Divorce Capital

Between 1877 and 1909, Sioux Falls was known as the “Divorce Capital of the Nation.” Lenient residency laws and multiple grounds for divorce in Dakota Territory and South Dakota drew wealthy men and women from the East seeking speedy divorces under short residency requirements of three months and later six months. A paid receipt from a hotel or boarding house, even for hanging garments in a closet or leaving luggage behind, was accepted as evidence of residency. Notice to an unsuspecting spouse was given by publication in a local newspaper, and hearings were held in closed courtrooms. Troubled by the notoriety brought upon Sioux Falls, Bishop William Hobart Hare of the Episcopal Diocese of South Dakota called the situation a “scandalous divorce mill” and urged the state legislature to raise the residency requirement to one year. A divorce reform law doing so was upheld by a 1908 referendum. About 6000 divorces were granted in South Dakota between statehood in 1889 and the effective date of the reform law, and two-thirds of those obtaining decrees promptly left the state.

Sioux Falls, South Dakota · United States