WATERTOWN, SOUTH DAKOTA

'Watertown' is a city in Codington County, South Dakota, USA. The population was 20,237 at the 2000 census. It is the county seat of Codington County. Paul S. Fox is the current Mayor. Watertown has one public high school, Watertown Sr. High School, and one private boarding school, Great Plains Lutheran High School.
Watertown is home to the Redlin Art Center which houses many of the original art works produced by Terry Redlin, one of America's most popular wildlife artists. Watertown also is home to the Bramble Park Zoo. The ''Watertown Public Opinion'' is a six-day daily newspaper published in Watertown.

Contents

Geography

Demographics

Education

Points of interest

Transportation

Notable Residents

Footnotes

References

External links

Geography

Watertown is located at (44.903433, -97.120437), along the Big Sioux River.^[1]
According to the United States Census Bureau, the city has a total area of 59.8 km² (23.1 mi²). 39.4 km² (15.2 mi²) of it is land and 20.4 km² (7.9 mi²) of it (34.04%) is water. Watertown sits on the Big Sioux River and two major lakes, Lake Pelican and Lake Kampeska. Most of Watertown also sits upon a short plateau. Elevation at Watertown Regional Airport is 1,745 feet.
Watertown has been assigned the ZIP code 57201 and the FIPS place code 69300.

Demographics

As of the census of 2000, there were 20,237 people, 8,385 households, and 5,290 families residing in the city. The population density was 513.0/km² (1,328.9/mi²). There were 9,193 housing units at an average density of 233.1/km² (603.7/mi²). The racial makeup of the city was 96.25% White, 0.14% African American, 1.65% Native American, 0.33% Asian, 0.02% Pacific Islander, 0.71% from other races, and 0.90% from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino of any race were 1.28% of the population.
There were 8,385 households out of which 31.9% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 50.6% were married couples living together, 8.8% had a female householder with no husband present, and 36.9% were non-families. 30.5% of all households were made up of individuals and 11.8% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.37 and the average family size was 2.98.
In the city the population was spread out with 25.9% under the age of 18, 11.3% from 18 to 24, 27.9% from 25 to 44, 19.9% from 45 to 64, and 15.0% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 35 years. For every 100 females there were 96.6 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 93.9 males.
The median income for a household in the city was $34,348, and the median income for a family was $44,944. Males had a median income of $30,436 versus $19,712 for females. The per capita income for the city was $18,994. About 5.7% of families and 9.3% of the population were below the poverty line, including 8.5% of those under age 18 and 11.0% of those age 65 or over.^[2]

Education

★ Watertown Public Schools

★ Great Plains Lutheran High School

★ Lake Area Technical Institute

Points of interest

★ Bramble Park Zoo

★ Codington County Heritage Museum

★ Mellette House

★ Watertown Family Aquatic Center

★ Watertown Stadium

Transportation

The City of Watertown is connected to three major thoroughfares: Highway 81, running north and south; Highway 212, running west and east; and Interstate 29, running north and south.
Watertown also has one airport, Watertown Regional Airport, served by Mesaba Airlines, and local bus service provided by the Watertown Area Transit Corporation.

Notable Residents

★ Arthur C. Mellette, first governor of the state of South Dakota

★ Terry Redlin, one of America's most popular wildlife artists

Footnotes

1. DeLorme (2001). ''South Dakota Atlas & Gazetteer''. Yarmouth, Maine: DeLorme. ISBN 0-89933-330-3
2. ''Watertown, South Dakota: Now.'' Watertown Area Chamber of Commerce and Convention and Visitors Bureau, 2006

References

#Codington County Heritage Museum and Historical Society. Brochure. Watertown, SD. n.d.
#Mellette House. Brochure. Watertown, SD. n.d.
#Redlin Art Center: Terry Redlin. Brochure. Watertown, SD. n.d.
#South Dakota Glacial Lakes & Prairies Region: Rediscover. Brochure. Watertown, SD. n.d.
#''The Official Website of Terry Redlin & the Redlin Art Center.'' 2006. 10 November 2006. www.redlinart.com.
#The Zoo at Bramble Park Zoo. Brochure. Watertown, SD. n.d.
#Watertown, SD: Historic Uptown. Brochure. Watertown, SD. n.d.

External links

★ Watertown Government Website

★ Watertown Area Chamber of Commerce

★ Watertown Public Opinion - local newspaper

★ Watertown Regional Library Website

★ School Distric Website