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Cement
Bubble Bursts
William Plankinton,
the enterprising president of the company, suddenly became ill and died. While he did not live in Yankton, he wielded a strong
influence on the plant’s successful management. Sorry to say, his son who succeeded him was not his father’s equal
as a corporate executive.
The debt created by the expansion was a heavy burden, and the Panic of 1907 didn’t
help the situation. Moreover, something went wrong with quality control, and carloads of rejected cement were returned to
Yankton when inspectors found too much common earth in the product.
But even more damaging were the maneuverings
of the so-called international cement trust. To control prices, smaller plants like the one at Yankton were bought up and
closed. The remoteness of the Western Portland Cement Company from major markets, coupled with rising transportation costs
provided good excuses for the decision.
In 1910 the entire operation was closed down. There were optimistic hopes
of a revival on several occasions as the dismantling was delayed until 1917. By then the Cement City nickname had joined other
unfulfilled aspirations amid the cobwebs of history, and the abandoned limestone pit became mostly a hiking destination for
Yankton youngsters, whose imaginations conjured up visions of everything from prehistoric dinosaurs to impending Indian attacks
over the then virtually houseless bluffs. |
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