 He later moved to the Sioux Valley arriving on April 23, 1868 in Canton, South Dakota.He filed for a homestead on the very piece of property on which the county courthouse stands today.Among many contributions to the community, Wahl assisted with the organization of Bethlehem Lutheran church (now Canton Lutheran Church), organized bringing the Augustana College from Beloit, Iowa to Sioux Falls, South Dakota and wrote a 277-page record of local settlement.