Charles B. Huntimer and his wife Ellen Sweeney, born to German and Irish immigrants, settled near this site with their infant daughter in 1878 after traveling from Wisconsin to Dakota Territory in an oxen-drawn covered wagon. In later years, relatives, friends, and former neighbors joined them and also settled here, and a majority of these pioneers were Roman Catholics. Church services were first held in family homes, but in 1886 a priest was requested to conduct Mass, and two years later St. Joseph's Parish was organized and the first of three Catholic churches was built. In 1907 Charles Huntimer founded Charles City and became the first person to build an elevator next to the tracks of the new South Dakota Central Railroad. Other enterprises included a general store, a second elevator, stockyards, and the Milwaukee Railroad. Two years later the hamlet's name was changed to Huntimer. For many years nearby rural schools served the educational needs of children from the village. Today, St. Joseph the Workman Catholic Church and its cemetery are all that remain of the long-vanished tiny village of Huntimer.