SCOUTING YESTERDAY | Black Hills spruce help White House, South Dakotans celebrate Christmas

This week in South Dakota history: Nov. 29 - Dec. 5

1955 National Christmas Tree display featuring a 67-foot Black Hills spruce from the Black Hills National Forest. Photo: Black Hills National Forest Historical Collection.

Two Christmas tree harvesting sites in the Black Hills National Forest were opened for those looking to cut down their own tree, according to the Nov. 30, 1974, edition of the Lead Daily Call. Spruce trees were available at one of the locations and pine trees at the other. The cost was a $1.50 permit. Anyone venturing into the forest was advised to dress warmly and have snow tires or chains for their trip.

Consisting primarily of ponderosa pines, the forest is also home to South Dakota’s state tree, the Black Hills spruce — a subspecies of white spruce. The Black Hills spruce’s shape and color make for an ideal Christmas tree, but with a natural range limited to southwest South Dakota and northeast Wyoming, the species’ commercial availability is typically limited to the Black Hills region, according to the South Dakota State University Extension.

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