Perkins County, South Dakota

Perkins County Education, Geography, and History

Perkins County is a county located in the state of South Dakota. Based on the 2010 census, the population was 2,982. Its county seat is Bison. The county was established in 1908 and organized in 1909. It was named for Sturgis, South Dakota official Henry E. Perkins.

Etymology - Origin of Perkins County Name

Perkins is named for South Dakota state legislator Henry E. Perkins.

Demographics:

County QuickFacts: CensusBureau Quick Facts

Perkins County History

Perkins County, created in 1908 and organized in 1909, was named for Henry E. Perkins, a native of Vermont, who was a lawyer and State Senator from Sturgis from 1903-1911. Perkins was instrumental in securing the passage of the act that created the county. The first meeting of the county Commissioners was held at Lemmon in February 1909. Both Bison and Lemmon wanted to serve as county seat of Perkins County. Many hearings were held, and a legal battle ended in a vote of the people on January 9, 1909 that Bison won by 14 votes.

Geography: Land and Water

As reported by the Census Bureau, the county has a total area of 2,891 square miles (7,487 km²), of which, 2,872 square miles (7,437 km²) of it is land and 19 square miles (49 km²) of it (0.66%) is water.

Neighboring Counties

Bordering counties are as follows:

• Adams County, North Dakota - north
• Corson County, South Dakota - east
• Ziebach County, South Dakota - southeast
• Meade County, South Dakota - south
• Butte County, South Dakota - southwest
• Harding County, South Dakota - west

Education

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