# Hutchinson County, South Dakota

Hutchinson County is a county in the U.S. state of South Dakota. As of the 2020 census, the population was 7,427. Its county seat is Olivet. The county was created in 1862 and organized in 1871; it was named for John Hutchinson, first territorial secretary.

## History

Hutchinson County was created by act of the territorial legislature on May 8, 1862. Its boundaries included portions of present-day Davison and Hanson Counties, and part of what is presently Hutchinson County was within the boundaries of Jayne County. Maxwell City was established as the county seat, and it remained there until October 1873 when it was moved to Olivet following an election. On 13 January 1871, the territorial legislature established the present county boundaries and completed its governing organization. In two actions in January 1873, the legislature divided Hutchinson County into two counties - the northern half was named Armstrong County, with Milltown as the seat. However, in 1879, Armstrong County was dissolved and its area re-annexed into Hutchinson County.

## Geography

The James River flows south-southeasterly through the central part of Hutchinson County. The county's terrain consists of rolling hills, with the area largely devoted to agriculture. The terrain slopes to the river valley from both sides, with the county's highest point at its southwest corner: 1,880' (573m) ASL.
Hutchinson County has a total area of 814 square miles (2,110 km$^2$), of which 813 square miles (2,110 km$^2$) is land and 1.5 square miles (3.9 km$^2$) (0.2%) is water.

### Major highways

* U.S. Highway 18
* U.S. Highway 81
* South Dakota Highway 25
* South Dakota Highway 37
* South Dakota Highway 44

### Adjacent counties

* Hanson County - north
* McCook County - northeast
* Turner County - east
* Yankton County - southeast
* Bon Homme County - south
* Charles Mix County - southwest
* Douglas County - west
* Davison County - northwest

### Protected areas

* Mogck Slough State Public Shooting Area
* Weigher Slough State Public Shooting Area

### Lakes

Source:
* Lake Dimock
* Lake Menno
* Silver Lake
* Tripp Lake

## Demographics
### 2020 census

As of the 2020 census, there were 7,427 people, 2,797 households, and 1,802 families residing in the county. The population density was 9.1 inhabitants per square mile (3.5/km$^2$). There were 3,212 housing units.

### 2010 census

As of the 2010 census, there were 7,343 people, 2,930 households, and 1,871 families in the county. The population density was 9.0 inhabitants per square mile (3.5/km$^2$). There were 3,351 housing units at an average density of 4.1 units per square mile (1.6 units/km$^2$). The racial makeup of the county was 97.4% white, 0.7% American Indian, 0.4% black or African American, 0.2% Asian, 0.5% from other races, and 0.9% from two or more races. Those of Hispanic or Latino origin made up 1.6% of the population. In terms of ancestry, 67.7% were German, 8.7% were Russian, 7.4% were Norwegian, 6.9% were Irish, and 3.6% were American.
Of the 2,930 households, 24.6% 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, 36.1% were non-families, and 33.4% of all households were made up of individuals. The average household size was 2.22 and the average family size was 2.82. The median age was 46.8 years.
The median income for a household in the county was $39,310 and the median income for a family was $52,390. Males had a median income of $35,180 versus $25,417 for females. The per capita income for the county was $21,944. About 6.4% of families and 10.4% of the population were below the poverty line, including 11.5% of those under age 18 and 14.5% of those age 65 or over.

### Mennonites and Hutterites

Hutchinson County is the most heavily Mennonite-populated county of South Dakota. German-speaking Mennonites from Russia settled in the county beginning in 1874 until the early 1880s. South Dakota has the nation's largest population of Hutterites, a communal Anabaptist group that emigrated also from Russia during the same period as the Mennonites, with whom they share the Anabaptist faith. Hutterites live in communities each of about 150 people. Wolf Creek Colony is in Hutchinson County, where the Wolf meets the James River. This colony is west of Freeman and north of Olivet and Menno. Other Hutterite communities in the county are Maxwell Colony, New Elm Spring Colony, Old Elm Spring Colony, and Tschetter Colony.

## Communities
### Cities

* Freeman
* Parkston

### Towns

* Dimock
* Menno
* Olivet (county seat)
* Tripp

### Census-designated places

* Kaylor
* Maxwell Colony
* Milltown
* New Elm Spring Colony
* Old Elm Spring Colony
* Tschetter Colony
* Wolf Creek Colony

### Unincorporated communities

* Clayton
* Lake Tripp
* Wolf Creek

### Townships

* Capital
* Clayton
* Cross Plains
* Fair
* Foster
* German
* Grandview
* Kassel
* Kaylor
* Kulm
* Liberty
* Mittown
* Molan
* Oak Hollow
* Pleasant
* Sharon
* Silver Lake
* Starr
* Susquehanna
* Sweet
* Valley
* Wittenberg
* Wolf Creek

## Politics

Like most of South Dakota, Hutchinson County is overwhelmingly Republican. Only one Democratic presidential candidate – Franklin D. Roosevelt in his 1932 landslide – has ever carried the county. Surprisingly, in the 1928 and 1972 Republican landslides Hutchinson County actually voted more Democratic than the nation at-large due to German Lutheran anti-Prohibition voting for Al Smith in the first case and a strong “favorite son” vote for George McGovern in the latter. Apart from these two hugely anomalous cases, only four Democrats have ever topped forty percent of the county's vote, and only four statewide Republican nominees failed to win a majority.
United States presidential election results for Hutchinson County, South Dakota :
| Year | Republican | Republican | Democratic | Democratic | Third party(ies) | Third party(ies) |
| Year | No. | % | No. | % | No. | % |
| 2024 | 2,918 | 78.10% | 755 | 20.21% | 63 | 1.69% |
| 2020 | 2,944 | 78.15% | 762 | 20.23% | 61 | 1.62% |
| 2016 | 2,517 | 74.80% | 692 | 20.56% | 156 | 4.64% |
| 2012 | 2,451 | 71.56% | 923 | 26.95% | 51 | 1.49% |
| 2008 | 2,285 | 63.33% | 1,242 | 34.42% | 81 | 2.25% |
| 2004 | 2,899 | 69.91% | 1,177 | 28.38% | 71 | 1.71% |
| 2000 | 2,497 | 68.88% | 1,052 | 29.02% | 76 | 2.10% |
| 1996 | 2,177 | 55.66% | 1,285 | 32.86% | 449 | 11.48% |
| 1992 | 2,002 | 48.17% | 1,211 | 29.14% | 943 | 22.69% |
| 1988 | 2,700 | 62.56% | 1,594 | 36.93% | 22 | 0.51% |
| 1984 | 3,372 | 72.92% | 1,237 | 26.75% | 15 | 0.32% |
| 1980 | 3,789 | 73.15% | 1,145 | 22.10% | 246 | 4.75% |
| 1976 | 2,822 | 57.52% | 2,062 | 42.03% | 22 | 0.45% |
| 1972 | 3,092 | 57.82% | 2,248 | 42.03% | 8 | 0.15% |
| 1968 | 3,544 | 69.07% | 1,412 | 27.52% | 175 | 3.41% |
| 1964 | 2,884 | 56.85% | 2,189 | 43.15% | 0 | 0.00% |
| 1960 | 3,948 | 71.72% | 1,557 | 28.28% | 0 | 0.00% |
| 1956 | 3,870 | 73.16% | 1,420 | 26.84% | 0 | 0.00% |
| 1952 | 4,322 | 83.16% | 875 | 16.84% | 0 | 0.00% |
| 1948 | 2,906 | 70.01% | 1,209 | 29.13% | 36 | 0.87% |
| 1944 | 3,799 | 84.46% | 699 | 15.54% | 0 | 0.00% |
| 1940 | 5,051 | 82.08% | 1,103 | 17.92% | 0 | 0.00% |
| 1936 | 2,804 | 48.34% | 2,500 | 43.10% | 497 | 8.57% |
| 1932 | 1,504 | 28.97% | 3,630 | 69.92% | 58 | 1.12% |
| 1928 | 2,145 | 52.61% | 1,898 | 46.55% | 34 | 0.83% |
| 1924 | 893 | 24.65% | 180 | 4.97% | 2,550 | 70.38% |
| 1920 | 1,873 | 51.15% | 243 | 6.64% | 1,546 | 42.22% |
| 1916 | 1,636 | 73.20% | 519 | 23.22% | 80 | 3.58% |
| 1912 | 0 | 0.00% | 647 | 30.25% | 1,492 | 69.75% |
| 1908 | 1,507 | 69.03% | 619 | 28.36% | 57 | 2.61% |
| 1904 | 1,752 | 80.33% | 365 | 16.74% | 64 | 2.93% |
| 1900 | 1,528 | 73.46% | 534 | 25.67% | 18 | 0.87% |
| 1896 | 1,413 | 74.96% | 458 | 24.30% | 14 | 0.74% |
| 1892 | 1,034 | 64.42% | 254 | 15.83% | 317 | 19.75% |