BEADLE COUNTY, SOUTH DAKOTA

'Beadle County' is a county located in the U.S. state of South Dakota. As of 2000, the population is 17,023. Its county seat is Huron⁶.

Contents

History

Geography

Townships

Major Highways

Adjacent Counties

Demographics

Cities and towns

External links

History

'Beadle County', named in honor of Brigadier General William Henry Harrison Beadle, was created by the Dakota Territory Legislature in 1879 and formally organized in 1880 with the appointment of three county commissioners by Governor Nehemiah G. Ordway. The first town within Beadle County was Cavour, but Huron was named the county seat when the county commissioners first met there in July 1880.

Geography

According to the U.S. Census Bureau, the county has a total area of 3,276 km² (1,265 mi²). 3,260 km² (1,259 mi²) of it is land and 16 km² (6 mi²) of it (0.48%) is water.

Townships

The county is divided into thirty-five townships: Allen, Altoona, Banner, Barrett, Belle Prairie, Bonilla, Broadland, Burr Oak, Carlyle, Cavour, Clifton, Clyde, Custer, Dearborn, Fairfield, Foster, Grant, Hartland, Iowa, Kellogg, Lake Byron, Liberty, Logan, Milford, Nance, Pearl Creek, Pleasant View, Richland, Sand Creek, Theresa, Valley, Vernon, Wessington, Whiteside, Wolsey.

Major Highways

★ U.S. Highway 14

★ U.S. Highway 281

★ South Dakota Highway 28

★ South Dakota Highway 37

Adjacent Counties

★ Spink County, South Dakota - north

★ Clark County, South Dakota - northeast

★ Kingsbury County, South Dakota - east

★ Sanborn County, South Dakota - southeast

★ Jerauld County, South Dakota - southwest

★ Hand County, South Dakota - west

Demographics

As of the census² of 2000, there were 17,023 people, 7,210 households, and 4,535 families residing in the county. The population density was 5/km² (14/mi²). There were 8,206 housing units at an average density of 3/km² (6/mi²). The racial makeup of the county was 96.93% White, 0.69% Black or African American, 0.95% Native American, 0.31% Asian, 0.02% Pacific Islander, 0.26% from other races, and 0.85% from two or more races. 0.91% of the population were Hispanic or Latino of any race. 49.9% were of German, 11.7% Norwegian, 6.1% Irish, 5.8% English and 5.5% United States or American ancestry.
There were 7,210 households out of which 28.30% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 52.50% were married couples living together, 7.40% had a female householder with no husband present, and 37.10% were non-families. 33.10% of all households were made up of individuals and 15.00% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.30 and the average family size was 2.94.
In the county, the population was spread out with 24.70% under the age of 18, 8.30% from 18 to 24, 24.70% from 25 to 44, 23.00% from 45 to 64, and 19.40% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 40 years. For every 100 females there were 96.60 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 93.70 males.

Cities and towns

★ Broadland

★ Bonilla

★ Cavour

★ Hitchcock

★ Huron

★ Iroquois

★ Virgil

★ Wessington

★ Wolsey

★ Yale

External links

★ Beadle County, SD government website