadcasting giant. Lawrence Welk launched his career at WNAX in 1927 and continued with the radio station until 1937.

In 1924, the Meridian Bridge was built, becoming the first permanent bridge crossing the Missouri River. This double-deck deck draw bridge was funded locally; thus, the bridge was a toll bridge for 29 years.

Mount Marty College was founded in 1936 in Yankton by the Benedictine Sisters of Sacred Heart Monastery, who continue to sponsor the institution. The College was named after Bishop Martin Marty, a Benedictine missionary who came to Dakota Territory in 1876 to minister to Native Americans. Bishop Marty valued education and invited the Benedictine Sisters to join him in providing educational opportunities for the Native Americans. Today there are over 1100 students enrolled in this liberal arts institution.

Through many destructive floods, this river town survived. However, the completion of the Gavins Point Dam in 1957 tamed the river and produced affordable and bountiful hydroelectric power for the region.

The dam is part of a chain of six man-made dams constructed on the upper Missouri River through the Pick-Sloan Act. It also created Lewis and Clark Lake, which has become one of the area's main tourist attractions. It draws more than a million visitors a year for boating, camping, swimming, fishing and other outdoor activities.

Yankton boasts many other “firsts”. It was home to the first drive-in theatre in South Dakota, and was where the State Fair was held until 1905.