Perkins County, South Dakota

Perkins County, South Dakota
Perkins County is a county in the U.S. state of South Dakota. As of the 2020 census, the population was 2,835. Its county seat is Bison. The county was established in 1908 and organized in 1909. It was named for Sturgis, South Dakota, official Henry E. Perkins.
Geography
Perkins County lies on the north edge of South Dakota. Its north boundary line abuts the south boundary line of the state of North Dakota. The Grand River flows eastward through the upper part of the county, and the Moreau River flows eastward through the lower part of the county. Shadehill Reservoir is a large impoundment on the Grand River in the county.
Perkins County terrain consists of semi-arid rolling hills, carved by drainage creeks, sparsely dedicated to agriculture. The terrain slopes to the east; its highest point is on its lower west boundary line, at ASL. The county has a total area of , of which is land and (0.7%) is water. It is the second-largest county by area in South Dakota. Meade County is the state's largest county by area.
Perkins County came to media attention in 2009 when Stephen Von Worley calculated that it was the site of the "McFarthest Spot" — the point in the continental United States that is most distant from a McDonald's restaurant: as the crow flies and by car. However, it was updated in 2010 and the spot was updated to the middle of the Nevada Desert.
Major highways
U.S. Highway 12
South Dakota Highway 20
South Dakota Highway 73
South Dakota Highway 75
Adjacent counties
Adams County, North Dakota - north
Corson County - east
Ziebach County - southeast
Meade County - south
Butte County - southwest
Harding County - west
Protected areas
Grand River National Grassland (part)
Hugh Glass State Lakeside Use Area
Lemmon Lake State Game Production Area
Llewellyn Johns State Recreation Area
Owens Lake State Game Production Area
Shadehill State Game Production Area
Shadehill State Recreation Area
Sorum Dam State Game Production Area
Vobejda Dam State Game Production Area
Lakes
Flat Creek Lake
Lemmon Lake
Owens Lake
Shadehill Reservoir
Sorum Dam
Vobejda Dam
Demographics
2020 census
As of the census of 2020, there were 2,835 people.
2010 census
As of the census of 2010, there were 2,982 people, 1,291 households, and 838 families in the county. The population density was . There were 1,739 housing units at an average density of . The racial makeup of the county was 96.9% white, 1.3% American Indian, 0.1% black or African American, 0.1% Asian, 0.5% from other races, and 1.1% from two or more races. Those of Hispanic or Latino origin made up 0.7% of the population. In terms of ancestry, 47.4% were German, 26.2% were Norwegian, 10.8% were English, 8.7% were Irish, 8.4% were Swedish, and 5.8% were American.
Of the 1,291 households, 24.0% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 57.2% were married couples living together, 4.9% had a female householder with no husband present, 35.1% were non-families, and 32.0% of all households were made up of individuals. The average household size was 2.26 and the average family size was 2.85. The median age was 48.5 years.
The median income for a household in the county was $33,361 and the median income for a family was $55,313. Males had a median income of $30,255 versus $27,361 for females. The per capita income for the county was $25,780. About 11.2% of families and 18.7% of the population were below the poverty line, including 25.6% of those under age 18 and 21.2% of those age 65 or over.
Communities
Cities
Lemmon
Town
Bison (county seat)
Census-designated place
Prairie City
Unincorporated Communities
Chance
Lodgepole
Meadow
Shadehill
Sorum
Summerville
Usta
White Butte
Zeona
Ghost Towns
Bixby
Brayton
Coal Springs
Cole
Date
Ellingson
Glendo
Imogene
Pleasant Ridge
Seim
Strool
Whitney
Townships
Ada
Anderson
Antelope
Barrett
Beck
Bison
Brushy
Burdick
Cash
Castle Butte
Chance
Chaudoin
Clark
De Witt
Duell
Englewood
Flat Creek
Foster
Fredlund
Glendo
Grand River
Hall
Highland
Horse Creek
Liberty
Lincoln
Lemmon
Lodgepole
Lone Tree
Maltby
Marshfield
Martin
Meadow
Moreau
Plateau
Rainbow
Rockford
Scotch Cap
Sidney
Strool
Trail
Vail
Vickers
Viking
Vrooman
Wells
White Butte
White Hill
Wilson
Wyandotte
Unorganized territories
Duck Creek
East Perkins
Independence
Pleasant Valley
South Perkins
Southwest Perkins
West Central Perkins
West Perkins
Politics
Like most of South Dakota, Perkins County is overwhelmingly Republican. No Democratic presidential candidate has won Perkins County since Franklin D. Roosevelt did so during his 46-state landslide in 1936. Jimmy Carter in 1976 came within 36 votes of carrying the county, but since then the only Democrat to gain even 29 percent of the county's vote has been Michael Dukakis during the drought-affected 1988 election.
Education
School districts in the county include:
Bison School District 52-1
Faith School District 46-2
Lemmon School District 52-4
See also
National Register of Historic Places listings in Perkins County, South Dakota
References
1909 establishments in South Dakota
Populated places established in 1909