A Panama Canal
Connection
More
than 80 workers rode the train to their jobs from the foot of Walnut Street to the work site. A small British community developed
in Yankton because of the new industry, and cricket was even played on the local baseball field. The Western Portland Cement
Company established its main offices in the Wilcox Building on the northwest corner of Third and Walnut, and a bright future
was prophesied for both the firm and the town.
Imaginative businessmen developed a plan for a gigantic Cement Palace to be built in the new park south of
Third Street, between Cedar and Linn. It would be used for a ready Cement Festival, they boasted and provide the city with
a major tourist attraction.
There
was more excitement to come. After work began on the Panama Canal under the jurisdiction of the United States in 1904, trainloads
of cement left Yankton for the massive project. Many tons more went to build the Orman Dam at Belle Fourche.
Conditions were so promising that the plant was
remodeled and expensive new equipment was installed to increase capacity to 300,000 barrels annually. It seemed that long-time
prosperity was assured for the Cement City -- but then a series of unfortunate events began to erode the exuberant enthusiasm.
