Beadle County, South Dakota

Beadle County is a county located in the state of South Dakota. As of 2000, the population is 17,023. Its county seat is Huron ⁶.

History

Beadle County, named in honor of Brig. General William Henry Harrison Beadle, was created by the South Dakota legislature in 1879 and formally organized in 1880 with the appointment of three county commissioners by Gov. Nehemiah 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

According to the U.S. Census Bureau, the county has a total area of 3,276 km² (1,265 mi²). 3,260 km² (1,259 mi²) of it is land and 16 km² (6 mi²) of it is water. The total area is 0.48% water.

Townships

The county is divided into thirty-five townships: Allen, Altoona, Banner, Barrett, Belle Prairie, Bonilla, Broadland, Burr Oak, Carlyle, Cavour, Clifton, Clyde, Custer, Dearborn, Fairfield, Foster, Grant, Hartland, Iowa, Kellogg, Lake Byron, Liberty, Logan, Milford, Nance, Pearl Creek, Pleasant View, Richland, Sand Creek, Theresa, Valley, Vernon, Wessington, Whiteside, Wolsey.

Adjacent Counties

Spink County, South Dakota - north
Clark County, South Dakota - northeast
Kingsbury County, South Dakota - east
Sanborn County, South Dakota - southeast
Jerauld County, South Dakota - southwest
Hand County, South Dakota - west
Demographics

As of the census² of 2000, there are 17,023 people, 7,210 households, and 4,535 families residing in the county. The population density is 5/km² (14/mi²). There are 8,206 housing units at an average density of 3/km² (6/mi²). The racial makeup of the county is 96.93% White, 0.69% Black or African American, 0.95% Native American, 0.31% Asian, 0.02% Pacific Islander, 0.26% from other races, and 0.85% from two or more races. 0.91% of the population are Hispanic or Latino of any race.

There are 7,210 households out of which 28.30% have children under the age of 18 living with them, 52.50% are married couples living together, 7.40% have a female householder with no husband present, and 37.10% are non-families. 33.10% of all households are made up of individuals and 15.00% have someone living alone who is 65 years of age or older. The average household size is 2.30 and the average family size is 2.94.

In the county, the population is spread out with 24.70% under the age of 18, 8.30% from 18 to 24, 24.70% from 25 to 44, 23.00% from 45 to 64, and 19.40% who are 65 years of age or older. The median age is 40 years. For every 100 females there are 96.60 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there are 93.70 males.