Ziebach County, South Dakota

Ziebach County, South Dakota
Ziebach County is a county in the U.S. state of South Dakota. As of the 2020 census, the population was 2,413. Its county seat is Dupree. It is the last county (or county equivalent) in the United States alphabetically.
The county's per-capita income makes it the fourth-poorest county in the United States.
History
A county named Ziebach was created in Dakota Territory in 1877. However, after South Dakota became a state, this county was dissolved in 1898 and its areas absorbed by Pennington and Stanley counties. The present Ziebach County was created by the SD Legislature on February 1, 1911, and was fully organized by April 22. The 1911 Ziebach County encompassed parts of the former counties of Schnasse, Armstrong and Sterling, which were the last three extinct counties of South Dakota to cease to exist. It was named for Frank M. Ziebach, a political figure in the Dakota Territory during the territorial period from 1861 to 1889. Previously the area had been used by trappers and in 1907 part was briefly a reservation for Ute Indians displaced from Utah and Wyoming. Early in the 20th Century cattle were raised in substantial numbers, but when the railroad bypassed the area this industry declined. Limited homesteading also occurred on the more fertile lands.
Geography
The Cheyenne River flows east-northeastward along the southern boundary of Ziebach County. The Moreau River flows eastward through the upper portion of the county, and Cherry Creek flows southeastward through the lower portion, draining the area into the Cheyenne River. The terrain is composed of semi-arid rolling hills interrupted by buttes and carved by drainages and gullies, partly devoted to agriculture and cattle. The terrain slopes to the south and the east; its highest point (except for the isolated Thunder Butte, at 2,733') is near its NW corner at ASL. The county has a total area of , of which is land and (0.5%) is water. Almost the entire county lies within the Cheyenne River Indian Reservation. The balance of the county, along its extreme northern county line, lies within the Standing Rock Indian Reservation. It is one of five South Dakota counties that lie entirely on Indian reservations.
Buttes
Ziebach County is part of the Great Plains and is characterized by rolling grasslands and numerous buttes. The buttes form the highest points of elevation in Ziebach County:
Bessie Butte
Eagle Butte
Gray Butte
High Elk Hill
Joshua Butte
Marple Butte
Mud Butte
Mud Butte
Rattlesnake Butte
Saint Patrick Butte
Squaw Teat Butte
Thunder Butte
Major highways
U.S. Highway 212
South Dakota Highway 20
South Dakota Highway 34
South Dakota Highway 63
South Dakota Highway 65
South Dakota Highway 73
Adjacent counties
Corson County - north
Dewey County - east
Stanley County - southeast
Haakon County - south
Pennington County - southwest
Meade County - west
Perkins County - northwest
Protected areas
Bednor Lake State Game Production Area
Cheyenne State Game Production Area (part)
Grand River National Grassland (part)
Lakes and reservoirs
Bedners Dam
K C Dam
Rattlesnake Lake
Demographics
2020 census
As of the census of 2020, there were 2,413 people.
2010 census
As of the census of 2010, there were 2,801 people, 836 households, and 638 families in the county. The population density was . There were 987 housing units at an average density of . The racial makeup of the county was 74.9% American Indian, 21.8% white, 0.2% black or African American, 0.1% Asian, 0.1% from other races, and 3.0% from two or more races. Those of Hispanic or Latino origin made up 3.1% of the population.
Of the 836 households, 53.7% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 39.0% were married couples living together, 29.3% had a female householder with no husband present, 23.7% were non-families, and 20.9% of all households were made up of individuals. The average household size was 3.35 and the average family size was 3.82. The median age was 25.4 years.
The median income for a household in the county was $27,578 and the median income for a family was $22,857. Males had a median income of $28,954 versus $24,327 for females. The per capita income for the county was $11,069. About 41.9% of families and 46.0% of the population were below the poverty line, including 56.1% of those under age 18 and 22.9% of those age 65 or over.
Communities
Cities
Dupree (county seat)
Eagle Butte (partial)
Census-designated places
Bridger
Cherry Creek
Unincorporated communities
Chase
Glad Valley
Iron Lightning
Red Elm
Red Scaffold
Thunder Butte
Unorganized territories
Ziebach County government does not include subdivision into townships. The county is divided into three areas of unorganized territory: Dupree, North Ziebach, and South Ziebach.
Politics
Ziebach County has traditionally been a swing county. Only Ronald Reagan in 1980 and Barack Obama in 2008 have topped sixty percent for either major party in the past six decades. Donald Trump won 48% of the vote in 2016, being the county or equivalent he won with the highest percentage of Native Americans. Joe Biden won 53% of the vote in 2020.
See also
National Register of Historic Places listings in Ziebach County, South Dakota
References
1911 establishments in South Dakota
Populated places established in 1911