Miner County, South Dakota

Miner County
County
Location within the U.S. state of South Dakota
South Dakota's location within the U.S.
Coordinates: 44°01′N97°37′W / 44.02°N 97.61°W / 44.02; -97.61
Country	United States
State	South Dakota
Founded	1873 (created) 1880 (organized)
Named for	Nelson Miner and Ephriam Miner
Seat	Howard
Largest city	Howard
Area
• Total	572 sq mi (1,480 km2)
• Land	570 sq mi (1,500 km2)
• Water	1.6 sq mi (4 km2)  0.3%
Population  (2020)
• Total	2,298
• Estimate  (2023)	2,280
• Density	4.0/sq mi (1.6/km2)
Time zone	UTC−6 (Central)
• Summer (DST)	UTC−5 (CDT)
Congressional district	At-large
Website	www.minercountysd.org

Miner County is a county in the U.S. state of South Dakota. As of the 2020 census, the population was 2,298. ^[1] Its county seat is Howard. The county was created in 1873 and organized in 1880.

History

The area is situated on the site of Dakota Sioux trails that connected two sites of cultural significance to the Dakota people, the pipestone quarries in southwestern Minnesota and the Sioux Crossing of the Three Rivers, near present-day Fort Thompson. ^[2] South Dakota Highway 34 now roughly follows this route.

The Fort Ridgely and South Pass Wagon Road, also known as Nobles Trail, the first road in Dakota Territory, passed through the area. It was made in 1857, connecting Fort Ridgley, Minnesota with South Pass in Wyoming Territory, along the Oregon Trail. The Minnesota and Powder River Road of 1865 also passed through the county. ^[2]

The boundaries of present-day Miner County experienced several changes during territorial times. The county was established in 1873 by the Dakota Territorial Legislature when Hanson County was divided into several parts. ^[3] It was named for Ephriam Miner, a territorial legislator, and Nelson Miner, a territorial legislator and captain in the 1st Dakota Cavalry. At the time, Miner County spanned the southern half of present-day Miner and Sanborn counties; Bramble County (now extinct) spanned the northern portion of these counties. ^[4] In 1879 the legislature combined Miner, Bramble, and portions of Wetmore counties, and eliminated the latter two. The new Miner County was organized the following year with Forestburg as the county seat. In 1883 the county was divided; the western portion being renamed Sanborn County, and the eastern portion retaining the name Miner County. Howard was named the county seat of Miner County. ^{[4] [5]}

In 1881, the Milwaukee Road railroad opened tracks in Miner County that followed Fort Ridgely Road from east to west, connecting Madison to Woonsocket. ^[6] The Chicago and North Western railroad opened tracks from Hawarden, Iowa, to Iroquois, crossing northwest across the county in 1882. ^[6] These railroads have since abandoned their tracks in the county.

The first settler in Miner County was Matthew A. Moore, who homesteaded near the present site of Howard in the spring of 1879. Significant homesteading started in the latter part of 1879 and concluded in 1884, when all available government land had been claimed. Settlers were primarily Norwegian, German, Danish, Welsh, Irish and Swedish. ^[7]

On August 28, 1884, the second known photograph of a tornado was taken in Miner County. See 1884 Howard, South Dakota tornado. ^[8]

The current Miner County Courthouse was built in 1938 at a cost of $107,000 by the Great Depression-era Public Works Administration and was dedicated on September 26, 1938. ^[7]

On June 13, 1943, two B-17 bombers from the 393rd Bomb Group of the Sioux City Army Air Base collided while on a training exercise over Miner County. One plane crashed immediately, and the other made a controlled landing in a creek bed several miles away. Eleven airmen were killed. ^[9]

Geography

The terrain of Miner County consists of rolling hills, dotted with lakes and ponds, and generally devoted to agriculture. ^[10] The terrain generally slopes to the south and southwest, with its highest point occurring along the north boundary line in the northeast part of the county, at 1,729 ft (527 m) ASL. ^[11] The county has a total area of 572 square miles (1,480 km²), of which 570 square miles (1,500 km²) is land and 1.6 square miles (4.1 km²) (0.3%) is water. ^[12]

Major highways

• U.S. Route 81
• South Dakota Highway 25
• South Dakota Highway 34

Adjacent counties

• Kingsbury County - north
• Lake County - east
• McCook County - southeast
• Hanson County - southwest
• Sanborn County - west

Protected areas

• Bitter Lake Public Shooting Area
• Burke Slough Public Shooting Area
• Morris Lake Public Shooting Area
• Twin Lakes Public Shooting Area ^[10]

Lakes

• Bitter Lake
• Glee Lake
• Lake Carthage
• Lake Thompson
• Morris Lake
• Ness Chain Lake
• Stone House Lake
• Twin Lakes ^[10]

Demographics

Historical population

Census	Pop.	Note	%±
1880	363		—
1890	5,165		1,322.9%
1900	5,864		13.5%
1910	7,661		30.6%
1920	8,560		11.7%
1930	8,376		−2.1%
1940	6,836		−18.4%
1950	6,268		−8.3%
1960	5,398		−13.9%
1970	4,454		−17.5%
1980	3,739		−16.1%
1990	3,272		−12.5%
2000	2,884		−11.9%
2010	2,389		−17.2%
2020	2,298		−3.8%
2023 (est.)	2,280	[13]	−0.8%
U.S. Decennial Census [14] 1790-1960 [15] 1900-1990 [16] 1990-2000 [17] 2010-2020 [1]

2020 census

As of the 2020 census, there were 2,298 people, 943 households, and 570 families residing in the county. ^[18] The population density was 4.0 inhabitants per square mile (1.5/km²). There were 1,189 housing units.

2010 census

As of the 2010 census, there were 2,389 people, 1,032 households, and 606 families in the county. The population density was 4.2 inhabitants per square mile (1.6/km²). There were 1,308 housing units at an average density of 2.3 units per square mile (0.89 units/km²). The racial makeup of the county was 97.8% white, 0.4% Asian, 0.2% American Indian, 0.1% black or African American, 0.7% from other races, and 0.8% from two or more races. Those of Hispanic or Latino origin made up 1.3% of the population. In terms of ancestry, 54.2% were German, 20.7% were Norwegian, 12.4% were Irish, 5.7% were English, 5.7% were Swedish, and 4.2% were American.

Of the 1,032 households, 24.8% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 50.3% were married couples living together, 5.6% had a female householder with no husband present, 41.3% were non-families, and 37.6% of all households were made up of individuals. The average household size was 2.24 and the average family size was 2.97. The median age was 46.4 years.

The median income for a household in the county was $43,958 and the median income for a family was $54,650. Males had a median income of $33,984 versus $25,221 for females. The per capita income for the county was $25,450. About 2.7% of families and 8.8% of the population were below the poverty line, including 8.2% of those under age 18 and 15.4% of those age 65 or over.

Communities

Cities

• Carthage
• Howard (county seat)

Towns

• Canova
• Vilas

Census-designated places

• Cloverleaf Colony
• Fedora
• Roswell
• Shannon Colony

Unincorporated community ^[10]

• Epiphany (partial)

Ghost Town(s)

• Argonne

Government

Townships

• Adams
• Beaver
• Belleview
• Canova
• Carthage
• Clearwater
• Clinton
• Grafton
• Green Valley
• Henden
• Howard
• Miner
• Redstone
• Rock Creek
• Roswell
• Vermillion

Politics

Miner County voters have tended to vote Republican the past two decades.

United States presidential election results for Miner County, South Dakota ^[19]

Year	Republican		Democratic		Third party(ies)
	No.	%	No.	%	No.	%
2024	841	72.07%	293	25.11%	33	2.83%
2020	787	69.16%	320	28.12%	31	2.72%
2016	706	66.35%	281	26.41%	77	7.24%
2012	636	55.79%	479	42.02%	25	2.19%
2008	577	47.37%	605	49.67%	36	2.96%
2004	810	55.10%	641	43.61%	19	1.29%
2000	724	57.19%	523	41.31%	19	1.50%
1996	571	38.35%	739	49.63%	179	12.02%
1992	543	34.28%	698	44.07%	343	21.65%
1988	795	45.30%	955	54.42%	5	0.28%
1984	1,004	50.78%	960	48.56%	13	0.66%
1980	1,172	53.98%	833	38.37%	166	7.65%
1976	839	39.21%	1,289	60.23%	12	0.56%
1972	1,059	44.03%	1,337	55.59%	9	0.37%
1968	1,045	43.69%	1,255	52.47%	92	3.85%
1964	945	36.01%	1,679	63.99%	0	0.00%
1960	1,377	51.13%	1,316	48.87%	0	0.00%
1956	1,456	48.97%	1,517	51.03%	0	0.00%
1952	1,964	65.62%	1,029	34.38%	0	0.00%
1948	1,188	45.92%	1,373	53.07%	26	1.01%
1944	1,544	58.62%	1,090	41.38%	0	0.00%
1940	2,095	60.55%	1,365	39.45%	0	0.00%
1936	1,377	38.77%	2,051	57.74%	124	3.49%
1932	976	28.57%	2,332	68.27%	108	3.16%
1928	1,990	59.37%	1,341	40.01%	21	0.63%
1924	995	35.65%	308	11.04%	1,488	53.31%
1920	1,450	56.73%	651	25.47%	455	17.80%
1916	1,006	52.21%	880	45.67%	41	2.13%
1912	0	0.00%	720	43.43%	938	56.57%
1908	906	53.93%	720	42.86%	54	3.21%
1904	893	61.29%	475	32.60%	89	6.11%
1900	662	48.01%	697	50.54%	20	1.45%
1896	582	45.05%	705	54.57%	5	0.39%
1892	486	38.57%	290	23.02%	484	38.41%

See also

• 1884 Howard, South Dakota tornado
• National Register of Historic Places listings in Miner County, South Dakota

References

1. "State & County QuickFacts". United States Census Bureau. Retrieved March 21, 2024.
2. "South Dakota State Historical Society Markers" (PDF). South Dakota State Historical Society. Archived from the original (PDF) on August 24, 2015. Retrieved November 28, 2015.
3. "DT, ND, SD: Individual County Chronologies". publications.newberry.org. Archived from the original on April 2, 2018. Retrieved November 28, 2015.
4. Robinson, Doane (January 1, 1904). History of South Dakota. B. F. Bowen.
5. "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.
6. "South Dakota's Railroads" (PDF). South Dakota State Historic Preservation Office. p. 80. Archived from the original (PDF) on November 11, 2013. Retrieved November 28, 2015.
7. Prairie Tamers of Miner County, South Dakota. Prepared by the Federal Writers' Project of the Works Progress Administration in South Dakota. 1939.
8. "AMS Journals Online". Bulletin of the American Meteorological Society. 65: 360–364. doi: 10.1175/1520-0477(1984)065<0360:etp>2.0.co;2 .
9. "The Crash of the Flying Sioux - South Dakota Historical Markers". Waymarking.com. Retrieved November 28, 2015.
10. Miner County SD Google Maps (accessed February 7, 2019)
11. ""Find an Altitude" Google Maps (accessed February 7, 2019)". Archived from the original on May 21, 2019. Retrieved February 7, 2019.
12. "2010 Census Gazetteer Files". United States Census Bureau. August 22, 2012. Retrieved March 28, 2015.
13. "County Population Totals and Components of Change: 2020-2023" . Retrieved March 17, 2024.
14. "U.S. Decennial Census". United States Census Bureau. Retrieved March 28, 2015.
15. "Historical Census Browser". University of Virginia Library. Retrieved March 28, 2015.
16. Forstall, Richard L., ed. (March 27, 1995). "Population of Counties by Decennial Census: 1900 to 1990". United States Census Bureau. Retrieved March 28, 2015.
17. "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 28, 2015.
18. "US Census Bureau, Table P16: Household Type". United States Census Bureau. Retrieved March 21, 2024.
19. Leip, David. "Atlas of US Presidential Elections". uselectionatlas.org. Retrieved April 15, 2018.

External links

• Official website