Kingsbury County, South Dakota

Kingsbury County
County
Kingsbury County Courthouse in De Smet
Location within the U.S. state of South Dakota
South Dakota's location within the U.S.
Coordinates: 44°22′N97°29′W / 44.37°N 97.49°W / 44.37; -97.49
Country	United States
State	South Dakota
Founded	1873 (created) 1880 (organized)
Named for	George W. Kingsbury & T.A. Kingsbury
Seat	De Smet
Largest city	De Smet
Area
• Total	864 sq mi (2,240 km2)
• Land	832 sq mi (2,150 km2)
• Water	32 sq mi (80 km2)  3.6%
Population  (2020)
• Total	5,187
• Estimate  (2022)	5,294
• Density	6.0/sq mi (2.3/km2)
Time zone	UTC−6 (Central)
• Summer (DST)	UTC−5 (CDT)
Congressional district	At-large
Website	kingsbury.sdcounties.org

Kingsbury County is a county in the U.S. state of South Dakota. As of the 2020 census, the population was 5,187. ^[1] Its county seat is De Smet. ^[2] The county was created in 1873, and was organized in 1880. ^[3] It was named for brothers George W. and T. A. Kingsbury, descendants of the colonial English Kingsbury family in Boston, Massachusetts. They were prominently involved in the affairs of Dakota Territory and served as elected members of several Territorial Legislatures.

Geography

The terrain of Kingsbury County consists of low rolling hills. The central and east portions of the county hold numerous lakes and ponds. The land is largely devoted to agriculture. ^[4] The terrain generally slopes to the southwest, and the highest point is near the midpoint of the east boundary line, at 1,857 ft (566 m) ASL. ^[5] The county has a total area of 864 square miles (2,240 km²), of which 832 square miles (2,150 km²) is land and 3.6 square miles (9.3 km²) (6.2%) is water. ^[6]

Lakes ^[4]

• Cherry Lake
• Mud Lake
• Lake Albert
• Lake Badger
• Lake Henry
• Lake Iroquois
• Lake Preston
• Lake Thisted
• Lake Thompson
• Lake Whitewood
• Osceola Lake
• Plum Lake
• Spring Lake
• Spirit Lake
• Twin Lakes (partial)

Major highways

• U.S. Highway 14
• U.S. Highway 81
• South Dakota Highway 25

Adjacent counties

• Hamlin County – northeast
• Brookings County – east
• Lake County – southeast
• Miner County – south
• Sanborn County – southwest
• Beadle County – west
• Clark County – northwest

Protected areas ^[4]

• Arnold State Public Shooting Area

Demographics

Industrialization of agriculture and the attraction of urban areas have contributed to the decline in population of Kingsbury County, similar to what has occurred in other Plains rural areas. In 2010 it had less than half the population of its peak in 1930, before the Dust Bowl and the Great Depression.

Historical population

Census	Pop.	Note	%±
1880	1,102		—
1890	8,562		677.0%
1900	9,866		15.2%
1910	12,560		27.3%
1920	12,802		1.9%
1930	12,805		0.0%
1940	10,831		−15.4%
1950	9,962		−8.0%
1960	9,227		−7.4%
1970	7,657		−17.0%
1980	6,679		−12.8%
1990	5,925		−11.3%
2000	5,815		−1.9%
2010	5,148		−11.5%
2020	5,187		0.8%
2023 (est.)	5,276	[7]	1.7%
U.S. Decennial Census [8] 1790-1960 [9] 1900-1990 [10] 1990-2000 [11] 2010-2020 [1]

2020 census

As of the census of 2020, there were 5,187 people.

2010 census

As of the census of 2010, there were 5,148 people, 2,222 households, and 1,418 families in the county. The population density was 6.2 inhabitants per square mile (2.4/km²). There were 2,720 housing units at an average density of 3.3 units per square mile (1.3 units/km²). The racial makeup of the county was 98.1% white, 0.5% American Indian, 0.3% Asian, 0.1% black or African American, 0.3% from other races, and 0.8% from two or more races. Those of Hispanic or Latino origin made up 1.4% of the population. In terms of European ancestry, 42.8% were German, 25.5% were Norwegian, 10.9% were Danish, 9.6% were Irish, 7.2% were English, and 3.5% were American.

Of the 2,222 households, 24.3% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 55.6% were married couples living together, 5.0% had a female householder with no husband present, 36.2% were non-families, and 32.2% of all households were made up of individuals. The average household size was 2.23 and the average family size was 2.81. The median age was 47.1 years.

The median income for a household in the county was $44,948 and the median income for a family was $56,925. Males had a median income of $35,585 versus $28,141 for females. The per capita income for the county was $24,660. About 7.0% of families and 9.2% of the population were below the poverty line, including 8.8% of those under age 18 and 10.8% of those age 65 or over.

Communities

Cities

• De Smet (county seat)
• Arlington (partial)
• Iroquois (partial)
• Lake Preston
• Oldham

Towns

• Badger
• Bancroft
• Erwin
• Hetland

Census-designated place

• Spring Lake Colony

Unincorporated communities

• Esmond
• Osceola

Ghost town

• Manchester

Townships

• Badger
• Baker
• De Smet
• Denver
• Esmond
• Hartland
• Iroquois
• Le Sueur
• Manchester
• Mathews
• Spirit Lake
• Spring Lake
• Whitewood

Notable people

• Harvey Dunn - painter and professor of Fine Arts
• Eugene Peter Knudsen - Minnesota state legislator and farmer
• Theodore Schultz - Nobel prize winning economist
• Laura Ingalls Wilder - author

Politics

Kingsbury County voters have been reliably Republican for decades. In only two national elections since 1932 has the county selected the Democratic Party candidate (as of 2020).

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

Year	Republican		Democratic		Third party
	No.	%	No.	%	No.	%
2020	1,904	68.51%	819	29.47%	56	2.02%
2016	1,680	65.86%	703	27.56%	168	6.59%
2012	1,451	55.64%	1,092	41.87%	65	2.49%
2008	1,435	51.54%	1,277	45.87%	72	2.59%
2004	1,804	59.85%	1,163	38.59%	47	1.56%
2000	1,612	59.11%	1,049	38.47%	66	2.42%
1996	1,297	43.22%	1,357	45.22%	347	11.56%
1992	1,113	35.41%	1,267	40.31%	763	24.28%
1988	1,592	51.57%	1,472	47.68%	23	0.75%
1984	2,121	62.70%	1,249	36.92%	13	0.38%
1980	2,376	62.41%	1,132	29.73%	299	7.85%
1976	1,844	50.98%	1,762	48.71%	11	0.30%
1972	2,320	58.62%	1,632	41.23%	6	0.15%
1968	2,300	58.42%	1,491	37.87%	146	3.71%
1964	2,126	51.46%	2,005	48.54%	0	0.00%
1960	2,887	63.26%	1,677	36.74%	0	0.00%
1956	2,933	64.92%	1,585	35.08%	0	0.00%
1952	3,703	78.25%	1,029	21.75%	0	0.00%
1948	2,332	62.55%	1,338	35.89%	58	1.56%
1944	2,541	68.73%	1,156	31.27%	0	0.00%
1940	3,551	70.26%	1,503	29.74%	0	0.00%
1936	2,813	55.42%	2,037	40.13%	226	4.45%
1932	2,135	42.42%	2,808	55.79%	90	1.79%
1928	3,499	71.88%	1,352	27.77%	17	0.35%
1924	2,242	65.65%	333	9.75%	840	24.60%
1920	2,344	71.66%	481	14.70%	446	13.63%
1916	1,339	51.80%	1,096	42.40%	150	5.80%
1912	0	0.00%	747	34.52%	1,417	65.48%
1908	1,537	60.70%	799	31.56%	196	7.74%
1904	1,896	77.67%	344	14.09%	201	8.23%
1900	1,330	58.10%	868	37.92%	91	3.98%
1896	950	46.82%	1,051	51.80%	28	1.38%
1892	951	46.28%	175	8.52%	929	45.21%

See also

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

References

1. "State & County QuickFacts". United States Census Bureau. Retrieved August 11, 2023.
2. "Find a County". National Association of Counties. Archived from the original on May 31, 2011. Retrieved June 7, 2011.
3. "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 30, 2015.
4. Kingsbury County SD Google Maps (accessed February 5, 2019)
5. ""Find an Altitude" Google Maps (accessed February 5, 2019)". Archived from the original on May 21, 2019. Retrieved February 5, 2019.
6. "2010 Census Gazetteer Files". United States Census Bureau. August 22, 2012. Retrieved March 26, 2015.
7. "County Population Totals and Components of Change: 2020-2023" . Retrieved March 17, 2024.
8. "U.S. Decennial Census". United States Census Bureau. Retrieved March 26, 2015.
9. "Historical Census Browser". University of Virginia Library. Retrieved March 26, 2015.
10. Forstall, Richard L., ed. (March 27, 1995). "Population of Counties by Decennial Census: 1900 to 1990". United States Census Bureau. Retrieved March 26, 2015.
11. "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.
12. Leip, David. "Atlas of US Presidential Elections". uselectionatlas.org. Retrieved April 15, 2018.

External links

• Official website

Further reading

• Johnson, Lyle R. "Decades of Drought: A Year by Year-by-Year Account of Weather-Related Changes in 1930s Kingsbury County," South Dakota History 43 (Fall 2013), 218–44.

44°22′N97°29′W / 44.37°N 97.49°W / 44.37; -97.49