Eminent Farmer
County: Hamlin
Dave Sour of Hayti was a pioneer in developing the certified seed potato business in South Dakota. His work in this field gained for him the title “Potato King of South Dakota.”
Sour was one of the first farmers in South Dakota to become interested in growing certified seed potatoes and was a charter member of both the Hamlin County Potato Growers’ Association and the South Dakota Potato Growers’ Association. He was also a leader in organizing the Hayti Marketing Association, the Hayti Livestock Shipping Association and the Farmers’ Elevators.
The public service of Sour included membership in the South Dakota legislature for two terms as representative of Hamlin and Deuel counties. For 12 years, 1907 to 1919, he was county commissioner of Hamlin County. He was a member of the local school board and a charter member of the Hamlin County Farm Bureau.
Sour was born on a farm near Sparta, Wisconsin, Feb. 10, 1860. When Dave was 19 years old, he and his brother came through Minnesota to settle in South Dakota and work with a construction company in Watertown. When he was 21, Sour filed a claim on one quarter section of the land which became the Sour home near Hayti.
Sour was married to Julia Perkins of Clark County in 1889, and to them were born four children.
The spirit of a pioneer enabled Sour to do the things which gained for him the reputation for being a state leader; and in his home community his willingness to help others gained for him the reputation for being a good neighbor.