Newton Hills State Park in southeastern South Dakota covers 1,063 acres of heavily forested hills that stand apart from the surrounding prairie. Its history reaches far before European American settlement, with burial mounds and artifacts from Woodland Indian culture dating from about 300 BC to 900 AD. The park was later named for early settler William Newton, while his wife became known on the frontier as a midwife and caregiver through the 1870s. Local folklore has long added to the area's identity, with stories of buried gold, a lost cavalry party, and the James brothers hiding there. Today it is a year-round recreation area centered on Lake Lakota and its wooded landscape.