Minnesela

Minnesela holds the distinction of being both the earliest settlement in Butte County, South Dakota, and the county's original seat of government. Founded in 1882, it sat roughly three miles southeast of what is now Belle Fourche and served as the county's civic center during its early years.

The town's decline came swiftly after the railroad pushed through the region in 1890 and bypassed Minnesela in favor of Belle Fourche. With rail access going elsewhere, residents and businesses followed, and by 1901 the town had been effectively abandoned. Today Minnesela is a ghost town, a quiet rural site where the surrounding landscape has largely reclaimed what was once Butte County's governmental hub.