Bushnell, SD

Bushnell grew with the railroad: Brookings County records its formation after the Burlington, Cedar Rapids and Northern line reached the area in 1884, while the town itself was laid out in 1904 and named for Frank Bushnell. It remains one of Brookings County’s small communities, surrounded by agricultural country and connected to the larger Brookings School District. That combination of rail-era origins, county services, and rural schooling gives Bushnell a clear place in eastern South Dakota’s settlement pattern.