In the Hunter’s Grove, generations of neighbors commit to preserving area’s identity

Sioux Falls residents who move into the Hunter’s Grove Neighborhood don’t want taupe-town sameness — they want something much more distinctive.

They want and value, said longtime resident Mark Thomas and relative newcomer Ali Lennon, houses that share the same trait in various styles: quaintness.

“One of the things drawing me to it was the uniqueness and quaintness,” said Lennon, who will mark her second anniversary in the neighborhood in May. “It has houses of all sizes, a good mix of all sizes.”

Thomas grew up in the Hilltop Heights area. Every year at Christmas, his family would drive down Pendar Lane to admire the lavish Christmas decorations. Now, Thomas has lived on Pendar Lane for the past 32 years.

“I was attracted to the beauty and the quaintness of the neighborhood,” Thomas said. “It’s comfortable, it’s a great size, it’s quiet. There’s a number of reasons.”

Thomas said he can count 20 families that have a member who grew up in the neighborhood and returned. When he moved there, for example, his wife’s mother lived a block away, and their daughter visited her grandmother every day after school. Ten sets of families live within three blocks of their parents, he said.

Lennon and Thomas are co-presidents of the recently formed Hunter’s Grove Neighborhood, one of the city associations that band together for community and improvements. Diane deKoeyer, city neighborhood and preservation planner, said there are 21 established neighborhoods.

The Hunter’s Grove Neighborhood runs from 28th to 33rd streets between Phillips and Fourth avenues. St. Mary Church and School are on its southern edge. Henry Hunter, one of the developers and the only one to live there, planted a grove of pine trees. Hunter and his wife, Mary, were the first residents of the neighborhood in 1889, with an address on Second Avenue listed in an 1889-90 Polk’s City Directory.

A 1931 article in the Argus Leader referred to the area as a former cow pasture and noted, “Many prominent citizens of today spent hours of their childhood playing cowboy and Indian, robber and other games through the wild area, much of which is now carefully kept home grounds, landscaped and artistically planted.”

Neighborhood lore says part of the area was used as a duck-hunting slough, and people would drive there from the center of town, Thomas said. A hunting lodge had knotty pine paneling and a balcony that overlooked the living room.

Some of those pine trees still exist, Thomas said. It’s fitting, then, that one of the first projects the neighborhood group will undertake is the planting of trees. The neighborhood lost more than 200 trees to the emerald ash borer, Lennon said. The group applied to replant 30 trees and was awarded funds for 20 in the latest round of neighborhood grants awarded through the city.

Organizers also received funding for the installation of neighborhood identification signs and will host one of this summer’s Neighborhood Watch gatherings. The signs should be up before mid-May, Lennon said. A fourth grant will pay for a mailer to be sent out to residents telling them about the association.

Knowing the area’s history is important to residents, although they turned down a chance to be nominated to the National Register of Historic Places in 2025.

“People wanted to have some confidence that the neighborhood would continue to be good, quaint and solid,” Thomas said. “They want to make sure the home they invest in does increase in value over time.”

“It’s cool to know what the history was like in the years before we were part of it,” Lennon said. “What a lot of us love about the neighborhood is knowing its history, the many people before us and the many who will come after us. We care about our neighborhood and want to continue that history on into the future.”

The Hunter’s Grove Neighborhood of about 360 houses has a diverse group of residents, from young couples to longtime occupants, Lennon said. It’s a popular walking neighborhood, with people guiding their dogs or being trailed by children. Lennon and her husband, Jamie, fall into that category. They have two children, Vianney, 9, and Anders, 6, and a dog, Bruce.

Nearby play areas include the St. Mary’s grounds and McKennan Park. The Lennon family walks to McKennan often in the warm months for band concerts and so the children can take part in summer theater.

“We’re looking forward to the splash park being done,” Lennon said. “I know we’ll make a lot of great memories there too.”

Most of the homes in the Hunter’s Grove Neighborhood were built between the early 1900s to about 40 years ago, Thomas said. Structures were placed from north to south, and the changes can be viewed while walking through the neighborhood, he said.

“It’s the kind of streetscape that feels human,” Thomas said. “There aren’t 15-foot cathedral ceilings; these are on a human scale. There are many small, small garages, small kitchens, small yards that allow folks to do their own yardwork. You get to know your neighbors, being outside. And you’ll see a lot of electric mowers.”

Owners of 85-year-old houses also know they will face maintenance issues — redoing landscapes, replacing windows and installing new kitchens, Thomas said.

“If you own a home in this neighborhood, it has to be a labor of love,” he said. “There’s touching up paint, repairs, maintenance — it takes some time.”

A goal for association meetings will be discussing how to preserve Hunter’s Grove’s identity as a quaint neighborhood, one with multitudes of trees, flowers and gardens and a sense of safety, Thomas said. A future neighborhood plan could include a garden tour to give residents a chance to socialize.

The Lennon family lived in several locations in central Sioux Falls before happily settling in at their current residence.

“To me, I think it’s the best little neighborhood in Sioux Falls,” Lennon said. “It’s quiet and a good place for your kids to grow up. I just love our neighborhood. We chose to live there for a reason.”