Wall Drugs Wall South Dakota

There are more stores across the street from Wall Drugs. They also have that same Old West feel.

So just how did Wall Drugs grow into one of the world’s most well known attractions? Believe it or not, Wall Drug Store got its start with the promise of free ice water. Yup. You read that correctly. The Husteads turned free ice water into a million dollar idea with great determination, quick thinking and lots and lots of signs.

Steve’s a naughty boy!

According to their website there were signs with catchy phrases such as: “Get a soda . . . Get a root beer . . . turn next corner . . . Just as near . . . To Highway 16 and 14. . . Free Ice Water. . . Wall Drug”. It worked so well that today, more than 2 million visitors a year stop at the popular roadside attraction for a meal or activity, 5 cent coffee, and ice water – which is still free. We passed many signs for Wall’s, still drawing people with the promise of free ice water.

The beginning 

Ted Hustead graduated from pharmacy school in 1929. And he and his wife Dorothy bought the only drugstore in a little town called Wall in December 1931. The tiny town had only 326 people living in the middle of Nowhere South Dakota on the edge of the Badlands.

There was so much fun stuff to look at while exploring Wall Drugs

After being open only a few days they realized that business had been bad because those 326 people living in Wall were poor. The majority of them were farmers who had been wiped out by either the Depression or drought.

There was so much fun stuff to look at while exploring Wall Drugs

Christmas was approaching. It was bitterly cold but there was no snow and no sparkling lights. According to Ted Hustead “Out on the prairie the cold wind whipped up dust devils. I could see a Tin Lizzie chugging along the two-laner. Suitcases were strapped to the running boards. Someone’s going home for the holidays, I thought to myself. I wished they would stop, just for a cup of coffee, but they didn’t. Here on Main Street, no one was out.”

He had been standing outside in the bone chilling cold air. When he went back inside, he turned off the light over the soda fountain and then went to be with his wife and their 4 year old son Billy. Their apartment was a room they had made by stretching a blanket across the back of the store. They discussed ideas as to how to make the business work and decided on a 5 year plan. If it didn’t work by then…

Dorothy, who had a teacher’s degree, had taught literature at Sioux Falls high school, was optimistic. Mount Rushmore was due to open soon and she believed there would be a steady stream of people going by on their way to see the new monument. She was sure they would stop on their way to visit Wall Drugs.

Though they weren’t starving, they weren’t setting the world on fire. They spent too many hours looking out the store window for customers who never came.

By the summer of 1936 they only had a few months left on their 5 year trial. And at this point their son was 9 and they also had a 1 month old daughter Mary Elizabeth. On an exceptionally hot summer day Dorothy had an epiphany while trying to take a nap. She came back to the store and here’s how the conversation went:

“Too hot to sleep?” Ted asked.

“No, it wasn’t the heat that kept me awake,” Dorothy said. “It was all the cars going by on Route 16A. The jalopies just about shook the house to pieces.”

“That’s too bad,” he said.

“No, because you know what, Ted? I think I finally saw how we can get all those travelers to come to our store.”

“And how’s that?” he asked.

“Well, now what is it that those travelers really want after driving across that hot prairie? They’re thirsty. They want water. Ice cold water! Now we’ve got plenty of ice and water. Why don’t we put up signs on the highway telling people to come here for free ice water? Listen, I even made up a few lines for the sign:

“Get a soda . . . Get a root beer . . . turn next corner . . . Just as near . . . To Highway 16 and 14. . . Free Ice Water. . . Wall Drug.”

They agreed to give it a try. After all, they were just about out of options and time. So the next weekend Ted and his son went out to the highway and put up 12-inch x 36-inch sign boards that were space far enough apart that people could read them as they drove. When they finished they returned to Wall Drugs. And by the time they got back people had already begun showing up for free ice water. A salesman passing through town even said, as he sidled up onto a stool: “Hey this free ice water is a great idea, how about selling me an ice cream cone?”

This totem was sooooo tall and very colorful.

For hours that day they poured gallons of ice water, made ice cream cones and gave highway directions. As the travelers left to continue their journey, they were refreshed, ready for new adventures, and very grateful!

Taxidermy at its finest at Wall Drugs

When the day was done Dorothy and Ted were exhausted. They sat outside the store watching the sun set and enjoying the cool breeze came in off the prairie. In the summer twilight, Wall looked like it was glowing. Suddenly Wall SD looked like a good place to call home.

Present day

So much to do in South Dakota!!!

Those signs worked wonders. The Husteads were never lonely for customers, ever again. In fact, by the next summer they had to hire eight girls to help them. Today the store is in the competent hands of Rick Hustead and draws as many as 20 thousand people on a summer day.

Do you dare ask Zoltar for your fortune?

They surely did work, and we’ve never really been lonely for customers since then. The next summer we had to hire eight girls to help us, and now that the store is in the good hands of Rick Hustead, Wall Drug draws up to twenty thousand people on a good summer day.

Beyond ice water and ice cream cones

Welcome to the Backyard at Wall Drugs!

At Wall Drug there’s quite literally something for everyone in the family. Wall Drug has a wide variety of souvenirs, art, clothing, and high-end, handcrafted regional specialty items, available in nearly 50,000 square feet of selling space. It is home to everything travelers need from over the counter drugs, batteries and phone chargers, to a traveler’s chapel, t-shirts, and a wide variety of souvenirs. The Mall at Wall Drug Frontier Town offers many handcrafted, regional items including Black Hills Gold jewelry, Western apparel and hats, leather boots and belts, and Native American jewelry.

Steve enjoyed petting this wooly bison!

At the Wall Drug Mall, you can browse the Hole in the Wall Bookstore, Calamity Jane’s Jewelry Emporium and Black Hills Gold, Buckboard western apparel and hats, Minnetonka Moccasins, kids’ Western apparel, camping and trail outfitters and so much more.

Another awesome totem on display in Wall Drugs Backyard

But wait, there’s more! The Wall Drug Backyard is where you’ll find the Mining Company rock shop, Shooting Gallery Arcade and Little Britches Toy Emporium, and Prairie Parlor, as well as the Mining Company rock shop, where a panning and mining experience is available for realistic hunting for gems and fossils in the sluice.

The restaurant at Wall Drugs is huge! This is only one of the many dining rooms!!!

More attractions that you shouldn’t miss are the Apothecary Shop and Pharmacy Museum, and kids can cool off at the Train Station Water Show, which features jumping jets perfect for splashing. Everyone can get a photo taken with a roaring T-Rex, or in front of a miniature Mount Rushmore, or take a ride on the giant Jackalope.

Steve’s ordering our Black and White milkshakes

At Wall Drugs the milkshakes are simple, bt so thick and creamy that the spoon stands up on its own.

As you can see, we had a blast exploring Wall Drugs Wall South Dakota, and learning its history! Now on to Badlands National Park!!!