Hand County, South Dakota

Hand County
County
Hand County and its towns and villages in 1892
Location within the U.S. state of South Dakota
South Dakota's location within the U.S.
Coordinates: 44°33′N99°00′W / 44.55°N 99.00°W / 44.55; -99.00
Country	United States
State	South Dakota
Founded	1873 (created) 1882 (redrawn) 1882 (organized)
Named for	George A. Hand
Seat	Miller
Largest city	Miller
Area
• Total	1,440 sq mi (3,700 km2)
• Land	1,437 sq mi (3,720 km2)
• Water	3.6 sq mi (9 km2)  0.2%
Population  (2020)
• Total	3,145
• Estimate  (2023)	3,107
• Density	2.2/sq mi (0.84/km2)
Time zone	UTC−6 (Central)
• Summer (DST)	UTC−5 (CDT)
Congressional district	At-large
Website	hand.sdcounties.org

Hand County is a county in the U.S. state of South Dakota. As of the 2020 census, the population was 3,145. ^[1] Its county seat is Miller. ^[2]

History

Hand County was named for George A. Hand, territorial secretary. ^[3] It was created in 1873 by the Dakota territorial legislature. The boundaries were finalized in 1882, the year it was organized. ^[4]

Geography

The terrain of Hand County consists of rolling hills, dotted with infrequent ponds and small lakes. Most of the area is devoted to agriculture. ^[5] The terrain slopes to the east and northeast; its highest point is on the lower part of the county's west boundary line, at 2,080 ft (630 m) ASL. ^[6] The county contains a total area of 1,440 square miles (3,700 km²), of which 1,437 square miles (3,720 km²) is land and 3.6 square miles (9.3 km²) (0.2%) is water. ^[7]

Major highways

• U.S. Highway 14
• U.S. Highway 212
• South Dakota Highway 26
• South Dakota Highway 45

Adjacent counties

• Faulk County - north
• Spink County - northeast
• Beadle County - east
• Jerauld County - southeast
• Buffalo County - southwest
• Hyde County - west

Protected areas

• Collins State Game Production Area
• Dakota State Game Production Area
• East Pearl State Game Production Area
• Hawkins State Game Production Area
• Lake Jones State Game Production Area
• Lake Louise State Game Production Area
• Lake Louise State Recreation Area
• Lechtenberg State Game Production Area
• Reinhardt State Game Production Area
• Rosehill State Game Production Area
• Spring Lake State Game Production Area
• West Pearl State Game Production Area ^[5]

Lakes

• Costigan Slough Lake
• Jones Lake
• Lake Louise
• Matter Lake
• Spring Lake
• Wall Lake ^[5]

Demographics

Historical population

Census	Pop.	Note	%±
1880	153		—
1890	6,346		4,047.7%
1900	4,525		−28.7%
1910	7,870		73.9%
1920	8,778		11.5%
1930	9,485		8.1%
1940	7,166		−24.4%
1950	7,149		−0.2%
1960	6,712		−6.1%
1970	5,883		−12.4%
1980	4,948		−15.9%
1990	4,272		−13.7%
2000	3,741		−12.4%
2010	3,431		−8.3%
2020	3,145		−8.3%
2023 (est.)	3,107	[8]	−1.2%
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 3,145 people, 1,348 households, and 891 families residing in the county. ^[13] The population density was 2.2 inhabitants per square mile (0.85/km²). There were 1,705 housing units.

2010 census

As of the 2010 census, there were 3,431 people, 1,494 households, and 972 families residing in the county. The population density was 2.4 inhabitants per square mile (0.93/km²). There were 1,815 housing units at an average density of 1.3 units per square mile (0.50 units/km²). The racial makeup of the county was 98.4% white, 0.3% Asian, 0.2% American Indian, 0.1% black or African American, 0.2% from other races, and 0.8% from two or more races. Those of Hispanic or Latino origin made up 0.6% of the population. In terms of ancestry, 57.3% were German, 15.3% were Irish, 9.0% were Norwegian, 8.1% were English, 6.1% were Dutch, and 3.4% were American.

Of the 1,494 households, 23.8% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 56.6% were married couples living together, 5.3% had a female householder with no husband present, 34.9% were non-families, and 32.2% of all households were made up of individuals. The average household size was 2.26 and the average family size was 2.84. The median age was 48.2 years.

The median income for a household in the county was $45,895 and the median income for a family was $52,407. Males had a median income of $40,725 versus $24,844 for females. The per capita income for the county was $23,238. About 11.4% of families and 13.1% of the population were below the poverty line, including 18.9% of those under age 18 and 16.5% of those age 65 or over.

Communities

Cities

• Miller (county seat)
• Wessington (partial)

Towns

• Ree Heights
• St. Lawrence

Census-designated place

• Millerdale Colony

Unincorporated communities

Source: ^[5]

• Polo
• Vayland

Townships

• Alden
• Alpha
• Bates
• Burdette
• Campbell
• Carlton
• Cedar
• Como
• Florence
• Gilbert
• Glendale
• Grand
• Greenleaf
• Hiland
• Holden
• Hulbert
• Linn
• Logan
• Midland
• Miller
• Mondamin
• Ohio
• Ontario
• Park
• Pearl
• Plato
• Pleasant Valley
• Ree Heights
• Riverside
• Rockdale
• Rose Hill
• St. Lawrence
• Spring Hill
• Spring Lake
• Wheaton
• York

Unorganized territory

The county contains one area of unorganized territory: Northwest Hand.

Politics

Hand County voters have voted Republican for many decades. In only one national election since 1936 has the county selected the Democratic Party candidate. As shown in the table below, Hand County has voted the same way as South Dakota for more than a century, last voting for a candidate who lost South Dakota in 1916, when Hand County voted Democratic but South Dakota went Republican.

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

Year	Republican		Democratic		Third party
	No.	%	No.	%	No.	%
2020	1,433	78.05%	373	20.32%	30	1.63%
2016	1,391	76.51%	334	18.37%	93	5.12%
2012	1,242	67.21%	575	31.11%	31	1.68%
2008	1,247	62.01%	718	35.70%	46	2.29%
2004	1,482	67.76%	668	30.54%	37	1.69%
2000	1,419	69.87%	565	27.82%	47	2.31%
1996	1,187	52.34%	803	35.41%	278	12.26%
1992	1,130	44.38%	785	30.83%	631	24.78%
1988	1,461	56.67%	1,101	42.71%	16	0.62%
1984	2,030	70.34%	846	29.31%	10	0.35%
1980	2,066	67.38%	803	26.19%	197	6.43%
1976	1,510	50.43%	1,477	49.33%	7	0.23%
1972	1,806	57.90%	1,307	41.90%	6	0.19%
1968	1,650	54.78%	1,136	37.72%	226	7.50%
1964	1,466	48.40%	1,563	51.60%	0	0.00%
1960	1,872	57.27%	1,397	42.73%	0	0.00%
1956	1,804	55.39%	1,453	44.61%	0	0.00%
1952	2,262	70.71%	937	29.29%	0	0.00%
1948	1,402	50.47%	1,367	49.21%	9	0.32%
1944	1,558	57.62%	1,146	42.38%	0	0.00%
1940	2,002	55.46%	1,608	44.54%	0	0.00%
1936	1,289	39.82%	1,721	53.17%	227	7.01%
1932	1,394	33.96%	2,658	64.75%	53	1.29%
1928	2,430	63.26%	1,397	36.37%	14	0.36%
1924	1,727	54.00%	690	21.58%	781	24.42%
1920	1,511	61.08%	655	26.48%	308	12.45%
1916	801	44.95%	905	50.79%	76	4.26%
1912	0	0.00%	826	48.73%	869	51.27%
1908	851	51.58%	655	39.70%	144	8.73%
1904	943	67.50%	170	12.17%	284	20.33%
1900	592	49.05%	594	49.21%	21	1.74%
1896	451	43.96%	567	55.26%	8	0.78%
1892	526	44.46%	70	5.92%	587	49.62%

See also

• National Register of Historic Places listings in Hand County, South Dakota
• Titan Wind Project

References

1. "State & County QuickFacts". United States Census Bureau. Retrieved March 21, 2024.
2. "Find a County". National Association of Counties. Retrieved June 7, 2011.
3. Gannett, Henry (1905). The Origin of Certain Place Names in the United States. Govt. Print. Off. p.  148.
4. "Dakota Territory, South Dakota, and North Dakota: Individual County Chronologies". Dakota Territory Atlas of Historical County Boundaries. The Newberry Library. 2006. Archived from the original on April 2, 2018. Retrieved March 29, 2015.
5. Hand County SD Google Maps (accessed February 3, 2019)
6. ""Find an Altitude" Google Maps (accessed February 3, 2019)". Archived from the original on May 21, 2019. Retrieved February 4, 2019.
7. "2010 Census Gazetteer Files". United States Census Bureau. August 22, 2012. Retrieved March 26, 2015.
8. "County Population Totals and Components of Change: 2020-2023" . Retrieved March 17, 2024.
9. "U.S. Decennial Census". United States Census Bureau. Retrieved March 26, 2015.
10. "Historical Census Browser". University of Virginia Library. Retrieved March 26, 2015.
11. Forstall, Richard L., ed. (March 27, 1995). "Population of Counties by Decennial Census: 1900 to 1990". United States Census Bureau. Retrieved March 26, 2015.
12. "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 26, 2015.
13. "US Census Bureau, Table P16: Household Type". United States Census Bureau. Retrieved March 21, 2024.
14. Leip, David. "Atlas of US Presidential Elections". uselectionatlas.org. Retrieved April 15, 2018.

External links

• Official website