Was there a decorative swastika on the Mitchell Corn Palace in the early 1900s?

A swastika was prominently displayed on the front of Mitchell’s Corn Palace in 1907, more than a decade before Adolf Hitler and the Nazi party appropriated the symbol’s meaning.

The swastika is one of the oldest symbols to be found in early human cave and rock paintings, with an estimated origin of 6,000 years ago. The symbol is called the “Whirling Log” in Navajo culture and represents good luck, healing and balance. 

The Navajo, Papago, Apache and Hopi signed a proclamation and renounced its use on blankets, artwork and clothing in 1940 after it became ubiquitous with Nazis. In the early 1900s, the symbol was used regularly in world culture. 

The initial Corn Palace in Mitchell was built in 1892 and rebuilt in 1905. Interior and exterior corn murals depict agricultural scenes and other aspects of South Dakota life. The exterior murals are replaced or updated annually.