South Dakota railroad historian Rick Mills dies

HILL CITY, S.D.— If you had a question, needed a photo, or just wanted to chat about railroading in South Dakota, there was only one person to go to: Rick W. Mills. Mills, who wrote several books on South Dakota railroading and served as the curator of the South Dakota Railroad Museum, died unexpected April 21. He was 60. Mills had suffered from cardiac issues and diabetes for several years.

Born in Hermosa, S.D., in 1964, Mills lived and breathed South Dakota railroading. His passion came through in the numerous books he wrote. Being from South Dakota, he was naturally a Chicago & North Western fan, but didn’t neglect the other big railroad in the state, the Milwaukee Road. The August 2023 issue of Trains Magazine, which featured South Dakota railroading, was primarily his, featuring three of his stories.

Another of Mills’ passions was the South Dakota Railroad Museum. In 2004, the museum was opened in a former Pullman sleeper on the property of the Black Hills Central Railroad in Hill City, with Mills serving as its curator. The museum’s small size limited displays, and the staff was all volunteer. Mills campaigned to increase the size and importance of the museum, and in May 2010, exhibits were moved to a custom-built facility, which resembles an engine house, on the same site. It was difficult to get full-size railroad cars and locomotives to the building since it is isolated from the US railroad network, but Mills succeeded in getting railroad equipment to the museum, notably a Minneapolis & St. Louis caboose. Many of the memorabilia exhibits came from his personal collection. Any day the museum was open, the affable Mills could usually be found on site chatting with visitors and railroad fans.

He enjoyed traveling the state to talk about railroads, visiting rotary clubs, libraries, and radio stations to discuss railroad history and the museum.

A lifelong resident of Hermosa, he was involved in the Hermosa Arts and History Association (HAHA). When the Hermosa Masonic Lodge began planning to demolish the historic school in order to build on the same location, HAHA, led by Mills and others, arranged acquisition of the old Masonic building as a memorial and museum.

Mills was a prolific author. His railroad works include “Making the Grade: A Century of Black Hills Railroading;” “The High, Dry, and Dusty: Memories of the Cowboy Line;” “Railroading in the Land of Infinite Variety: A History of South Dakota’s Railroads;” “North Western Rails: A Pictorial Essay of the C&NW’s Western Divisions from 1868 to 1988;” “Frames of Reference: A South Dakota Railroad Album;” “A High Line Scrapbook;” “125 Years of Black Hills Railroading;” and “Milwaukee Road in Dakota.”

Chris Laskowski, owner of railroad video production company C Vision Productions, counted Mills as his best friend. “He was an inspiration for my love of trains, Laskowski says. “He was just a great man in general.”