SCOUTING YESTERDAY | South Dakota snake wrangler builds world's largest reptile collection
This week in South Dakota history: July 17–23
An entrepreneuring young man had an idea, opened a small stand and in his first year drew in 4,000 curious tourists.
Fifteen years later, that roadside attraction had grown into an 11-acre site, and the Black Hills Reptile Gardens was bringing in more than 200,000 visitors annually, according to the July 23, 1951, edition of the Rapid City Journal.
Earl Brockelsby was working as a tour guide at “Hidden City” in 1935. When the tours were finished, he removed his hat and, to everyone’s surprise, revealed a live rattlesnake coiled on top of his head. That’s when he realized just how captivated people were with snakes.
