South Dakota Counties
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South Dakota Counties

There are sixty-six counties in the state of South Dakota. Todd County and Oglala Lakota County are the only counties in South Dakota which do not have their own county seats
 

South Dakota Counties: History and Information

Find a brief history of South Dakota CountiesBrief history of South Dakota Counties: Flags of Our Nation

South Dakota is a state located in the Midwestern region of the United States. It is named after the Lakota and Dakota (Sioux) American Indian tribes. South Dakota was admitted to the Union on November 2, 1889. (North Dakota was admitted simultaneously.) The centrally located city of Pierre serves as the state capital, and Sioux Falls, with 150,000 people, is the largest city in the state.

Located in the north-central United States, South Dakota is bisected by the Missouri River, dividing the state into two socially and economically distinct halves, known to residents as "West River" and "East River". Rich soil in the eastern part of the state is used to grow a variety of crops, while ranching is the predominant agricultural activity in the west. In the southwestern portion of the state rise the Black Hills, a group of low, pine-covered mountains. A region of great religious importance to local American Indians as well as a major draw for the state tourism industry, the Black Hills are also the location of Mt. Rushmore, probably the best-known location in the state and a widely used symbol of South Dakota.

Find a brief history of South Dakota Counties
County 2000
Population
Square
Miles
County Seat Created
Aurora County 3,058 708 Plankinton 1881
Beadle County 17,023 1,259 Huron 1879
Bennett County 3,574 1,185 Martin 1909
Bon Homme County 7,260 563 Tyndall 1862
Brookings County 28,220 794 Brookings 1892
Brown County 35,460 1,713 Aberdeen 1879
Brule County 5,364 819 Chamberlain 1875
Buffalo County 2,032 471 Gann Valley 1873
Butte County 9,094 2,249 Belle Fourche 1883
Campbell County 1,782 736 Mound City 1873
Charles Mix County 9,350 1,098 Lake Andes 1862
Clark County 4,143 958 Clark 1873
Clay County 13,537 412 Vermillion 1862
Codington County 25,897 688 Watertown 1877
Corson County 4,181 2,473 McIntosh 1909
Custer County 7,275 1,558 Custer 1875
Davison County 18,741 436 Mitchell 1873
Day County 6,267 1,029 Webster 1879
Deuel County 4,498 624 Clear Lake 1862
Dewey County 5,972 2,303 Timber Lake 1873
Douglas County 3,458 434 Armour 1873
Edmunds County 4,367 1,146 Ipswich 1873
Fall River County 7,453 1,740 Hot Springs 1883
Faulk County 2,640 1,000 Faulkton 1873
Grant County 7,847 682 Milbank 1873
Gregory County 4,792 1,016 Burke 1862
Haakon County 2,196 1,813 Philip 1914
Hamlin County 5,540 511 Hayti 1873
Hand County 3,741 1,437 Miller 1873
Hanson County 3,139 435 Alexandria 1873
Harding County 1,353 2,671 Buffalo 1909
Hughes County 16,481 741 Pierre 1880
Hutchinson County 8,075 813 Olivet 1862
Hyde County 1,671 861 Highmore 1873
Jackson County 2,930 1,869 Kadoka 1914
Jerauld County 2,295 530 Wessington Springs 1883
Jones County 1,193 971 Murdo 1916
Kingsbury County 5,815 838 De Smet 1873
Lake County 11,276 563 Madison 1873
Lawrence County 21,802 800 Deadwood 1875
Lincoln County 24,131 578 Canton 1867
Lyman County 3,895 1,640 Kennebec 1873
Marshall County 4,576 839 Britton 1885
McCook County 5,832 575 Salem 1873
McPherson County 2,904 1,137 Leola 1873
Meade County 24,253 3,471 Sturgis 1889
Mellette County 2,083 1,307 White River 1909
Miner County 2,884 570 Howard 1873
Minnehaha County 148,281 809 Sioux Falls 1862
Moody County 6,595 520 Flandreau 1873
Oglala Lakota County formerly Shannon County 12,466 2,094 Hot Springs 1875
Pennington County 88,565 2,776 Rapid City 1875
Perkins County 3,363 2,872 Bison 1909
Potter County 2,693 866 Gettysburg 1875
Roberts County 10,016 1,101 Sisseton 1883
Sanborn County 2,675 569 Woonsocket 1883
Shannon County Renamed May 2015, Oglala Lakota County
Spink County 7,454 1,504 Redfield 1873
Stanley County 2,772 1,443 Fort Pierre 1873
Sully County 1,556 1,007 Onida 1873
Todd County 9,050 1,388 Winner 1909
Tripp County 6,430 1,614 Winner 1873
Turner County 8,849 617 Parker 1871
Union County 12,584 460 Elk Point 1862
Walworth County 5,974 708 Selby 1873
Yankton County 21,652 522 Yankton 1862
Ziebach County 2,519 1,962 Dupree 1911


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