Fall River County, South Dakota

Fall River County
County
Battle Mountain Sanitarium in Hot Springs.
Location within the U.S. state of South Dakota
South Dakota's location within the U.S.
Coordinates: 43°15′N103°31′W / 43.25°N 103.52°W / 43.25; -103.52
Country	United States
State	South Dakota
Founded	April 3, 1883
Named for	Fall River
Seat	Hot Springs
Largest city	Hot Springs
Area
• Total	1,749 sq mi (4,530 km2)
• Land	1,740 sq mi (4,500 km2)
• Water	9.2 sq mi (24 km2)  0.5%
Population  (2020)
• Total	6,973
• Estimate  (2023)	7,393
• Density	4.0/sq mi (1.5/km2)
Time zone	UTC−7 (Mountain)
• Summer (DST)	UTC−6 (MDT)
Congressional district	At-large
Website	fallriver.sdcounties.org

Fall River County is a county in the U.S. state of South Dakota. As of the 2020 census, the population was 6,973. ^[1] Its county seat is Hot Springs. ^[2] The county was founded in 1883. It is named for Fall River which runs through it. ^[3]

Geography

Fall River County lies at South Dakota's SW corner. Its south borderline abuts the north borderline of the state of Nebraska, and its west borderline abuts the east borderline of the state of Wyoming. The Fall River County terrain contains a mountainous area in the north-central portion, with rolling hills in the rest of the county. Outside the mountainous area, the county's highest point is its SW corner, at 3,970 ft (1,210 m) ASL. Of the several peaks in the mountainous area, one in the NE portion of that zone rises to 4,646 ft (1,416 m) ASL. The terrain slopes to the north and east. Discharging from the Angostura Reservoir, the Cheyenne River flows northeasterly through the upper part of the county, departing the county through its north boundary line into Custer County.

Fall River County has a total area of 1,749 square miles (4,530 km²), of which 1,740 square miles (4,500 km²) is land and 9.2 square miles (24 km²) (0.5%) is water. ^[4]

Major highways

• US 18
• US 385
• SD 71
• SD 79
• SD 89
• SD 471

Adjacent counties

• Custer County - north
• Oglala Lakota County - east
• Dawes County, Nebraska - southeast
• Sioux County, Nebraska - south
• Niobrara County, Wyoming - west

Protected areas

• Angostura Reservoir State Game Production Area
• Angostura State Recreation Area
• Bailey State Lakeside Use Area
• Battle Mountain State Game Production Area
• Black Hills National Forest (partial)
• Buffalo Gap National Grassland (partial)
• Friendshuh State Game Production Area (partial)
• Hill Ranch State Game Production Area
• Oral State Game Production Area
• Romey State Game Production Area
• Scherbarth State Game Production Area
• Sheps Canyon State Lakeside Use Area
• Sheps Canyon State Recreation Area
• Williams Dam State Game Production

Lakes

• Angostura Reservoir
• Coldbrook Lake
• Cottonwood Springs Lake

Demographics

Historical population

Census	Pop.	Note	%±
1890	4,478		—
1900	3,541		−20.9%
1910	7,763		119.2%
1920	6,985		−10.0%
1930	8,741		25.1%
1940	8,089		−7.5%
1950	10,439		29.1%
1960	10,688		2.4%
1970	7,505		−29.8%
1980	8,439		12.4%
1990	7,353		−12.9%
2000	7,453		1.4%
2010	7,094		−4.8%
2020	6,973		−1.7%
2023 (est.)	7,393	[5]	6.0%
U.S. Decennial Census [6] 1790-1960 [7] 1900-1990 [8] 1990-2000 [9] 2010-2020 [1]

2020 census

As of the 2020 census, there were 6,973 people, 3,226 households, and 1,891 families residing in the county. ^[10] The population density was 4.0 inhabitants per square mile (1.5/km²). There were 4,081 housing units.

2010 census

As of the 2010 census, there were 7,094 people, 3,272 households, and 1,899 families in the county. The population density was 4.1 inhabitants per square mile (1.6/km²). There were 4,191 housing units at an average density of 2.4 units per square mile (0.93 units/km²). The racial makeup of the county was 88.6% white, 7.1% American Indian, 0.7% black or African American, 0.4% Asian, 0.3% from other races, and 2.9% from two or more races. Those of Hispanic or Latino origin made up 2.2% of the population. In terms of ancestry, 39.7% were German, 12.6% were Irish, 11.2% were English, 8.4% were Norwegian, 5.9% were Dutch, and 2.3% were American.

Of the 3,272 households, 20.4% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 46.2% were married couples living together, 8.9% had a female householder with no husband present, 42.0% were non-families, and 37.6% of all households were made up of individuals. The average household size was 2.10 and the average family size was 2.74. The median age was 50.5 years.

The median income for a household in the county was $35,833 and the median income for a family was $53,750. Males had a median income of $36,495 versus $32,058 for females. The per capita income for the county was $21,574. About 11.4% of families and 17.4% of the population were below the poverty line, including 11.3% of those under age 18 and 21.3% of those age 65 or over.

Communities

Cities

• Edgemont
• Hot Springs

Town

• Oelrichs

Census-designated places

• Angostura
• Ardmore
• Dudley
• Maverick Junction
• Oral
• Provo
• Smithwick

Other communities

• Burdock (ghost town)
• Cascade Springs (ghost town) ^[11]
• Heppner (ghost town)
• Rumford

Townships

• Argentine
• Provo
• Robins

Unorganized territories

• Northeast Fall River
• Southwest Fall River

Politics

Fall River voters have been reliably Republican for decades. In no national election since 1936 has the county selected the Democratic Party candidate.

United States presidential election results for Fall River County, South Dakota ^[12]

Year	Republican		Democratic		Third party
	No.	%	No.	%	No.	%
2020	2,878	71.20%	1,053	26.05%	111	2.75%
2016	2,511	70.47%	821	23.04%	231	6.48%
2012	2,258	64.22%	1,140	32.42%	118	3.36%
2008	2,348	61.64%	1,338	35.13%	123	3.23%
2004	2,413	62.76%	1,326	34.49%	106	2.76%
2000	2,185	63.72%	1,133	33.04%	111	3.24%
1996	1,636	47.31%	1,357	39.24%	465	13.45%
1992	1,533	40.84%	1,416	37.72%	805	21.44%
1988	2,002	58.59%	1,380	40.39%	35	1.02%
1984	2,748	70.37%	1,135	29.07%	22	0.56%
1980	2,831	69.61%	982	24.15%	254	6.25%
1976	2,046	56.60%	1,537	42.52%	32	0.89%
1972	2,374	67.89%	1,107	31.66%	16	0.46%
1968	1,843	59.57%	965	31.19%	286	9.24%
1964	2,026	54.29%	1,706	45.71%	0	0.00%
1960	2,492	63.60%	1,426	36.40%	0	0.00%
1956	2,377	67.39%	1,150	32.61%	0	0.00%
1952	2,863	73.96%	1,008	26.04%	0	0.00%
1948	2,037	59.72%	1,348	39.52%	26	0.76%
1944	1,938	63.33%	1,122	36.67%	0	0.00%
1940	2,420	63.27%	1,405	36.73%	0	0.00%
1936	1,876	47.11%	1,927	48.39%	179	4.50%
1932	1,351	33.53%	2,603	64.61%	75	1.86%
1928	2,216	63.51%	1,258	36.06%	15	0.43%
1924	1,392	52.13%	342	12.81%	936	35.06%
1920	1,236	61.01%	680	33.56%	110	5.43%
1916	668	40.63%	922	56.08%	54	3.28%
1912	0	0.00%	712	42.16%	977	57.84%
1908	726	57.62%	466	36.98%	68	5.40%
1904	777	71.22%	248	22.73%	66	6.05%
1900	521	54.96%	421	44.41%	6	0.63%
1896	530	48.67%	555	50.96%	4	0.37%
1892	569	53.73%	262	24.74%	228	21.53%

See also

• National Register of Historic Places listings in Fall River County, South Dakota

References

1. "State & County QuickFacts". United States Census Bureau. Retrieved March 21, 2024.
2. "Find a County". National Association of Counties. Archived from the original on May 31, 2011. Retrieved June 7, 2011.
3. Gannett, Henry (1905). The Origin of Certain Place Names in the United States. Govt. Print. Off. p. 123.
4. "2010 Census Gazetteer Files". United States Census Bureau. August 22, 2012. Retrieved March 24, 2015.
5. "County Population Totals and Components of Change: 2020-2023" . Retrieved March 17, 2024.
6. "U.S. Decennial Census". United States Census Bureau. Retrieved March 24, 2015.
7. "Historical Census Browser". University of Virginia Library. Retrieved March 24, 2015.
8. Forstall, Richard L., ed. (March 27, 1995). "Population of Counties by Decennial Census: 1900 to 1990". United States Census Bureau. Retrieved March 24, 2015.
9. "Census 2000 PHC-T-4. Ranking Tables for Counties: 1990 and 2000" (PDF). United States Census Bureau. April 2, 2001. Archived (PDF) from the original on October 9, 2022. Retrieved March 24, 2015.
10. "US Census Bureau, Table P16: Household Type". United States Census Bureau. Retrieved March 21, 2024.
11. Cascade Springs Google Maps (accessed February 2, 2019)
12. Leip, David. "Atlas of US Presidential Elections". uselectionatlas.org. Retrieved April 15, 2018.

External links

• Fall River County Courthouse Official Website
• Hot Springs Chamber of Commerce
• Hot Springs City Hall
• Edgemont City Hall

43°15′N103°31′W / 43.25°N 103.52°W / 43.25; -103.52