Beadle County, South Dakota

Beadle County is a county in the U.S. state of South Dakota. As of the 2020 census, the population was 19,149, making it the 11th most populous county in South Dakota.^[1] Its county seat is Huron.^[2] The county was created in 1879 and organized in 1880.^[3] Beadle County comprises the Huron, SD Micropolitan Statistical Area.

Beadle County
County
Chicago and Northwestern roundhouse in Huron, South Dakota.
Location within the U.S. state of South Dakota
South Dakota's location within the U.S.
Coordinates: 44°25′N 98°17′W
Country	United States
State	South Dakota
Founded	1879 (created) 1880 (organized)
Named after	William Henry Harrison Beadle
Seat	Huron
Largest city	Huron
Area
• Total	1,265 sq mi (3,280 km2)
• Land	1,259 sq mi (3,260 km2)
• Water	6.1 sq mi (16 km2)  0.5%
Population  (2020)
• Total	19,149
• Estimate  (2024)	19,459
• Density	15/sq mi (5.8/km2)
Time zone	UTC−6 (Central)
• Summer (DST)	UTC−5 (CDT)
Congressional district	At-large
Website	beadle.sdcounties.org

History

Beadle County, named for Brigadier General William Henry Harrison Beadle,^[4] was created by the Dakota Territory Legislature in 1879, and was 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

The James River flows south-southeastward through the eastern central part of Beadle County.^[5] The terrain of Beadle County consists of low rolling hills, sloping toward the river valley. The county's highest point is its SW corner, at 1,841 ft (561 m) ASL. Its lowest point is on the south boundary line, where James River flows into adjacent Sanborn County, at 1,230 ft (370 m) ASL.^[6]

The county has a total area of 1,265 square miles (3,280 km²), of which 1,259 square miles (3,260 km²) is land and 6.1 square miles (16 km²) (0.5%) is water.^[7]

Major highways

• U.S. Highway 14
• U.S. Highway 281
• South Dakota Highway 28
• South Dakota Highway 37

Adjacent counties

• Spink County - north
• Clark County - northeast
• Kingsbury County - east
• Sanborn County - southeast
• Jerauld County - southwest
• Hand County - west

Protected areas

• Bob Roe Memorial State Game Production Area
• Brecken Slough State Game Production Area
• Cavour Lake State Game Production Area
• James River School State game Production Area
• Lake Byron Hogsback State Game Production Area
• Mallard Slough State Game Production Area
• Mud Lake State Game Production Area
• North Byron State Game Production Area
• Norwegian/Borden State Game Production Area
• Pheasant Country State Game Production Area
• Sand Creek State Game Production Area
• South Byron State Game Production Area
• South James River State Game Production Area
• Staum Dam State Game Production Area
• Third Street Dam State Game Production Area
• Upper Cain Creek State Game Production Area

Demographics

Historical population

Census	Pop.	Note	%±
1880	1,290		—
1890	9,586		643.1%
1900	8,081		−15.7%
1910	15,776		95.2%
1920	19,273		22.2%
1930	22,917		18.9%
1940	19,648		−14.3%
1950	21,082		7.3%
1960	21,682		2.8%
1970	20,877		−3.7%
1980	19,195		−8.1%
1990	18,253		−4.9%
2000	17,023		−6.7%
2010	17,398		2.2%
2020	19,149		10.1%
2024 (est.)	19,459	[8]	1.6%
U.S. Decennial Census[9] 1790–1960[10] 1900–1990[11] 1990–2000[12] 2010–2020[1]

2020 census

As of the 2020 census, there were 19,149 people, 7,369 households, and 4,623 families residing in the county. The population density was 15.2 inhabitants per square mile (5.9/km²). There were 8,396 housing units. The racial makeup of the county was 79.9% white, 11.8% Asian, 2.4% American Indian, 2% Pacific Islander, 1.7% black or African American and 2.0% two or more races. Those of Hispanic or Latino origin made up 14.8% of the population.^[13]

2010 census

As of the 2010 census, there were 17,398 people, 7,276 households, and 4,509 families residing in the county. The population density was 13.8 inhabitants per square mile (5.3/km²). There were 8,304 housing units at an average density of 6.6 per square mile (2.5/km²). The racial makeup of the county was 89.7% white, 3.6% Asian, 1.1% American Indian, 0.8% black or African American, 0.1% Pacific islander, 3.0% from other races, and 1.6% from two or more races. Those of Hispanic or Latino origin made up 7.7% of the population. In terms of ancestry, 45.4% were German, 11.7% were Norwegian, 10.3% were Irish, 8.8% were English, and 4.1% were American.

Of the 7,276 households, 28.6% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 49.5% were married couples living together, 8.3% had a female householder with no husband present, 38.0% were non-families, and 33.0% of all households were made up of individuals. The average household size was 2.31 and the average family size was 2.92. The median age was 41.2 years.

The median income for a household in the county was $40,716 and the median income for a family was $56,288. Males had a median income of $37,020 versus $25,824 for females. The per capita income for the county was $23,409. About 6.3% of families and 13.1% of the population were below the poverty line, including 12.8% of those under age 18 and 12.5% of those age 65 or over.

Communities

Cities

• Huron (county seat)
• Iroquois (partial)
• Wessington (partial)

Towns

• Broadland
• Cavour
• Hitchcock
• Virgil
• Wolsey
• Yale

Census-designated places

• Huron Colony
• Morningside
• Pearl Creek Colony
• Riverside Colony
• Shamrock Colony

Townships

• Allen
• Altoona
• Banner
• Barrett
• Belle Prairie
• Bonilla
• Broadland
• Burr Oak
• Carlyle
• Cavour
• Clifton
• Clyde
• Custer
• Dearborn
• Fairfield
• Foster
• Grant
• Hartland
• Huron
• Iowa
• Kellogg
• Lake Byron
• Liberty
• Logan
• Milford
• Nance
• Pearl Creek
• Pleasant View
• Richland
• Sand Creek
• Theresa
• Valley
• Vernon
• Wessington
• Whiteside
• Wolsey

Politics

Beadle County has become more Republican in recent history. In 2000, George W. Bush won the county, ending a streak of Democratic-majority voting that began in 1992.

United States presidential election results for Beadle County, South Dakota^[14]

Year	Republican		Democratic		Third party(ies)
	No.	%	No.	%	No.	%
2024	4,826	68.84%	2,017	28.77%	167	2.38%
2020	4,808	67.90%	2,107	29.76%	166	2.34%
2016	4,455	65.79%	1,912	28.23%	405	5.98%
2012	4,230	58.24%	2,881	39.67%	152	2.09%
2008	4,054	52.55%	3,493	45.28%	167	2.16%
2004	4,917	57.98%	3,443	40.60%	120	1.42%
2000	4,347	56.17%	3,216	41.56%	176	2.27%
1996	3,670	42.77%	3,984	46.43%	927	10.80%
1992	3,363	36.81%	3,925	42.96%	1,848	20.23%
1988	4,611	50.23%	4,523	49.27%	46	0.50%
1984	5,876	62.36%	3,523	37.39%	23	0.24%
1980	5,921	58.60%	3,521	34.85%	662	6.55%
1976	4,758	49.22%	4,846	50.13%	62	0.64%
1972	5,922	57.81%	4,297	41.95%	25	0.24%
1968	4,214	42.66%	5,357	54.23%	307	3.11%
1964	4,051	40.43%	5,968	59.57%	0	0.00%
1960	5,911	59.17%	4,079	40.83%	0	0.00%
1956	5,216	53.06%	4,614	46.94%	0	0.00%
1952	6,487	65.33%	3,443	34.67%	0	0.00%
1948	3,662	45.15%	4,372	53.90%	77	0.95%
1944	3,610	48.44%	3,842	51.56%	0	0.00%
1940	4,356	45.33%	5,253	54.67%	0	0.00%
1936	2,965	32.90%	5,843	64.84%	203	2.25%
1932	2,995	32.05%	6,246	66.83%	105	1.12%
1928	5,094	61.43%	3,168	38.20%	31	0.37%
1924	3,466	53.37%	851	13.10%	2,177	33.52%
1920	2,852	56.54%	925	18.34%	1,267	25.12%
1916	1,662	45.72%	1,828	50.29%	145	3.99%
1912	0	0.00%	1,464	45.85%	1,729	54.15%
1908	1,776	58.50%	1,105	36.40%	155	5.11%
1904	1,818	73.78%	493	20.01%	153	6.21%
1900	1,220	55.56%	915	41.67%	61	2.78%
1896	935	49.89%	915	48.83%	24	1.28%
1892	984	52.85%	206	11.06%	672	36.09%

Education

School districts include:^[15]

• Doland School District 56-2
• Hitchcock-Tulare School District 56-6
• Huron School District 02-2
• Iroquois School District 02-3
• Miller Area School District 29-4
• Wessington Springs School District 36-2
• Willow Lake School District 12-3
• Wolsey-Wessington School District 02-6

See also

• National Register of Historic Places listings in Beadle County, South Dakota
• The Old Timers by J. L. Carr