Charles H. Bennett

Sandy Beckering wrote of him in the Coteau Heritage magazine in 1989:

"Charles Bennett, well known pioneer entrepreneur, often referred to as the "Father of Pipestone City", had an early history similar to many settlers of the mid-west during the post-civil war era: they kept moving westward. Credited with establishing the town of Pipestone, Charles Bennett was regarded as one of Pipestone's most prominent citizens. An energetic man, he was looked up to in all matters of community affairs and was considered one of the mainstays of the business community. Bennett took a leading role in the material advancement of Pipestone City and County, and also in the preservation of the historical records of it's early days."

This desire to preserve and protect the Indian heritage of Pipestone led to the removal of the majority of the quartzite slabs containing the petroglyphs in 1884. Unconscionable today, this behavior was encouraged in the 19th century and, fortunately, it probably preserved them, as vandalism or theft and resale of antiquities was not illegal then.

I've spent a lot of time converting Bennet's old B&W photos into color images that hopefully resemble what they may have looked like a century ago. Normally I don't like to alter photos of rock art images, as it is too easy to distort some often times delicate details. But Bennett had already managed to degrade the Pipestone glyphs by quarrying and chalking the glyphs, so I felt that any enhancement would only serve to improve things. Please click on a thumbnail to view a larger image. - Charles Bailey