Annie D. Fraser Tallent

Annie Donna Tallent (; April 14, 1827 – February 13, 1901) was an American pioneer, author, and educator in the Midwest in the late 19th century. She is considered to have been the first white woman in the Black Hills, arriving in 1874 during the Black Hills gold rush. She was posthumously inducted into the South Dakota Hall of Fame in 1978.

Early life Annie Donna Fraser was born on April 14, 1827, in York, New York, to Donald G. and Margaret Ferguson Fraser and was educated at the Genesee Wesleyan Seminary in Lima, New York. She married lawyer David G. Tallent of Corning on July 4, 1854,

South Dakota pioneer When gold was discovered in the Black Hills in 1874, Annie, David, and Robert Tallent left New York State for the frontier. Annie was the only woman in the Gordon Party, a gold-prospecting journey that covered over from Sioux City, Iowa, to near present-day Custer, South Dakota. She was the first white woman to enter the sacred grounds of the Lakota people on this expedition, In 1887, Tallent and her son moved to Rapid City.

Tallent died on February 13, 1901. She was buried in Elgin, Illinois.

Legacy In 1924, a granite monument to Tallent commemorating her arrival was erected at the site of the Gordon Stockade.

Tallent was inducted into the South Dakota Hall of Fame in 1978.