Why Wall Drug water? Why this special water became a South Dakota food favorite

Makenzie Huber
Argus Leader

This article is about one of 18 South Dakota food favorites. For the complete list, go here.

Wall Drug Water: Water, but with a big West River South Dakota legacy. In this case, drink it freely from the specially marked plastic cups.

Yes, I know what you're thinking. No, this is not a typo. 

Water makes the list of top South Dakota foods ... because it's water from Wall Drug. 

In fact, free water is what started the Wall Drugstore empire. 

Wall Drug is a shopping mall consisting of a drug store, gift shop and restaurants in Wall. The tourist attraction is famous across the state and nation for its ubiquitous advertisements. 

Wall Drug Water: Water, but with a big West River South Dakota legacy. In this case, drink it freely from the specially marked plastic cups.

According to Rick Hustead, owner of Wall Drug, his grandparents moved to Wall in 1931 and started the Hustead's Drug Store. It was the middle of the Great Depression with 25% unemployment at the time, which meant little to no customers each day. 

By 1936, Hustead's grandparents, Ted and Dorothy, were about ready to give up on the store. But Dorothy decided to take the day off one hot summer Sunday afternoon so that Hustead's father, then 8 years old, could take a nap. 

She couldn't sleep because of the drone of cars traveling from the Badlands, Hustead said. Dorothy started to think about how hot and thirsty the travelers were, since there weren't coolers or resealable water bottles in the '30s. 

MORE:Why Wall Drug frosted cake doughnuts became a South Dakota food favorite

"They had all the ice in the world and no customers," Hustead said. Dorothy decided the best way to attract customers was to advertise free ice water, even though drug stores commonly gave away free ice water across the nation anyway. 

Hustead said Dorothy had a woman watch her son and shared the idea with Ted, who went to the highway with a teenage boy to put up the first sign: "Get a soda. Get a root beer. Turn next corner, just as near to Highway 16 and 14. Free Ice Water. Wall Drug." 

The name of the drugstore was instantly changed to Wall Drug that day, since "it was catchier" and helped identify where the store was, Hustead said. 

"Before he got back to the store, the first customers already stopped in," Hustead said. "If one sign had that much impact, what would 20 to 30 Wall Drug signs do?" 

Now, there are more than 90 signs placed across South Dakota and the Midwest. The sign farthest from Wall Drug is placed in Minnesota, but Hustead said they hand out signs at the drugstore so people take them all over the world. 

And so, water — yes, just water — was instrumental in creating one of South Dakota's most iconic establishments. 

The top 18 South Dakota foods